Get covered for less today, with Freedom National.Adding a driver to your auto insurance policy is a common occurrence. This allows that driver to safely drive your vehicle while being fully covered under the terms of your insurance policy.
But what if you want to explicitly keep someone off of your insurance policy? Can it be done, and what are the pros and cons of doing so?
This is known as an excluded driver, and it’s a more common car insurance term than you might think. Let’s explore the definition of an excluded driver, the pros and cons of adding one to your policy, and what happens in some specific scenarios relating to excluded drivers and insurance.
What It Means to Exclude a Driver from Your Insurance
When you add someone to your insurance policy, your premiums are no longer just calculated based on your risk as a driver— they’re also calculated by the riskiness of insuring every driver on your policy. That means that if your policy includes a ‘flawed’ or otherwise risky driver, such as a teenager or someone with multiple moving violations, accidents for which they were at-fault, DUIs, or a high number of insurance claims, your premiums will likely go through the roof.
But if you choose who’s included on your policy, why should you have to actively exclude someone? Why not just leave them off your policy in the first place?
The answer has to do with how insurers determine who will be using a vehicle. When you first apply for a policy, you’re legally required to tell your insurer about everyone who is likely to use your vehicle from time to time. This usually includes any drivers in your home, such as your spouse, children, close relatives, or roommates with whom you share a home.
So whether you add those people officially to your policy or not, your insurer considers them to be covered drivers even if they’re not the main policyholder. If one of those drivers is considered high-risk, your insurance premiums will shoot up.
When Should You Exclude a Driver?
You should consider excluding a driver when their presence on your policy is causing your premiums to increase so much that they’re no longer worth having insured on your policy. For example, let’s say you have a teenage driver who has lost their driving privileges either because you have revoked them as a parent or the state has revoked them due to unsafe driving. You could then exclude them from your policy, which would then keep their unsafe driving from being a factor in determining your insurance premiums.
In some cases, your insurance company may request that you exclude a driver as an alternative to cancelling your policy altogether. For example, if someone who’s covered on your policy has a DUI, your insurer may determine they’re simply too risky to insure altogether. But you don’t want to lose insurance coverage entirely, so your insurer may give you the option to keep your coverage but exclude that driver from your policy.
You may want to exclude a driver if they’re already covered under another policy. For example, let’s say that your adult child lives in your home temporarily with their spouse. Because you all share a household and they frequently use your vehicle, they would be included on your insurance assessment. But if your child’s spouse has a policy of their own that also covers your child, then you may want their insurance to take the place of your own in order to remove additional drivers from your policy and potentially lower your rates.
Downsides of Having an Excluded Driver
The biggest downside of excluding a driver comes from the fact that they can no longer drive your vehicle and be considered covered under your insurance policy. But what happens if they drive your vehicle anyways and are involved in an accident?
What Happens if an Excluded Driver Gets in an Accident Driving Your Vehicle?
If someone who has been excluded from your insurance policy drives your vehicle and is in an accident, it will be as if they were driving without insurance. You will most likely be financially responsible for damage to your own vehicle, and could be liable for damage to the other driver’s vehicle as well as medical costs stemming from the accident.
But what if someone who is excluded from the policy takes your vehicle without your permission? In this case, you are still covered, as you didn’t authorize the use of your vehicle by the excluded driver and this will in most cases be considered a covered loss.
How Long Does an Excluded Driver Designation Stay on My Policy?
Driver exclusions do not automatically expire. Once you exclude a driver from your policy, you’ll need to ask your insurance company to remove the exclusion in order to have that driver covered on your policy again. Simply contact your insurance company when you’re ready to withdraw the exclusion and they’ll walk you through their specific process for withdrawing exclusions. In the event that they refuse to remove the exclusion, they’ll walk you through the next steps you can take.
Conclusion
At Freedom National, our mission isn’t just to provide cheap car insurance online for people all over the country. We want to help you become a more informed, safe, and confident driver, and that begins with knowing the secrets to vehicle safety, important insurance facts, and how to navigate the rules and regulations of your state or area.
If you want to learn more, explore our knowledge base for a range of articles to help you expand your car insurance expertise.
If you’re ready to receive a free online quote from Freedom National for vehicle and get coverage in minutes, get started now. Freedom National is one of the most trusted providers of cheap car insurance online in the nation, automatically comparing rates from several major and minor insurers to find you the best possible rate and coverage. We even help people get insured who may have negative events on their driving record, from DUIs to required SR-22s.
