Can I drive my car under my dad's insurance?

Question

My dad bought me a car, and we need insurance. Temporarily, he put the car under his insurance. It only has liability coverage for now. We need to add comprehensive coverage but need to know if it is alright for me to drive the car under his name in case of an accident. (Insurance for a teen is very expensive.)

Answer 1

There are two answers here. There's what your father *can* do, and there's what your father *should* do.

Assuming your father purchased the vehicle for youy, then technically, he can insure the vehicle under his policy and not disclose that you are the primary driver. Under most insurance contracts (this will be the case unless your father has a very restrictive non-standard auto policy), the definition of an "insured" is any family member who resides in the household, so as his daughter you are automatically an insured. This means you are automatically covered while you are driving any of his vehicles.

The caveat here is that if you're in an accident and the insurance carrier finds out you're a driver in the household, they will add you to the policy and they may choose to charge a back-premium for you. If your father refuses to add you to the policy his coverage can be non-renewed. You don't want the company to find out about you that way, trust me.

What your father *should* do is add your vehicle to the policy and insure it with full coverage (as a teen, you're very likely going to damage the vehicle at some point) and declare you as a driver to the company. Insurance for responsible teens isn't that expensive, especially if you drive a vehicle that is not a higher-risk vehicle. If you have good grades and/or take a driver's course, you may be eligible for discounts off the premium.

Answer 2

Yes, they are allowed to do that. If it were your insurance, wouldn't you want them to make completely sure before they paid out on an accident that could be your fault? And, as they said, the police report, and who did or didn't get tickets, is only one part of the investigation. Your statement, the statement of other drivers, witness statements, and examination of the damages on all vehicles involved is also part of it. And until that investigation is completed, you can't say you are not at fault, that hasn't been determined, all you can say is your company didn't find you at fault. From your question, it doesn't appear they are refusing at all, they have done some investigation, now they are look apparently to an accident reconstruction as a third party. February, which means what, 3 months you have been waiting? I have a vehicle in the lot, very bad accident leading to a death, that they are still working on with insurance companies and attorneys. The date of that accident was February 8, 2008. Yes, that's pretty extreme. But, if you need a car, go get a car. Or have your own company start the process using your collision coverage if you have that. You will have a deductible to pay, but it will get the process started and get you paid fair market value less deductible assuming it is a total loss. If you don't have coverage for that, that is a result of your decision to say no to it when you got insurance. Probably the best source as to what is going on, and the time to finish, will be your own insurance company.

Answer 3

This is a fine line subject. Your Dad can insure the car under his name but has to list you on his policy as a licensed driver. That way if you got into an accident driving his car, you are covered. Yeah, insurance is expensive for a teen driver, but it's a whole lot more expensive to be without it.

Answer 4

I suggest you to visit this internet site where you can get quotes from different companies: http://COVERAGE-FINDER.NET/index.html?src=2YAylmlAls16e

RE :Can I drive my car under my dad's insurance?
My dad bought me a car, and we need insurance. Temporarily, he put the car under his insurance. It only has liability coverage for now. We need to add comprehensive coverage but need to know if it is alright for me to drive the car under his name in case of an accident. (Insurance for a teen is very expensive.)
Follow 12 answers

Answer 5

Yes, you can drive your car as long as your Dad has added you to his insurance policy. He has insured your car and you are fine to drive it.
Adding comprehensive is no problem with the insurance company and who drives the car makes no difference.
It is the car that is insured, not you personally.
Good luck.

Answer 6

I'm interested in this

Answer 7

Only if your name is added to the policy. Not under his name.

Call you insurance agent tomorrow. I see you are getting mixed answers here.

Answer 8

I often spend my half an hour to read this blog's posts daily along with a mug of coffee.

Answer 9

Yes

My car as well as both my siblings cars are in my fathers name and so is the insurance and we are the primary drivers of our cars and he has his own car, you just have to be careful about accidents and tickets.

Answer 10

only if your fathers policy has an "any driver" clause or you are named on the policy, you are best to check with the insurance company before you drive, call them tomorrow and ask!