Reader’s Question:

Alysson here from Chicago, Illinois. My daughter just turned 16 and she’s pressing us to allow her to drive our car. I think it’s fine. However, I would like to know what we need to do first to make sure that we are properly insured. Hope someone can help.

Alysson

Chicago, IL

Hi Alysson. They grow up fast, don’t they? One minute they’re barely walking and the next they’re driving your car. Well, to make sure that you have adequate insurance, you will have to get in touch with your insurance agents in Chicago, Illinois. Let them know that you would like to add a teenage driver to your insurance policy. Let me warn you, though. This is going to cost you so I hope your bank account can take some damage. Automobile insurance with a teenage driver included will jack up the cost of your premiums. This is because teenagers have a pretty high risk of getting into an accident. It happens in varying degrees of gravity from dents and scratches but may also go so far as to cost a life. To ensure that you have enough coverage for any scenario, you may want to consider increasing the cost of your insurance limits. You may want to ask your automobile insurance provider to set your limits for bodily injury and uninsured /underinsured motorists to the highest your state allows. You may also want to get a personal liability umbrella to make sure that assets other than your car are protected. So call your agent and make sure you’re covered for your teen driver before you let her on the road.

Tags: auto insurance, Student car insurance, teen insurance, Young driver car insurance

Reader’s Question:

There are times when I allow my son to drive my car to school and back even he is not covered in my car insurance policy. Would he receive a ticket for this reason in case he was asked by an officer to pull over?

Em

Long Beach, CA

Whether your son will receive a ticket or not for driving without an insurance depends on the California state’s laws. If the state’s law
requires every driver to be insured and your son cannot prove it, he will likely receive a ticket. On the otherhand, if the state requires every car to be insured, he may not likely be ticketed unless the officer has a way to find out that your son is not covered in the policy and nullify the car insurance for him as the driver.

In case your would be in a car accident, he could be cited for not being under an insurance policy. Depending on the liability laws, you being the owner of the vehicle, together with your son, could be held responsible for possible damages that your son could have caused to the party involved in the accident.

Your lawyer or the California DMV could give you other information on what would happen if your son is asked to pull over and the officer found out that your son is not covered by an insurance policy.

Tags: auto insurance, teen insurance, Young driver car insurance