Disclosing Additional Household Residents to Auto Insurance Company

In California many insurance companies will inquirethe policy will state that these people specifically will
about additional household residents that live in thenot have any coverage.
home at the time that the insured purchases a policy.The reason that the insurance company does this is
Often times, these companies will also mail theto ensure that the appropriate premiums are being
insured a written request upon renewal to check ifcharged on the auto insurance policy to so that the
there are additional household residents.company can maintain profitability. A good example is
The majority of auto insurance policies that are soldif a parent purchased a policy and did not disclose
in California offer coverage that extends out tothat they had a newly licensed child living in the
other operators that are not named on the policy.household. If the newly licensed driver were to be
This is called permissive use coverage and generallyrated on the policy the premium would be significantly
extends to non household residents that occasionallyhigher than if not. These premiums would need to be
use the vehicle for a short amount of time.higher because of the additional exposure that the
When shopping for an auto insurance policy is it veryinsurance companies has by having a newly licensed
important that the consumer discloses all of theoperator driving the vehicle.
residents of the home. With most insuranceConsumers should make sure that all household
companies any person that lives in the household willresidents are disclosed to their insurance company.
need to be listed as an excluded operator or be listedEven though these residents may not be listed as
on the policy as a driver. When listed as an additionalspecifically excluded most insurance companies
driver the premium will be rated appropriately byprotect themselves in the insuring agreement of a
factoring the driving experience and record of thepolicy stating that the permissive use coverage does
additional drivers. When listed as an excluded drivernot extend to household residents.