When can a dependent be taken off of family auto policies?

[rnorwo1]

Hi All,
I posted a question a couple of years ago about how our insurance (USAA) co would not lower our rates/take our son off our auto policies even though he was going to college 13 hours away with no vehicle, and you all commiserated with me but confirmed that that was the sad reality.

That same kid is now 20-years old, and we initially received information that he could now have his own independent policy. The insurance co is now telling us that his policy will be way more if it's independent of ours, which makes sense without package discounts, but I was wondering if we got him a policy from a different company altogether if our rates on our other vehicles will go back to normal rates. I cannot remember exactly, but our rates practically doubled (or perhaps even more) when he was added. They are telling us that as long as he is financially dependent on us, which he will be until he graduates college, that they cannot do anything about our rates.

Does that sound like it's accurate? This is such a racket if so. We are willing to sign anything stating that he will not drive our vehicles, etc. We have two vehicles that are 20 plus years old, they are not worth anything, yet we are having to pay over $200/month for the least amount of liability insurance allowed just for those two, which is way more than they are worth. They are in great shape, and we keep them because they are good vehicles for us to use for work and such. We are now thinking about having to sell or donate them and use our "good" vehicles for my husband to drive into the plant where he works, which will decrease their value tremendously as they get disgusting in the elements. So frustrating!

Any advice would be much appreciated!

 

[barkley]

does he have ownership of one of the vehicles? if so then you could see what it would cost with another company and ask your company what the rates would be if he were no longer on yours so you can crunch the numbers. if you own the vehicle then you need to check with your insurance company to see if they would let you have it covered by another policy.

in our case w/ ours it didn't matter if our 'child' was a dependent or not. they either had to be on our policy or we had to provide proof of them being insured so long as they were using our home address as their permanent address (which most kids do when they go to college-some for much longer). we ended up keeping our oldest on (youngest doesn't drive) because it's a much better rate vs. 2 policies (our oldest pays the cost of the difference between what we would pay without vs. with-still much lower than what their single person/1 car policy would run).

 

[Heather07438]

Have you shopped around? We found it no longer pays to be loyal to one provider. Get out your declaration page and see what others are charging for that coverage.

 

[QueenIsabella]

In North Carolina, at least, it's virtually impossible to get an adult child off your car insurance policy. We moved here when our oldest was in college...in Boston. We couldn't get her off then, because they figured she'd come home on breaks and drive the car. We couldn't even suspend it during school weeks. Then she graduated, stayed in Boston, changed her address, got a MA license, registered and insured her car in MA. When she was home over Christmas break, she brought down all the supporting documentation, and she and I sat in the insurance agent's office for an hour, while she argues on the phone with the insurance company that, clearly, our DD didn't live in the state. They did take her off the policy, but it wasn't quick, easy, or painless.

The insurance company is going to argue that he will still have access to your cars when he's staying in your home. I don't see how you get around that. I wish you luck, though--having 2, soon to be 3, younger drivers in the house, I feel your pain!

 

[Lewisc]

The insurance company is going to be liable if your son gets into an accident.

Check with different companies. You may find one which will give you a break if your son is going to school at a distance. A company may give you a break if your son has a car in his name.

BIG ISSUE. How many cars are you insuring? Assume you have 3 drivers, parents and son. If you're insuring 3 cars assumption is your son is driving one. Maybe he has it at school and you forget to tell them.

 

[elgerber]

We were also told as long as we were all living at the same address, all the cars had to be on the same policy. Wasn't until they moved out, that they went on their own policies.

 

[tvguy]

The insurance industry is a master of stats. So, while it may seem like a racket, in reality, the stats tell them OP your situation puts them at greater risk of having to pay a claim. The numbers don't lie. But I'm in California where auto insurance is still heavily regulated.
We just retired changed our coverage to reflect my wife and I were no longer commuting to work, and it INCREASED the premiums for the simple fact that pleasure driving is more likely generate a claim that someone using a car to go to work.

 

[cvjw]

My 25 year old just bought his first house and first car in his name. He has his own policy now and has been removed from all of ours. Before that, he drove a car that we purchased for him, titled in my name. My insurance agent told me I would always be held liable if the car was in my name or his insurance policy was associated with our family.

 

[tvguy]

My 25 year old just bought his first house and first car in his name. He has his own policy now and has been removed from all of ours. Before that, he drove a car that we purchased for him, titled in my name. My insurance agent told me I would always be held liable if the car was in my name or his insurance policy was associated with our family.

I actually had to provide my daughters insurance information to my insurance company when she bought her own car and was on her own policy with a different company before they would drop here.

 

[tasha99]

Have you shopped around? We found it no longer pays to be loyal to one provider. Get out your declaration page and see what others are charging for that coverage.

It's not just what you pay, though, it's what they will pay. USAA is not the cheapest, but they are fantastic with claims.

 

[2mickeys1minnie]

We just took our 23 year old off of our policy. He is driving an older jeep and got an insurance policy in his name, a totally different carrier than we have. He still lives at our address and it was no problem. We are in New York. Maybe it depends on the state you live in. I still have my other son, 21 on my policy and also just added my 17 year old and the policy went up over 2K ugh! I let them know that next year she will be going away to college and they said they will discount the policy a whopping $100 for the year. I am paying $8500 a year for car insurance. Yes we have all of the bundle discounts, defensive driving discounts, firefighter discount, etc. I feel like I'm being robbed blind. So upsetting.

 

[Heather07438]

It's not just what you pay, though, it's what they will pay. USAA is not the cheapest, but they are fantastic with claims.

The declaration page lists everything and the limits of what each category pays out. What’s chosen to be covered, for how much, and deductibles determines the coverage. Companies sometimes have different parameters but still similar enough to compare cost wise. Maybe some companies are easier to work with? I try never needing to work with them at all is best

About every 2 or 3 years I’ll shop my insurance (usually when they severely jack up rates on a renewal or change of vehicle). It gets easy if you make a habit of it. Either plug in the specifics online or even easier, just send agents the current declaration page. I’ve saved tens of thousands of dollars over the years. Usually the switch saves us 1 to 2 thousand that year. Claims are going to be paid on what’s covered ultimately so I make sure we’re well covered where it seems most important.

 

[tvguy]

About every 2 or 3 years I’ll shop my insurance (usually when they severely jack up rates on a renewal or change of vehicle). It gets easy if you make a habit of it. Either plug in the specifics online or even easier, just send agents the current declaration page. I’ve saved tens of thousands of dollars over the years. Usually the switch saves us 1 to 2 thousand that year. Claims are going to be paid on what’s covered ultimately so I make sure we’re well covered where it seems most important.

I've been with the same insurance company since I got my license when I was 16, so 48 years. I gave up on price shopping. Yes, I can get a lower quote on auto, but to get that price, I have to bundle, and then the homeowners and or the umbrella policy rates or higher. Or the homeowners and the auto is cheaper but the umbrella is much more expensive. The individual policy rates vary, but the total cost for all my insurance policies always comes to less than $20 a year difference, so a waste of time to switch.
I did have a creative insurance agent offer to bundle my long term care insurance as his company had just started selling it. I was his first quote and he was shocked to discover his long term care policy was $7,000 a year more than what I was paying. Even if they have given me the auto, homeowners and umbrella policy for free, it would have cost more in total. But my current rate is based on the fact we bought the coverage when we were both 49, and rate that was quoted was based on the fact we are both now in our 60's.

 

[barkley]

We just retired changed our coverage to reflect my wife and I were no longer commuting to work, and it INCREASED the premiums for the simple fact that pleasure driving is more likely generate a claim that someone using a car to go to work.

i would call out your insurance company on that- unless it's been changed-in california it's the LAW for low mileage to be used as a rating factor. when we retired there and stopped commuting we just went to our local agent and had the odometer verified with a follow up mileage check a couple of times to make sure it was a valid ongoing reduction. i have family there that are more recent retirees who have seen decreases on their policies as well.

 

[tvguy]

i would call out your insurance company on that- unless it's been changed-in california it's the LAW for low mileage to be used as a rating factor. when we retired there and stopped commuting we just went to our local agent and had the odometer verified with a follow up mileage check a couple of times to make sure it was a valid ongoing reduction. i have family there that are more recent retirees who have seen decreases on their policies as well.

The agent did make of point of telling me to make sure I fill out the annual mileage report because that would impact my rates. But both cars are rated at 5,000 miles per year, which I believe is the lowest you can go. I know my mom was very frustrated because when she was still working she never drove more than 3,000 miles a year, and in retirement never drove more than 1,000 miles but the insurance company still rated her as driving 5,000 miles a year.

 

[hsmamato2]

We were also told as long as we were all living at the same address, all the cars had to be on the same policy. Wasn't until they moved out, that they went on their own policies.

wow.....Ours is completely separate from Ds...always has been! He has his own policy since he's had a car of his own. We added Dh name to it also to bring down the rate, but my car is it's own policy. Now our home/umbrella is higher bc he still lives here....

 

[Eastern]

We are in New York. Maybe it depends on the state you live in. I still have my other son, 21 on my policy and also just added my 17 year old and the policy went up over 2K ugh! I let them know that next year she will be going away to college and they said they will discount the policy a whopping $100 for the year. I am paying $8500 a year for car insurance. Yes we have all of the bundle discounts, defensive driving discounts, firefighter discount, etc. I feel like I'm being robbed blind. So upsetting.

Did you shop around for other quotes? $8500 sounds high. I have maximum coverage and with 3 young males it wasn't that high. NJ

 

[rnorwo1]

OP here. Thanks so much for the replies. We have asked about every scenario and they swear there is no way around this. We can put one car in his name and get his own policy with a separate co, but USAA won’t lower our rates on us adults/other vehicles regardless. We have one newer vehicle with full coverage and 3 older vehicles (all 20 plus years old) with lowest amount of liability possible, and we are paying over $11k a year. Even though the old cars aren’t worth anything, they are worth the world to us so I hate to stop using them. We may have to, though.

I know USAA is not the cheapest, but we had a house issue one time and I cannot believe how amazing they were. I guess we will shop around and see, but that’s so incredibly frustrating and time consuming. I have two more boys getting close to driving age.
Oh well, thank you all so much for the help!

 

[tasha99]

The declaration page lists everything and the limits of what each category pays out. What’s chosen to be covered, for how much, and deductibles determines the coverage. Companies sometimes have different parameters but still similar enough to compare cost wise. Maybe some companies are easier to work with? I try never needing to work with them at all is best

About every 2 or 3 years I’ll shop my insurance (usually when they severely jack up rates on a renewal or change of vehicle). It gets easy if you make a habit of it. Either plug in the specifics online or even easier, just send agents the current declaration page. I’ve saved tens of thousands of dollars over the years. Usually the switch saves us 1 to 2 thousand that year. Claims are going to be paid on what’s covered ultimately so I make sure we’re well covered where it seems most important.

That's what I mean---companies vary in how much they pay out, despite having identical amounts in the declaration page. Having been lowballed before, it was nice to work with USAA.

 

[cvjw]

OP here. Thanks so much for the replies. We have asked about every scenario and they swear there is no way around this. We can put one car in his name and get his own policy with a separate co, but USAA won’t lower our rates on us adults/other vehicles regardless. We have one newer vehicle with full coverage and 3 older vehicles (all 20 plus years old) with lowest amount of liability possible, and we are paying over $11k a year. Even though the old cars aren’t worth anything, they are worth the world to us so I hate to stop using them. We may have to, though.

I know USAA is not the cheapest, but we had a house issue one time and I cannot believe how amazing they were. I guess we will shop around and see, but that’s so incredibly frustrating and time consuming. I have two more boys getting close to driving age.
Oh well, thank you all so much for the help!

You need to shop around. At one time, I had a 20 year old son in a Mazda 6 purchased new for him, a 16 year old son in a new rav 4, me in a new Honda Pilot elite and my husband in a Subaru Outback for less than $6000 per year. And, we carry a million dollars in liability coverage on each vehicle.

We have State Farm. I have had my same policy for almost 30 years.