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Importance Of Naming All Drivers On A Car Insurance Policy
August 25th, 2010
Online car insurance access and online car insurance quotes have done a lot for the industry in terms of making the process more accessible and less time consuming, but it has its negatives too. In some ways this online access to car insurance has made it so that people don't have as good of an understanding of their policy as they used to. One great example of this is the approach that different car insurance companies use in reference to named drivers on the policy against anyone else driving the vehicle.
The importance of "named drivers" is that these are the drivers that insurance companies use when determining whether to offer you coverage and for how much. When you apply for a quote the insurance company will take the information on the drivers listed and run reports against the DMV to determine a driver's history. This information will be part of the premium and you will be charged appropriately…in most situations. It is the situation in which a driver is not named where things get tricky.
There are two usual approaches to how a car insurance company handles a driver driving a vehicle in an accident that is not named on the policy. The first approach is taken by many major car insurance companies and it is to have a very liberal approach to "permissive drivers." This means drivers that you have specifically given permission to and drivers that have "implied permission." Implied permission would be when you live in the same house with someone who has regular access to the keys.
The other approach that a car insurance company would take is to say specifically in their car insurance policy that anyone not listed is not covered. The benefits to you for this type of approach is that your insurance premiums will usually be lower, which is reflected in the online car insurance quotes. The downside is if you lend someone your car and they have an accident and are not listed on your policy, your policy becomes invalid and you are responsible for paying all damages incurred.
Named drivers on car insurance policies are very important and this is important for you to know when getting online car insurance. The internet itself has made insurance cheaper because of the reduced need for agents in the field and the increased access to policy and claim information. If you are deciding your next car insurance by the premium you will have to pay you should ask someone to first inform you about their approach to drivers that are not named on your policy, it will save you time and money.
