<p>We have lived out of the US for the last 5 years so our kids did not get drivers licenses at 16. Our 20 year old daughter just got her licence over Christmas then promptly flew back to college in another state where she will not drive.<br>
Our plan was to add her to our auto insurance when she comes back home in May but today we got a call from our insurance agent telling us that they were notified that she got her license and our bill will be going up $1000 a year ($734 if she is a good student and away from home). They also wanted to charge us for coverage for the daughter of the previous owner of our home which required some discussion!
Is this normal? Anything we can do? Our insurance is Amica and we live in Michigan.</p>
<p>Wow, that’s a lot. I’d ask whether the charge is high because she is a newly licensed driver, and, if so, whether there is anything she can do to reduce the charge. (We have State Farm, and when our D got her license, SF had two discount programs: one if she took a certain number of hours of driving instruction (even if that was not required to get her license) and another that gave her a discount if she did their self-study safe driving program. Between the two it knocked about $400 per year off her cost, and the cost dropped further once she went away to college. (But they required that the college be a significant distance from home, not just that she didn’t have a car at college.)</p>
<p>My b-i-l got hit with very high car insurance costs because he didn’t get a license until he was in his 30s. Apparently that is considered a very high risk driver for at least the first 3 years. Maybe there is something similar at play for your daughter? (That is, drivers licensed after 18 are riskier if they live in a state where you could be licensed at a younger age.)</p>
<p>This might be the time when you bid your insurance out to some other companies, and see what the numbers are. </p>
<p>Final thought: might your daughter have possibly received a traffic ticket that she paid without saying anything to you? One speeding ticket for a younger driver can have a significant impact on rates and lose discounts to which you’d otherwise be entitled.</p>
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<p>Sounds about right. Our daughter is across the country…our state REQUIRES licensed drivers to be insured. She is therefore carried on our policy. So is our son. We get the away at school discount for DD…and she does NOT have a car to drive with her.</p>
<p>No tickets - she didn’t drive over Christmas - she had passed her test in August but the Sec of State was closed so she had to wait to get the licence in December. Her license arrived the day before she left. We just switched to Amica from USAA in December because they had a good deal on an auto/home combination but maybe we have to look around again.</p>
<p>The insurance agent mentioned something about having no proof that she didn’t live with us here in Michigan - wondering if she got a license in Pennsylvania instead if that would make a difference. Anyone know if PA requires everyone with a license to be insured even if they dont have a car or plan to drive? Will have to check the requirements for proof of residence.</p>
<p>Yes, everyone in your family with driver license must be insured. You could tell them that she is more than 200 miles away from home without a car and your premium would go down a lot.</p>
<p>We must just be lucky. We have GEICO in Texas, and both our kids are listed on our policy and are away at school w/o cars. They are covered for the entire year (even if they are home for the summer) at NO CHARGE. In fact, I’ve never paid a cent for my DD’s car insurance, since she got her license after she started college. DS, only paid the 6-8 months his HS senior year between his real license and heading off to college. I figure that we have saved thousands of dollars in insurance costs by using Geico and by delaying DS’s license until senior year hs, and not giving kids cars in college.</p>
<p>Yes, same story as oldfort.</p>
<p>Our insurance agent said that our S (who goes to school over 200 miles away) would have to be on our policy.</p>
<p>He said having our S listed as “away at school” was the least expensive way to go.</p>
<p>It cost about $220 a year for that coverage. I think the rate will just depend on the state and the insurance company.</p>
<p>Excuse me for hijacking for a moment, but does anybody know what would happen in our case: We live in Europe, no car in the States. If Ds going to school in the States get their license there (in MA using aunt’s car) but then have no car of their own, do they need some kind of insurance just to drive someone else’s car?</p>
<p>Thanks for any answers.</p>
<p>We also have Amica and are in the same boat. It’s a state law that anyone with a driver’s license must be covered under the policy, even if they’re away at school and even, as in my son’s case, if he doesn’t drive! My son’s only option is to give up his license. So my kids get a student away at school discount and a good student discount (we have to send transcripts in every year!) Amica explained to me that they get a list of licensed drivers and addresses from the state and everyone on that list must have insurance, regardless of student status or whether they actually drive.</p>
<p>When I found out about this I called around and couldn’t find any insurance company who would give me better rates, given that one kid doesn’t even drive and the other only drives when home on vacation.</p>
<p>Wildwood11, I think whoever owns the car that your D will be driving while in the US needs to call their insurance company. If she is only a casual driver and won’t be living in the same household as her aunt I’m guessing she wouldn’t need insurance. I know that Amica covers the occasional friend that we might let use our car.</p>
<p>We also have Amica and our insurance is an extra $1000 for our daughter even with the student discount. (We’re in California.) Amica doesn’t offer an away-at-school option in our area. Our daughter does borrow friends’ cars sometimes while at school, so we need her to be fully covered all year. Expensive!</p>
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<p>You dtr isn’t required to have insurance in MA.` However, I would advise her to make sure any car she drives is insured.</p>
<p>Hey I’m in Michigan and have a D who’s at school in PA. I just looked at our insurance and it lists her as an occasional driver. </p>
<p>I pay 274/half to insure her and myself on my 2006 Honda Odyssey. I just switched to this insurance company so I’m not sure how much I would pay if she was not covered but it’s no where close to $1000. I do live up north and not downstate.</p>
<p>If I remember correctly, I might have had to provide proof that she is enrolled in a school farther than 200 miles. I can’t remember though, that might have been for medical insurance.</p>
<p>Thanks Martha and CrewDad. I’m trying to figure out if it is even worth it for my Ds to get a license before they have to buy their own car.</p>
<p>I’ve wondered about something. On another friend, a poster commented that it would be good for colleges with little public transit to set up a Zip Car system. However, I thought I’d heard that drivers under 25 can’t rent a car. Maybe Zip Car is different? Anyone know?</p>
<p>Zipcar on college campuses is different. For example: [Williams</a> Zipcar](<a href=“http://www.williams.edu/resources/zipcar/]Williams”>http://www.williams.edu/resources/zipcar/)</p>
<p>deb922 - which company do you use? $550 a year is better than $734 (which is the rate quoted for non-driving good students that are away).
The stupid thing is that she never drives - she wanted a license as a LATE right of passage. At 20 she really felt like she should know how to drive. I guess we should have checked it out beforehand but we assumed that she only had to be insured if she was driving. This summer my 18 year old son will also be taking his driving test - he probably will need to drive during the summer - but not when he goes back to school in the fall. Plus my 15 year old starts drivers training next month. I liked it better in China where none of them drove or even wanted to!!</p>
<p>We live in MA and when our daughter left for college we were allowed to remove our daughter from our auto insurance … we added her back for the holiday break and then dropped her off again when she headed back to school … all changes can be made by phone … and the bill is proportional to the amount of time covered so the holiday coverage cost about $50.</p>
<p>Someone else asked about if drivers are required to have insurance … I believe that varies by state … I can see making decision to not have or limited property damage insurance for example (we actually have very high deductables). However I would NEVER suggest anyone drive without liability insurance; the downside is just too large … a liability judgement can attach future earnings as well as current assets so even a starving student has a lot to lose without liability insurance (at least that is what I have been advised by a lawyer)</p>
<p>3togo, thanks for your information. I never thought to ask Metlife about a similar arrangement. </p>
<p>I do recall our Metlife agent stating that as long as the owner of a car gives verbal “permission” to a driver (?licensed son/daughter) to drive, then they are covered under the payed policy. This may be worth a check for the infrequent driver.</p>
<p>We’re currently paying $750 per 1/2 year for a good student 17 year old hs senior. I’m going to shop around a bit.</p>
<p>May be helpful here if people list their car insurer too.</p>
<p>We live in Oregon and our insurance company (Progressive) allowed us to remove our S from our policy when he went to college on the other side of the country. He came home last summer but did not drive, nor did we put him back on the policy. Except for short breaks, I don’t expect he will live here again.</p>
<p>For those who said that you are required to keep your kids on your policies - for how long? Until they are out of college? It seems to me that after the age of 18, if they are not living with you, you should not be required to list them.</p>
<p>All we had to do was provide evidence of enrollment in a college out of state or more than x miles away - I think it was 500. Then they removed them from the listed drivers. DH threw a fit because he thought she was not covered if she drove roommate’s car, until they showed him that she was covered if given permission to drive by the other OWNER of the car. So DD had to make sure parents gave permission before she drove any friend’s car at school. </p>
<p>This was the case over the course of 3 different insurance companies.</p>