<p>Oh boy, one more thing to worry about. We had a $1mm umbrella liability policy in NJ that was nominal when I first signed up, maybe $100/yr. The premium skyrocketed in recent years and I believe was over $800 when we left. Now, in NC, for some reason the $1mm umbrella is $150. I think I will increase it to $5mm.</p>
<p>I put title in my son’s name as soon as he turned 18. He was already insured as the principal driver of the car (which was the 3rd car on my policy). It had no apparent impact on the premiums when I put title in his name. He was, and remains, covered by the $5 million umbrella policy that I maintain. Having title in his name should provide pretty solid insulation of my assets if he has an accident (he is a legal adult, it’s his car, and he is insured), he has high levels of insurance coverage (so we are not unduly putting his future earnings at risk to protect ourselves), and we did not seem to experience ay real increase in premiums to change the title structure. I am a lawyer, and in my location and with my insurance carriers, I couldn’t see any good reason NOT to put title in son’s name.</p>
<p>Here are some rules regarding registration of a car in CA.</p>
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<p>If your son is living in an apt. off campus , then he’ll need to change his plates.</p>
<p>LA has its driving challenges, but we don’t have to deal with icy roads here and we don’t have to deal with things like deer running into an unlit road while driving at night.</p>
<p>Oh, absolutely a GPS! He will find it much easier to drive here if he has one and it’s the best way to learn the freeways.</p>
<p>We are the current owners of the vehicle and are non-residents. The main driver would be S, who would be insured by a CA insurer. S lives in CA but we will continue living in HI. Insurer said it would have no impact on premiums either way if title is in our name or S’ name. It sounds like a good idea to increase umbrella to $5M–I’ll ask about that as well. Maybe I’ll get S a $1M umbrella too or see if he’s covered under ours. I had not heard that our adult kids would be covered under our umbrellas.</p>
<p>Let’s assume that your Son is in an auto accident, and is at fault.</p>
<p>As the driver, he is liable. Plain and simple.
In addition, the owner of the car is liable. The owner should not have given the car to someone who was negligent - caused an accident.</p>
<p>If the car is in your son’s name, then driver and owner are the same, and you have no liability. Unless, you gave him a drink, … (let’s ignore this case).</p>
<p>If the car is in your name, then you have liability.</p>
<p>Your umbrella policy covers your liability. If your son owns the car, then you have no liability, and it will not pay.</p>
<p>Basic auto insurance ($300,000 limit?) is a responsible limit to cover other people.</p>
<p>Umbrella policies are to protect your assets. Your son doesn’t have assets yet worth covering.</p>
<p>As long as your son is a dependent, I think the insurance company is willing to cover him. Once he becomes independent, then he should get his own policy. Also, if there is any claim, if he has his own policy, it won’t affect your rates.</p>
<p>The magic age is 25 for Boys (I think). At that time, he should be able to get insurance himself at a reasonable cost.</p>
<p>S will be graduating in EE next spring, so he will have future earnings to protect, so we’ll probably look into having him get an umbrella too, “just in case.” Hopefully it won’t cost too much. We think the policy he was quoted @ under $1000 for a year is pretty reasonable & hoepfully will go down as he gets older & is accident-free.</p>
<p>As an independent insurance agent, i have found this thread interesting. It is always of interest to us to see how the rules are different from state to state. That really is what it boils down to. All states have different rules and guidelines and all companies have to file their rating parameters with the states Dept of Insurance. In other words, none of us can say for sure how any of these situations would play out. Anyone can sue anyone in this country regardless of who’s name is on the title. </p>
<p>As for the way you are covered, each policy is different. For example, a large named insurance co in CT considers immediate family members that are part of your household as an insured person under this policy. It doesn’t matter if this person is 18 or 80. Even if they have their own car and their own insurance, as long as they are members of your household there is implied coverage and potential liability to the insurance company. To boot, the company can demand that the other household members obtain coverages that are equal to yours to avoid any gaps in coverage that could make them liable for the difference between the two policies at the time of an accident.</p>
<p>There is no fool proof way to avoid liability other than having Son or Daughter live on their own in their own place totally self sufficient with their own car and own insurance. As a previous poster stated, it’s all about the coverage. Get the highest Liability limits offered and definately purchase the umbrella coverage! For the amount of coverage it provides the cost is nominal in comparison. If your child does live on their own and doesn’t own a home/condo the $300,000 for liability that was mentioned by OperaDad would be considered good coverage and the industry standard for most. You’ll want to stay away from minimum limits required by the states, usually these are far less than adequate to protect against even a small accident. </p>
<p>Regarding the “magic” age of less expensive insurance. There is no magic number anymore. Just about all companies use an insurance score which is credit driven, driving record, age, gender, marital status, address and many, many other variables to determine their rating. No two rates are the same. Gone are the days of having the same insurance premium as your neighbor. </p>
<p>It is also not necessarily accurate to say that if your child who has their own car and insurance has an accident but lives in your household it won’t affect your rates. The same large company in CT that I mentioned before charges for the motor vehicle activity for ALL household residents regardless of where they are insured. Again, every company is different, every state is different and every rate is different. </p>
<p>There is no such thing as “sue proof” these days. The best you can do is purchase good coverage to protect against any potential liability and exercise good judgement and responsible behavior.</p>