{"id":4015,"date":"2019-02-25T10:13:10","date_gmt":"2019-02-25T17:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/?p=4015"},"modified":"2022-09-29T15:33:52","modified_gmt":"2022-09-29T22:33:52","slug":"car-insurance-child-covered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/blog\/car-insurance-child-covered\/","title":{"rendered":"Is My Child Covered Under My Arizona Car Insurance Policy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/h2>\n

Handing the car keys to your child for the first time brings mixed emotions. On the one hand, it\u2019s a proud day for any parent to see their child take a major step towards adulthood. On the other hand, you worry about their safety behind the wheel. While your child\u2019s safety is paramount, the liability that they pose to your insurance is probably on your mind, too. After all, it\u2019s your insurance that\u2019s on the line if they get into a car accident<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The good news is that your child is covered under your car insurance policy, even before you get a chance to formally add their name to the policy. In fact, everyone in your household is covered by the policy, regardless of immediate family status. You should still add regular drivers to your insurance policy (failure to do so is considered fraud in many states), but rest assured that your child is covered the moment they take the wheel with a valid driver\u2019s license.<\/p>\n

Who Is Covered Under a Car Insurance Policy?<\/h4>\n

If you were to ask this question to ten different people, you\u2019d probably get ten different answers. Everyone has been told different stories by a friend, family member, or errant blog post, making it a challenge to separate fact from hearsay. Fortunately, the truth is pretty simple — everyone living in your house is covered by your insurance policy.<\/p>\n

Everyone? Yes, we mean everyone. Whether your household includes a spouse, partner, boyfriend, girlfriend, minor children, adult children, or extended family, they\u2019re covered providing they have a valid driver\u2019s license. You\u2019ll want to list all regular drivers on your insurance policy to avoid committing insurance fraud, but there\u2019s no need to list people who occasionally take the car out for a spin with your permission.<\/p>\n

Do I Have to Add My Child to My Car Insurance?<\/h4>\n

You only need to list a child on your car insurance when they regularly use the insured vehicle. If another car serves as their primary vehicle, or if they rarely use the vehicle in question, there\u2019s no need to add them to your insurance.<\/p>\n

Of course, that rule only applies as long as your child has a valid driver\u2019s license or driving permit. If your child drives your car before they have a license or after their license is suspended or revoked, you could be in serious trouble.<\/p>\n

How Long Can My Child Stay on My Car Insurance?<\/h4>\n

Children can remain on your car insurance policy as long as they\u2019re a member of your household. Unlike health insurance policies that impose an age limit for removing children from a policy, your child may remain on your car insurance policy until they permanently move out.<\/p>\n

What about children who are away at college or boarding school? The line becomes a little grey here, but for the most part your child can stay on your car insurance policy as long as the move is considered \u201ctemporary\u201d (which school generally is). However, if your child gets married while at school and starts a family of their own, you\u2019ll need to speak with your insurance agent to see if they\u2019re still eligible to stay on your plan.<\/p>\n

Who Is Insured to Drive My Car?<\/h4>\n

Anyone who regularly drives your car should be listed as an insured party on your car insurance policy. Failure to list a regular driver on your insurance policy may be considered fraud.<\/p>\n

In Arizona, fraud charges<\/a> carry the potential for a class 2 felony<\/a>. Even if you don\u2019t face criminal charges for insurance fraud, your insurance provider will drop you for failure to disclose important information.<\/p>\n

Can Someone Not On Your Insurance Drive Your Car?<\/h4>\n

Car insurance follows the car, not the driver. As long as the person driving your vehicle has your permission and holds a valid driver\u2019s license, they\u2019re covered by your insurance policy. In the insurance world, this is referred to as permissive use.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how the doctrine of permissive use applies in common scenarios:<\/p>\n

When an immediate family member drives your car – in this case, the individual\u2019s immediate family status and the fact that they\u2019re living under your roof automatically qualify them under your insurance policy. That means they\u2019re insured by your policy, even when they drive without direct permission.<\/p>\n

When an extended family member drives your car – when you have extended family in town for the holidays, it\u2019s fine for them to drive your car as long as they have a valid driver\u2019s license. The same goes for extended family who live nearby. If you need to lend your mother-in-law your truck for the weekend so she can move, that\u2019s fine. However, when an extended family member begins to regularly use your vehicle, you\u2019ll need to add them to your insurance.<\/p>\n

When a boyfriend, girlfriend, or unmarried partner drives your car – when your significant-other lives with you, they should be listed on your insurance policy.<\/p>\n

When a friend drives your car – it\u2019s perfectly normal for someone to lend their vehicle to a friend, whether it\u2019s to help out with a move, swap cars for a road trip, or transport a big screen TV home from Costco. As long as they have your permission, they\u2019re covered by your insurance policy.<\/p>\n

What Happens When Another Driver Wrecks Your Car?<\/h4>\n

As long as the driver is covered by the insurance policy — whether they\u2019re directly listed on the policy, an immediate family member with implied coverage, or anyone else covered by permissive use — your car insurance policy will kick in to cover the damages. If there are any injuries, your car insurance policy will cover medical expenses and lost income after the injured party\u2019s individual health insurance policy covers its portion of the medical expenses.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the fact that your car insurance applies in this situation means you may find yourself listed as a defendant in a personal injury lawsuit<\/a>. It may seem unfair since you weren\u2019t directly involved in the accident, but that\u2019s the risk you take when you lend someone your car. If you ever find yourself in this situation, you should consult with an attorney as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

Call our Personal Injury team at (480) 467-4392<\/a> to discuss your case today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introduction Handing the car keys to your child for the first time brings mixed emotions. On the one hand, it\u2019s a proud day for any parent to see their child take a major step towards adulthood. On the other hand, you worry about their safety behind the wheel. While your child\u2019s safety is paramount, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[578],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIs My Child Covered Under My Arizona Car Insurance Policy?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In most cases, your child is covered under your car insurance policy, but there are some times where this may not be the case. FInd out more here.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/blog\/car-insurance-child-covered\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is My Child Covered Under My Arizona Car Insurance Policy?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In most cases, your child is covered under your car insurance policy, but there are some times where this may not be the case. FInd out more here.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/blog\/car-insurance-child-covered\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arizona Personal Injury Lawyer - JacksonWhite law\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-02-25T17:13:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-09-29T22:33:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"JacksonWhite Law\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"JacksonWhite Law\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/blog\/car-insurance-child-covered\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/blog\/car-insurance-child-covered\/\",\"name\":\"Is My Child Covered Under My Arizona Car Insurance Policy?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-25T17:13:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-09-29T22:33:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/#\/schema\/person\/8c21e57c3b7b5687d04d46c484300fb1\"},\"description\":\"In most cases, your child is covered under your car insurance policy, but there are some times where this may not be the case. FInd out more here.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/blog\/car-insurance-child-covered\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/blog\/car-insurance-child-covered\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/blog\/car-insurance-child-covered\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Practice Areas\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/practice-areas\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Personal Injury\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Is My Child Covered Under My Arizona Car Insurance Policy?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/\",\"name\":\"Arizona Personal Injury Lawyer - JacksonWhite law\",\"description\":\"Jared Everton, Arizona Accident Litigation Lawyer\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/#\/schema\/person\/8c21e57c3b7b5687d04d46c484300fb1\",\"name\":\"JacksonWhite Law\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22d099f2d357354cf7d7981ce859ebee?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22d099f2d357354cf7d7981ce859ebee?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"JacksonWhite Law\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/jacksonwhite\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Is My Child Covered Under My Arizona Car Insurance Policy?","description":"In most cases, your child is covered under your car insurance policy, but there are some times where this may not be the case. FInd out more here.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/blog\/car-insurance-child-covered\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Is My Child Covered Under My Arizona Car Insurance Policy?","og_description":"In most cases, your child is covered under your car insurance policy, but there are some times where this may not be the case. FInd out more here.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/blog\/car-insurance-child-covered\/","og_site_name":"Arizona Personal Injury Lawyer - JacksonWhite law","article_published_time":"2019-02-25T17:13:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-09-29T22:33:52+00:00","author":"JacksonWhite Law","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"JacksonWhite Law","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/blog\/car-insurance-child-covered\/","url":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/blog\/car-insurance-child-covered\/","name":"Is My Child Covered Under My Arizona Car Insurance Policy?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-02-25T17:13:10+00:00","dateModified":"2022-09-29T22:33:52+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/#\/schema\/person\/8c21e57c3b7b5687d04d46c484300fb1"},"description":"In most cases, your child is covered under your car insurance policy, but there are some times where this may not be the case. FInd out more here.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/blog\/car-insurance-child-covered\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/blog\/car-insurance-child-covered\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/blog\/car-insurance-child-covered\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Practice Areas","item":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/practice-areas\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Personal Injury","item":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Is My Child Covered Under My Arizona Car Insurance Policy?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/","name":"Arizona Personal Injury Lawyer - JacksonWhite law","description":"Jared Everton, Arizona Accident Litigation Lawyer","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/#\/schema\/person\/8c21e57c3b7b5687d04d46c484300fb1","name":"JacksonWhite Law","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22d099f2d357354cf7d7981ce859ebee?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22d099f2d357354cf7d7981ce859ebee?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"JacksonWhite Law"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/jacksonwhite"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4015"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4015"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7213,"href":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4015\/revisions\/7213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-personal-injury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}