Named Drivers On A Policy

An insurance policy comes with many things; many which have stipulations. Your insurance policy requires you to make sure you list out your drivers by name on the policy itself before they are allowed to drive your car. If they are not listed on the policy as a named driver, they will not be covered. This often happens with households that have more than one person of driving age as well as couples.

Having more than one named driver on a policy has its good points as well as has some drawbacks. It is obvious that the good points would include complete coverage, flexibility in drivers, etc. This is especially nice for those parents who have multiple driving age children. This allows them to use the same car while all being covered.

A drawback, and possible the largest drawback, is the fact that the insurance premium does go up for every driver that you add to the insurance policy. The insurance company does this because as a driver is added, their risk goes up a lot. In other words, you might be a great driver, however, your brother might not be. If your brother is living in the home and is of driving age, there is a good chance that he might have to drive your car at one point or another. His bad record could also affect your premium even more at that point. This also increases if the named drivers are younger or new drivers.

Being that named drivers is a constant occurrence, you can eliminate costs by choosing a company that allows you to add temporary named drivers. Sometimes this is helpful for family vacations or someone needing to use your car for a set amount of time. This covers appropriately as well as not being a consistent cost. It would be a onetime fee.

Always remember you are responsible for your own vehicle. This means, if you allow someone one drive you car while not on the policy as a named driver, you are putting yourself at great risk. If an accident came about, you would ultimately be responsible and have to pay damages, get sued and more.

To eliminate this from happing due to the cost factor, many people decide to put their younger driver on their policy instead of getting their own. This helps eliminate cost because the main driver is the experienced parent. Insurance companies, however, are catching on quickly and banning this practice in some areas.

Another option is just the opposite. The parents can be on the new driver?s policy. Any way you have it, it still saves money because there are responsible and proven good drivers on the record. This, in turn, eliminates some risk for the insurance company from their perspective.

The last piece of advice is to shop around. Do not settle for an insurance policy that does not deliver what you want. Instead, look around for one that fits your needs; there are many to choose from.

Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator for Carinsurancesa.co.za. South Arica?s leading Car Insurance portal.