December 14, 2010

Drivers That Will Not Be Covered Under Standard Auto Insurance Policies

Cheap auto insurance is the best thing about standard insurance policies. They are structured to benefit motorists with good driving records. For the most part, an insurance policy follows the car, not the driver. That means those with permission to drive a car covered by a standard insurance policy have every bit as much protection as does the automobile's owner. Uncovered drivers, those explicitly named in the policy, won't be granted insurance protection no matter who gave permission to drive the car in question.

The named driver exclusion is provided for within a standard insurance policy, and the owner of the policy has to sign a certification that names the person, or persons, who won't be covered. The language contained in the certification meets legal requirements and it is binding. Keeping cheap auto insurance in play means all stipulations contained in the policy have to be kept whole. That includes not providing coverage for any of the vehicles driven by a named exempt person.

A bad driving record is often the reason insurance firms name uncovered drivers in their policies. Insurance companies are eager to please potential clients, and that's the main reason they will offer to insure everybody in a household, or non-resident regular drivers, with the exception of a driver with multiple traffic violations. If somebody covered on a policy becomes uninsurable, the insurer will require that person to be dropped from the coverage or the policy won't be renewed. This can actually work to the policyholder's advantage. It keeps the rest of the household insurable, and the insurance company won't have to commit to insuring a high risk driver. That also keeps premiums at lower rates.

There is sometimes confusion regarding who is and who isn't covered by a standard auto insurance policy. Although there are typically just one or two named in the "Named Insured" section of an auto insurance policy, that doesn't mean nobody else is covered by the same policy. A car involved in an accident routinely is covered because the policy follows the car. But there are some conditions to be met. The driver behind the wheel at the time of the accident has to be licensed. The car's owner must have given permission for another person to drive the car.

Include a teenage son or daughter on a standard auto insurance policy. The premiums will go up, but not having them named for coverage can lead to further complications. A teen not listed on the policy technically is covered, but there could be some retroactive charges that an insurer will demand be paid based on when the teen got a license.