Auto Insurance

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brewmeist

5-Year Member
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Mar 2, 2018
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I know insurance has been discussed on previous threads, but I am interested in what USNA parents are currently doing. I can't find a concrete answer doing my own research. My insurance company will not get back to me with the answers I am looking for.

Since my son is not allowed to drive during school, and will hardly be home, of course I do not want to pay the extra $400+ in annual premiums. If I put him in a status where he is considered a college student living over 100 miles away, it saves me $7/month. Not exactly life changing... I want to remove him completely from the policy, but am not sure if this is allowed or if I should do it even if it is allowed. If I drop him, will this make him a guest driver when home? Can my son even be considered a 'guest' driver? Can I add him back whenever he comes home and then drop him again? Should I have him open his own policy at USAA, since they are obviously more versed in this situation? But even with that, you insure a car, not a driver, so how could we even open a USAA policy since I am the one who owns the car he drives?
 
USAA is nice because we were able to drop our son since he is at USMA w/o a vehicle and as long as he does not drive more than 30 days at a time when home we can keep him off the policy. I would think other insurance would be similar. Not sure it would benefit him to open his own USAA policy as he is still not driving, it would just be an additional policy premium unless you qualify for USAA.
 
brewmeist said:
I know insurance has been discussed on previous threads, but I am interested in what USNA parents are currently doing. I can't find a concrete answer doing my own research. My insurance company will not get back to me with the answers I am looking for.

Since my son is not allowed to drive during school, and will hardly be home, of course I do not want to pay the extra $400+ in annual premiums. If I put him in a status where he is considered a college student living over 100 miles away, it saves me $7/month. Not exactly life changing... I want to remove him completely from the policy, but am not sure if this is allowed or if I should do it even if it is allowed. If I drop him, will this make him a guest driver when home? Can my son even be considered a 'guest' driver? Can I add him back whenever he comes home and then drop him again? Should I have him open his own policy at USAA, since they are obviously more versed in this situation? But even with that, you insure a car, not a driver, so how could we even open a USAA policy since I am the one who owns the car he drives?
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brewmeist said:
I know insurance has been discussed on previous threads, but I am interested in what USNA parents are currently doing. I can't find a concrete answer doing my own research. My insurance company will not get back to me with the answers I am looking for.

Since my son is not allowed to drive during school, and will hardly be home, of course I do not want to pay the extra $400+ in annual premiums. If I put him in a status where he is considered a college student living over 100 miles away, it saves me $7/month. Not exactly life changing... I want to remove him completely from the policy, but am not sure if this is allowed or if I should do it even if it is allowed. If I drop him, will this make him a guest driver when home? Can my son even be considered a 'guest' driver? Can I add him back whenever he comes home and then drop him again? Should I have him open his own policy at USAA, since they are obviously more versed in this situation? But even with that, you insure a car, not a driver, so how could we even open a USAA policy since I am the one who owns the car he drives?
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We have State Farm. Our agent instructed us to drop if he attends an academy. Son would be covered when he comes home even though we dropped him because of the minimal amount he wouldn’t drive.. Our agent attended a service academy and understands the situation.
 
brewmeist said:
If I drop him, will this make him a guest driver when home? Can my son even be considered a 'guest' driver? Can I add him back whenever he comes home and then drop him again? Should I have him open his own policy at USAA, since they are obviously more versed in this situation? But even with that, you insure a car, not a driver, so how could we even open a USAA policy since I am the one who owns the car he drives?
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Beware of asking for legal advice on anonymous internet sites ! Automobile insurance is pretty complicated ...have you ever tried to read your policy ?

It's fine to ask what others do here, but everyone's circumstances differ and even though many insurance policies use similar language , they may be interpreted differently in different states.

My recommendation would be to ask your Agent (if you have one), and then confirm in writing/email.
 
In regards to what Texan stated above with USAA, they guided us to list him as a "Non-Operator" as he was active duty at USNA. When asked about adding him back on during breaks when he was home, they advised that it is not necessary, just as anyone else that we allowed to drive our vehicles would be covered as well. They of course suggested he get on his own policy when he purchases his own vehicle.
 
kinnem said:
@brewmeist If my insurance company wasn't returning my calls I would be dropping them in a heartbeat. Just sayin'.
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That's next on my list...

Old Navy BGO said:
Beware of asking for legal advice on anonymous internet sites ! Automobile insurance is pretty complicated ...have you ever tried to read your policy ?

It's fine to ask what others do here, but everyone's circumstances differ and even though many insurance policies use similar language , they may be interpreted differently in different states.
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I agree with you on that. I'm just interested in seeing what others have done and then see if it is possible/legal on my end in this state. The policy as written does not give me any information outside of his current coverage.
 
brewmeist said:
I know insurance has been discussed on previous threads, but I am interested in what USNA parents are currently doing. I can't find a concrete answer doing my own research. My insurance company will not get back to me with the answers I am looking for.

Since my son is not allowed to drive during school, and will hardly be home, of course I do not want to pay the extra $400+ in annual premiums. If I put him in a status where he is considered a college student living over 100 miles away, it saves me $7/month. Not exactly life changing... I want to remove him completely from the policy, but am not sure if this is allowed or if I should do it even if it is allowed. If I drop him, will this make him a guest driver when home? Can my son even be considered a 'guest' driver? Can I add him back whenever he comes home and then drop him again? Should I have him open his own policy at USAA, since they are obviously more versed in this situation? But even with that, you insure a car, not a driver, so how could we even open a USAA policy since I am the one who owns the car he drives?
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We have USAA. Our son is at A&M... 1/2 way across the country from us and thus no car. We contact USAA when he is home and they activate his only when he is home.
 
We dropped ours. HUGE savings. We have Geico. We made sure he could still drive when he’s back [emoji108]. Or drive someone else’s. It’s the same as if I allow anyone to drive my car. Also I told our carrier that he is enlisted. Check with your provider. And maybe a couple others [emoji28]. It’s a good idea anyhow to do a check of insurance premiums (initially we moved from State Farm to Geico, more coverage for WAY less money....).

Personally, I don’t think necessarily an independent agent is a good one to ask as they loose direct commissions from the reduction in your premium. Which affects their pockets. But that’s me. IOW, they have an iron in that fire directly! If they tell you “no”, I would push the matter. Or get second opinions.

You can search this question on the parent pages, too. It comes up frequently. And lots of opinions/info. Probably second only to “which cell phone provider is best at USNA”.

And if you have other college students who don’t drive? You may have just won the lottery.
 
justdoit19 said:
Personally, I don’t think necessarily an independent agent is a good one to ask as they loose direct commissions from the reduction in your premium. Which affects their pockets. But that’s me. IOW, they have an iron in that fire directly! If they tell you “no”, I would push the matter. Or get second opinions.
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As a greedy independent agent that is only concerned about lining my own pockets, just curious if GEICO explained to you the potential pitfalls of your child driving another's vehicle now that he is not on your policy?
 
I did NOT say ‘a greedy ....lining their own pockets’. I specifically said they have a direct interest in keeping you (VS a company guy on the phone who doesn’t. Is paid either way). I also said IMO. Please dont make inferences about what I said. I was speaking to my own experience, and belief that it’s good to get second opinions.

It’s a true statement that an independent agent receives their commissions from selling policies. Loose one, and they loose income. Vs an agent at corporation xxx who doesn’t. I also suggested checking with multiple companies.

I’m good. Thank you. Did my own due diligence as everyone should.
 
I didn't catch any of that vibe with @justdoit19's post. I think she was just giving her personal experience on this.

USAA's non-owner policy sounds exactly what we are looking for. I'll be doing a conference call with my son to get a quote. Yes, I know he is a Midshipman and should take ownership, but that doesn't make him an expert in car insurance. Dad can still be a help.
 
Home and auto insurance is marketed or sold generally three ways to the public:
  1. Independent brokers - Usually represents multiple carriers but does earn commissions for each sale and renewal. Pros - Not beholden to any one company. Cons - Can't always access the "major" carriers.
  2. "Captive' or exclusive agents - They are obligated to sell their own company products first, unless the business underwriting declines it. (Usually the largest companies but limited choice)
  3. Direct marketing - purchased directly from the carrier via online or by telephone. Pros: might be less expensive due to reduced commissions and overhead. Also less service and education.
No one way is perfect and laws do vary greatly by state. Some states are "no fault" accident states while others are "comparative negligence" states where both parties can share fault for an accident. Premiums are affected by this difference. Each State has a Department of Insurance who regulates premiums and must approve rate hikes.

I could go on, but it would really get into the weeds.

For our cadets and mids, USAA is the one carrier that really understands their needs, and they are highly respected by even their competitors in this regard.

Full disclosure: I am a CFP(r), financial advisor and fiduciary and hold a masters in risk management/insurance. I do not currently work for any insurance company but used to work for a major carrier years ago.
 
I found it to be very easy when my kids were at college. When they are out of town, i call the insurance company and take them off the policy. When they come back into town, i call the insurance company and i put them on the policy. I have done this with Safeco and Mercury Insurance. This was true even when my son was in Indiana (Purdue) with his own car and insurance. I would put him on my policy when he came home. Now that he commissioned and is active duty, I officially told the insurance company that he no longer lives in my house and therefore is treated as anyone who borrows my car and therefore no longer listed on the insurance when he visits.
 
DD didn't have a car and our agent in NJ said to drop her. The little time she would be home would be like she was borrowing the car. I'll have to look into it again her 1/C year as we agreed to provide a car that year. It takes a lot of Ubers to justify parking and NJ rates.
 
helmsdown said:
DD didn't have a car and our agent in NJ said to drop her. The little time she would be home would be like she was borrowing the car. I'll have to look into it again her 1/C year as we agreed to provide a car that year. It takes a lot of Ubers to justify parking and NJ rates.
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I was told that as long as the student is considered living in the household, they are either included or excluded on the policy and cannot be considered borrowing a car. That is only for people who dont live in your household. Of course it may be depend on your state on your insurance policy. As I mentioned before once my son comissioned and became AD, i no longer consider him a member of my household and therefore the rules for borrowing do come into play. When he was in college, as long as he was my dependennt, he is a member of my household. In California, if you have a live in maid, she or he must be specifically excluded from the policy and can never drive the car. If you want the live in to be able to drive the car, that person would have to be specfically included on the policy and there would be an additional charge for them.
 
Humey said:
helmsdown said:
DD didn't have a car and our agent in NJ said to drop her. The little time she would be home would be like she was borrowing the car. I'll have to look into it again her 1/C year as we agreed to provide a car that year. It takes a lot of Ubers to justify parking and NJ rates.
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I was told that as long as the student is considered living in the household, they are either included or excluded on the policy and cannot be considered borrowing a car. That is only for people who dont live in your household. Of course it may be depend on your state on your insurance policy. As I mentioned before once my son comissioned and became AD, i no longer consider him a member of my household and therefore the rules for borrowing do come into play. When he was in college, as long as he was my dependennt, he is a member of my household. In California, if you have a live in maid, she or he must be specifically excluded from the policy and can never drive the car. If you want the live in to be able to drive the car, that person would have to be specfically included on the policy and there would be an additional charge for them.
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DD is no longer a dependent of ours and no longer on our medical policy. I don't know if it's NJ or Liberty Mutual that has a stipulation that they attend school more than 200 miles away to not be on the policy but covered should they use the car. We are 201 miles away. For all practical purposes, DD a 2/C, does not live at home anymore. She was at the house over Xmas break and 2 days this summer to store Mid stuff. We keep her room the same but that's about it.
 
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