There is no denying that teenage drivers are the most expensive drivers to insure. Therefore, you need to make sure that your teen driver has the right insurance coverage.
Even under good circumstances, finding affordable auto insurance for divorced parents’ children can be challenging. You must ask yourself, “Is my child covered under my car insurance?”
Insurance for Children with Divorced Parents
Typically, the primary custodial parent is required to provide health insurance coverage for a dependent child or dependent school-age child. As for car insurance for teenagers, different insurance companies may have different requirements.
The premium you pay for automobile insurance is the amount you pay to protect your car from being damaged in accidents and robberies. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all proposition when it comes to premiums. Rates can vary widely depending on a person’s profile, as well as their location.
When you divorce, you and your spouse will each need separate insurance policies for motor vehicles. Whether children should be covered under one or both parents’ policies can be a complex problem, as it depends upon the circumstances and the insurance company.
There is only one way to find out for sure whether your child is properly covered under your insurance plan, and that is for both you and your former spouse to call both your insurance companies.
What Divorced Parents Need to Know About Insurance for Teen Drivers
A number of insurance companies require that children be insured by both of their parents. The parent with the child’s name on the policy, however, may not necessarily be the same person who is responsible for paying for the insurance plan.
Based on the wide variation in policies between states concerning auto insurance coverage, a basic child support order can only include coverage for auto insurance services if it is stipulated within a divorce settlement agreement.
Child Custody Can Affect Car Insurance
Maintaining coverage for teens on their car insurance after divorce can become problematic, mainly because every situation is different. Both parents will need to verify that the policy has been enacted and the premiums have been paid.
In cases where joint custody occurs, the parent who has the children for the majority of the year may wish to add the children. The teenager should have their name included under both policies if they will be driving at both parents’ homes.
When you are primarily responsible for the teenagers, they need to be listed on your car insurance policy if they spend most of their time with you. Contact your insurance company to find out if your children will be covered if they drive your ex’s car.
If you and your ex split custody of the children, then you each will need your teen(s) to be listed on your insurance policies if they have access to vehicles at both homes.
As long as your ex has primary custody, your teen has to be included on your ex’s insurance policy. To determine whether your teen’s car should be included on your policy, you should discuss this matter with your insurance provider.
When your teenage driver gets their own car, you can save money by having them covered under a parent’s policy, rather than purchasing a separate insurance policy on their own.
Car Insurance Deductibles
You have to pay a deductible for every claim you make. Insurance companies offer a variety of different levels of deductibles. Typically, the higher the deductible, the higher the premium is. As long as you set your deductible to an amount you can afford, the divorce does not have any direct effect on your auto insurance policy.
Alternatively, divorce may indirectly affect your tax-deductible status. If you decide to divorce, your financial situation may change and you may find you are forced to pay lower premiums, which may result in you having to choose a higher deductible.
Paying the Policy During Divorce Proceedings
Adding a teenage driver to your auto insurance can be a costly process. The cost of car insurance for teens with no accidents will be high for many years due to their lack of experience behind the wheel.
There can be an agreement between the divorcing couple before the divorce is finalized. The custodial parent receiving child support may not be out of the picture due to the fact that these responsibilities cannot be carried off solely by the custodial parent.
After the Divorce Is Final
During a divorce, you and your spouse will need separate auto insurance policies since they are separate legal entities. The rules for whether children should be included in one parent’s policy are complicated because they depend upon the policy as well as on the insurance company.
If the court doesn’t state otherwise, once the distribution of the cars has been determined and the divorce finalized, you can choose to cancel your current insurance coverage and purchase a new claim or remove your spouse from your old policy.
To eliminate the ex-spouse from your current policy, you can either purchase a new policy or pay money to your current insurer to remove his or her name.
Make sure that any cars you no longer own are removed from your insurance policy, and that the registration and title of the car are transferred to your former spouse. In case of an accident, you don’t want to potentially be held liable.
How to Know Which Parent is Responsible
There’s a lot of work that both of you need to do to ensure the policy works correctly and that it gets paid correctly. Adopting teenagers as drivers after a divorce can be complicated mainly because every situation is different.
The act of driving is regarded as a privilege, and no child is entitled to do so in the same way adults are. The parents will make the final decision. There is very little chance that a judge will require a parent to pay for their child’s auto insurance.
How to Find Auto Insurance Discounts for Your Teen Driver
Adding a teen to your auto insurance policy will without a doubt raise your rates, but there are things you can do to offset those extra expenses and lower your auto premiums.
You may also be eligible for discounts by your insurance company if your teen attends certain driver training courses or installs a tracking device in the car. If your teen gets good grades in school, get in touch to inquire whether your car insurance company offers a student discount.
If you are considering purchasing a vehicle for your teen to drive, look for a vehicle with safety features that will result in lower car insurance rates, such as anti lock brakes and anti-theft devices.
Vhanessa Hair writes and researches about auto insurance and personal finance for the insurance comparison site, AutoInsurance.org.
