A huge gap in protection occurs, silently, until a loss occurs.
Family members who have made a permanent move out of your household now become nothing more than “permissive operators”, when operating a vehicle you lend to them.
Photo from WIX
Coverages that are NOT provided to “permissive operators” include:
• Liability when operating a vehicle, other than the car provided to you.
• Medical Payments while in any auto, other than the car provided to you.
• Medical Payments when injured as a pedestrian.
• Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists while in any auto, other than the car provided to you.
• Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists when injured as a pedestrian.
How can you solve this problem?
One solution is to write a personal auto policy with the child as the Named Insured and attach the Named Non-Owner Coverage Endorsement. This will provide insurance coverage for the person that does not own a car, but wants insurance protection.
It can be used to provide Liability, Medical Payments and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage for the individual named on the Endorsement. You can enhance this endorsement by removing the exclusion for a vehicle furnished or available for your regular use.
If this situation is occurring in your home, please call NOW. Don’t wait until something like this recent claim to find out how a child moving out but taking your car, changes the coverage provided them. While walking to the nearby store, a client’s daughter was hit by an uninsured driver and seriously injured. Their Attorney recommended contacting us regarding their uninsured motorist coverage. In that conversation we discovered that she had been living in her own apartment using her parents vehicle until she saved enough to purchase her own. While her parents’ policy covered for her use of the car they lent her, it no longer protected her as a “family member” in the household. So her injuries could not be considered under their Uninsured Motorists coverage.
So, if a family member moves out of your home, they are no longer afforded the same broad coverage as when they lived with you. Please contact us to discuss the coverage options available. We don’t want you or your family to be without the proper insurance protection!