What is an Excluded Driver for Car Insurance?

Last Updated on July 17, 2020

There are a lot of things about car insurance that can be confusing, and one of them is excluded drivers. You may have heard of excluded drivers, but not know what they are or why they are necessary. Car insurance companies typically want to have everyone in a household listed on the policy, but there are many reasons you may not want them insured. This is an excluded driver. Learn more about exclusions and when they are necessary.

Why Excluded Drivers?

When car insurance companies assess the risk of a claim, they want to have all of the necessary information to assess that risk. Because of this, most car insurance companies require that you list everyone in your household over the age of 14 on your car insurance policy, even if they are not a driver. If someone in your household is over the age of 14 and you don’t want to pay for coverage for them, you can ask the car insurance company to make them an excluded driver to keep your rates low.

Excluded drivers are not covered if they drive your vehicle for any reason. Even if your car insurance normally covers any licensed driver to drive on your policy, excluded drivers are not included in that provision. If an excluded driver drives your car and is in an accident, they will not be covered at all unless they have their own car insurance policy.

Reasons for Excluded Drivers

There are several reasons you might want to have excluded drivers on your car insurance. If you have teenagers that are over the age of 14 but are not yet driving, you will want to exclude them from the policy. Insuring teenagers can be extremely expensive, and if you don’t want to be paying for coverage for someone who is not driving, it makes sense to add them as an excluded driver.

Another reason you might have an excluded driver is if someone in the household has had their license suspended or revoked. This is another case in which you will pay a lot for car insurance unless you add them as an excluded driver. You may also want to have excluded drivers if you have someone elderly in your home that no longer drives.

Drivers that have very bad driving records may also need to be excluded from your policy. Sometimes you can pay less for car insurance if you and your spouse have separate policies. High-risk drivers usually get better rates from car insurance companies that promote that purpose. However, a good driver through these high-risk companies will wind up paying more than with a traditional car insurance company. In these cases, it is a good idea to exclude the bad driver from your car insurance policy and allow them to get their own insurance. However, this only works if you do not drive the same vehicle.

How to Exclude Drivers From Your Car Insurance

To exclude drivers from your car insurance policy you will need to talk to your car insurance agent. You will want to make sure that the car insurance company you have allows for excluded drivers. Some car insurance companies require you to cover everyone over the age of 14, regardless of licensure, with no exclusions possible. If you really need to exclude drivers and your car insurance company won’t do it, you might want to shop around for different car insurance.

Some car insurance companies will refuse to insure a household if there is one driver that has a very bad driving record. Rather than listing them as an excluded driver, the company may deny the policy altogether. If this happens to you, you will need to shop around for new car insurance that allows for excluded drivers.

Do Excluded Drivers Affect Rates?

Even if you have someone listed as an excluded driver, they could still affect your car insurance premiums. Car insurance companies know that people often drive when they aren’t supposed to. Because of this, they may increase your rates slightly for having teenagers or suspended drivers on your policy, even if they are excluded. However, the rate increase for an excluded driver is most often cheaper than adding the driver on the policy as a covered driver.

Excluding Driver to Get the Best Rates

It is important that you let your car insurance company know everyone who is in the household over the age of 14. If you do not list everyone on your policy, either as a covered driver or as an excluded driver, you could be in trouble with the law for insurance fraud. It is important that you follow the guidelines of your car insurance company and are completely truthful. If your car insurance company doesn’t allow for excluded drivers, shop around, and find out who will give you the best rates.