This is a fairly common situation: say your boyfriend was driving your car, and was involved in an accident that wasn't his fault. Your boyfriend doesn’t live with you and he is not included nor excluded from your policy. Following the accident, you are contacted by the insurance company; they ask you to either include or exclude your boyfriend on your policy. You are not sure how to respond. Though it may seem strange that they contacted you about this; it’s not unusual for a car insurance company to require someone to be placed on your car insurance policy if they find out that this person drives the insured car frequently enough to be considered a regular (or occasional) driver.
Most personal auto insurance policies require you only to list licensed household members, on your policy. Other insurance companies cover drivers you give permission to drive your car. If your insurance company is after you to add your boyfriend to your policy, he is probably what is referred to as an occasional driver.
An occasional driver is typically defined as a driver who doesn’t live in your household and drives your car on a frequent basis. How often they can drive your car and be considered an occasional driver varies by insurance company.
Due to the accident, your car insurance company is now aware that your boyfriend drives your car and finds that he is an added risk that warrants him being rated as a driver, or requires you to exclude him so that they aren’t subjected to the risks associated with him driving your car.
In general, an occasional driver is rated at a lower rate than a primary driver. If your boyfriend has a good driving record, then adding him may not affect your rates much. But if he has a bad driving record, especially with a serious offense, it could raise your rates by a decent.
Not all insurance companies require what your insurer has; it depends upon state laws, their guidelines, how often the person drives your car and other factors. Your car insurance agent should be able to explain to you why the insurer decided that your boyfriend had to be added from the policy effective date.
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