Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell ─ Pay Big!

Disclose All Licensed Drivers in the Household to Ensure Your Car Insurance Will Cover You When You Need It Most!

Sometimes the saying goes, “If they don’t ask, then don’t tell!” That is categorically not the strategy to take when dealing with insurance. Use your Insurance Broker as your sounding board and talk to them about your circumstances, so they can act on your behalf and provide you with advice when buying car insurance, home insurance, renters insurance, and even insurance for your business.

One thing that people may think is not important … or “none of the insurance company’s business” is all the licensed drivers in the household. The thought process may go something like this, “I am insuring my car – the fact that Johnny lives with me and has his own insurance has no impact on my car insurance and is none of their business!” Disclosure of all licensed drivers in the household is actually one of the questions on the car insurance application (maybe one which you skimmed over???) If nothing is disclosed when there are other drivers in the household, it is a misrepresentation of the risk or what is known as “non-disclosure” and could void your insurance policy.

From the insurance company perspective, if someone whom is licensed is living under the same roof as you, then they have easy access to your vehicle. Whether you intend to let them drive your car regularly or not is not important, rather the fact that they have access to it is important. Often times the other driver will have their own insurance and not affect your cost of insurance, but still must be disclosed on the application so that the insurance company is aware of the situation which they are agreeing to provide insurance for.

So make sure you disclose all information requested by your insurance broker including all the licensed drivers in your household. Don’t wait until it is too late to tell your insurance broker about Johnny!