Your child just got her learners’ permit. Besides the obvious worry about safety issues, the pushing your foot into the floor on the passenger’s side to step on an imaginary brake, and the holding on for dear life while she’s putting in her practice time, have you thought about the issue of car insurance? Do you know what is required when your little munchkin gets behind the wheel?
All drivers need to carry some form of financial responsibility and be able to prove it, in order to buy a car, register a car, or respond to a police officer if you are pulled over for a traffic violation or if you have an accident. Where car insurance is required for licensed drivers, a young driver without a license must also have car insurance.
A teen driver with a permit can get away with being covered on her parents’ car insurance policy, and there is usually no extra charge until she gets her license. A driver with a learners’ permit must have an adult in the car at all times; this is usually a parent who owns the car and thus, carries the car insurance on it. Check with your insurance agent for the company’s procedure on including a young driver with a permit on the parents’ policy.
