Is it bad to add a driver to car insurance?
I started Insurance Blog by Chris™ because I have a passion for insurance. Here at the blog, our job is to educate and inform people about the best insurance for them.
Since then, we have grown into national brands with a large team of researchers helping people understand all forms of insurance.
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Written by
Chris Huntley
Founder of Huntley Wealth & Insurance Services
Rachael Brennan has been working in the insurance industry since 2006 when she began working as a licensed insurance representative for 21st Century Insurance, during which time she earned her Property and Casualty license in all 50 states.
After several years she expanded her insurance expertise, earning her license in Health and AD&D insurance as well. She has worked for small health insu…
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Reviewed by
Rachael Brennan
Licensed Insurance Agent
UPDATED: Jan 6, 2022
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Here’s the Scoop
Adding someone to your car insurance can be good or bad
Your insurance company will underwrite the new driver
If they’re high risk, you could pay over twice as much as an individual policy
Is it bad for your rates to add a driver to car insurance? The answer will likely depend on the driver, as the car insurance company underwrites them the same as anyone else. If the new applicant poses a lower risk, you could get more affordable rates than two separate policies. However, if the risk is higher, you could end up easily paying double for your coverage.
Now that you know it isn’t bad to add a driver to car insurance, enter your ZIP code into our free quote tool to see what you could pay today.
Is it bad to add a driver to my car insurance?
Whenever you add someone to your car insurance, you should know that it will always affect your rates. However, it doesn’t have to hurt what you pay each period. Sometimes you’ll even be able to save money when you add an additional driver to your policy.
As long as the driver isn’t considered high-risk by the car insurance companies, you can expect to save on your car insurance rates. On the other hand, the higher risk the driver poses, the more you may have to pay to cover the risk of adding them to your policy.
How much does it cost to add a driver to car insurance?
According to Car and Driver, the cost of your auto insurance with someone else will likely depend on the person you’re adding to your policy.
For instance, a 30-year old who pairs with another 30 year old will only have to pay about $1,309 for the car insurance policy. In this case, it is much cheaper than having two separate car insurance policies. This is around $300 more than a standard car insurance policy for that 30-year-old.
That doesn’t mean it will always be cheaper when you add another driver, though. For example, teen drivers are often considered a higher risk due to lack of experience, so you can expect to pay to cover that learner’s risk when you add them to your policy.
Using the same source, a 30-year old who pairs with a teen on car insurance coverage can pay up to $2,303 a year. This is over twice the amount for a policy they would have to pay if they were on the policy by themself.
Does it cost more to add a driver to your insurance with GEICO? It depends on who the driver is because your insurance company will determine the cost of the risk the driver poses. If they are a safe driver, you could only end up paying an extra $300 each year for the coverage. On the other hand, if they’re risky, you could easily pay twice as much for insurance.
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Can I add a driver to my insurance online?
If you need to add a driver to your insurance policy immediately, you can usually do so online in a matter of minutes. But, first, you’ll need to navigate to the customer portal where you pay your bill with the correct information from the new applicant.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, some of the information you’ll need to add someone to your car insurance includes:
Their Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number
Date of Birth
Address where they live
Car’s year, make, and model
Where they work
It will likely be a similar process as when you applied for car insurance, as the insurance company will want to underwrite the new driver. As long as they don’t find any high-risk red flags, then you’ll be able to get more affordable car insurance for all the drivers on the policy.
When should I add someone to my car insurance?
The decision to add someone else to your car insurance will vary depending on the situation. Some states require that you list all the household members under your car insurance plan. This is to ensure that the insurer knows anyone who has access to the vehicle. This usually excludes drivers under 14 years old.
Some of the instances you may want to get insurance on someone else includes:
A spouse
A child who’s learning to drive
A roommate who’s low risk
Someone else will be using your car
These are just a few examples, and you may have a situation just as fitting. But, of course, it’s ultimately up to the primary applicant whether or not they want to add someone new to their car insurance.
Can I add someone to my car insurance temporarily?
There are some cases where you might only want to add a driver temporarily if you’ve added a teen driver to your policy, for example.
You may only want to cover them until they get their car and can afford insurance, so it would be best to insure them for the learning period and up to a few years after they get more comfortable on the road.
Adding Someone to Your Car Insurance: The Bottom Line
If you want to add someone to your car insurance, you can feel better knowing that it might be more affordable than two separate car insurance policies. That’s not a guarantee, though, as your insurance company will underwrite the new driver in the same way it did for you. In addition, the higher the risk, the more you’ll have to pay for the car insurance policy.
Now that you know it isn’t bad to add a driver to car insurance, enter your ZIP code into our free quote tool to see what you could pay for a policy today.
