Reader question:

Is my car insurance company allowed to require information about those who live with me?

Emmanuel

They sure can, Emmanuel.

The auto insurance company is getting more and more personal all the time. They might try to find out things about you that you would think was none of their business and had nothing to do with your auto insurance policy and your driving skills. Such things can include your credit report, your age, your marital status, and so on. These things, even if they seem to have little or nothing to do with how you drive your car, are expected information from an auto insurance company and often serve as huge factors to what your rates will be.

As your auto insurance company, they have every right to find out who in your house has a driver’s license. The reason for this is that the people who live with you are automatically covered under your car insurance policy without even being named, as members of your household. As a matter of fact, this isn’t even much of a choice with them, considering that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration mandates that they ask this question. You can choose not to tell them, but if they find out you’ll most likely be sent packing, and if a member of your household gets into an accident and you try to file a claim, you’ll have to expect some hefty lawyer fees. It is always possible to keep silent on these sorts of things, but the consequences of misrepresentation are often much worse than the possible rate increases that come with the list of who might and might not be operating your vehicle.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.