Couple of questions about home owners insurance and auto insurance?
Ok, my mother and I can’t seem to agree and I would like an outside opinion. I’m not looking for people to join my side or make this sound 1 sided. I have a pick up truck that had been parked on the side of the house for a while, tags expired etc. I moved the truck onto the carport cuz no room to work on the side of house. She recently had homeowner insurance co. tell her to paint garage door before they will insure. Now she is telling me that homeowners insurance will go up due to the fact that there is another vehicle parked in the driveway. Is this true? I fail to see what my vehicle has to do with house insurance especially since my truck won’t be covered by the insurance. Also she claimed that last yr her car insurance co. charged her double because I moved in. Is this true? Can an automobile insurance co. raise your rates due to an extra occupant in your home who is not added to the policy and doesn’t use the car and has their own transportation?
Ryan M posted: 09 Aug at 6:22 pm
I will put this as simply as I can……your mom is full of crap on EVERYTHING she told you. Everything she said is 100% ridiculous.
RetiredDebtFree posted: 09 Aug at 6:29 pm
The home owners insurance could go up if the company considers your truck a hazard that could impair the house. If they have not said anything about it, I wouldn’t think it will matter. Get rid of the truck as it is a nuisance and causing your mom grief.
On the auto insurance … if you are a young driver, insurance companies do consider all occupants to have access to all vehicles, thus the rate to insure you applies to all cars. I hate this one, because if a teen has a low-value car and only drive that car, never drives the parents’ cars, it doesn’t matter. The insurance companies require all cars be insured as if the teen is a driver of all the cars.
So, on the auto insurance issue, your mom is right. On the house insurance, maybe, maybe not. Not worth keeping an old truck, expired tag, etc.
HGCity posted: 09 Aug at 6:42 pm
1. Will your homeowners rates increase because there is a vehicle parked in the driveway?
I can’t realistically see how a vehicle parked in a driveway, assuming there are no liability hazards, will cause her homeowners insurance to increase. I don’t think the homeowners insurance will increase based solely on this fact.
2. Her insurance company “charged her double” because you moved into the house, is this legitimate?
Actually, your mother is probably telling the truth on this one. Many insurance companies will require all household occupants to be added to the insurance policy, even if they have their own insurance elsewhere. Why you might ask? Even though you don’t use the car and you may have your own transportation, in the eyes of an insurance company you have easy access to the insured’s vehicles. I used to work for an insurance company and most of the claims with unlisted drivers were household occupants. Insurance companies want the opportunity to “underwrite” you if you are a household member. So, it’s very likely that your mother’s insurance increased because you’re living with her. If you want a way around this, have her contact her agent to request a “Named Drivers Exclusion” and list you as an excluded driver on the policy. This will likely lower her premium. However, if you ever drive her cars you would not be covered.
EricD posted: 09 Aug at 6:53 pm
Your mom needs to find a new agent if that is what they are telling her. The risks discussed by others are nominal… many insurance carriers are dying for business. I suggest calling a broker to discuss options
Katlady posted: 09 Aug at 7:22 pm
Um, car insurance has absolutely nothing to do with living in a house. She is lying. They can’t raise rates based on any part of this whatsoever.
StephenWeinstein posted: 09 Aug at 7:48 pm
Car insurance rates in many states are based on all everyone in the household with a license to drive, whether or not they drive the car on the policy, another car, or no car. In these states, the only occupants who do not affect insurance rates are those who do not have licenses.
Margarita D posted: 09 Aug at 8:40 pm
In terms of the homeowners insurance and your truck — I do not know about actually increasing the rate but the insurance company can request (more like demand) that the vehicle be removed. A vehicle with expired tags is considered a liability and nuisance hazard. In recent years there have been two incidents that have occurred with junker type vehicles located in the driveway/garage/yard area of two different homes. In one of these incidents two small neighborhood kids decided to play inside the vehicle and ended up dying inside from heatstroke. In the 2nd case there were a few teens that decided to vandalize the vehicle and they set it on fire which then spread to the house causing major damage. Vehicles with dead tags are considered junk vehicles and are a known hazard — at least two jurisdictions nearby prohibit these types of vehicles and will issue very large tickets to the homeowner and if not removed within 2 weeks of the tickets — both of these counties will tow the vehicles and then charge the homeowner all the costs for the tow and storage. If your mother fails to comply with removing the vehicle from the property the insurance can cancel her policy and apparently they can also raise her premium for increased hazard.
In terms of the increase to her automobile insurance — all insurance companies will periodically run a report entitled ADD (Additional Driver Discovery) to determine if there are additional drivers in the household. They do this because if you were to drive the vehicle and have an accident, they would have to pay for the accident since you are household member (as long as your mother did not lie on the application to hide you as a driver and your license is valid). Insurance companies have the right to charge the appropriate premium for all drivers in the household. If you do not want to be rated on your mother’s policy, there are only a few alternatives: 1) purchase your own vehicle and your own insurance–your mother can then send a copy of your insurance to her company and they will remove the additional premium; 2) some companies will allow your mother to sign a driver exclusion (this is not available in all states)–this form basically amends her policy to add a provision stating that if you are involved as a driver in any accident the insurance will not cover that accident, this is not a good option in my opinion since if you drive the vehicle for any reason both you and your mother will be totally on the hook for all damages; 3) you can move out of the household and your mother would then have to provide proof of this and the insurance company will amend the policy to remove you.
In essence from what you are explaining, I believe that your mother is telling you the truth.
I hope this information helps. Good Luck
mbrcatz posted: 09 Aug at 9:30 pm
Not true. INsurance doesn’t care how many vehicles are parked in the drive.
They do, however, care if you’ve got parts vehicles, nonregistered vehicles, or “project cars” parked on the premises (doesn’t matter if it’s in the yard, or driveway). And they don’t raise your rates, they flat out cancel you. IF there’s a garage, you need to put that nonregistered vehicle in the garage.
Many homeowners associations, also, limit the number of vehicles you can park in the driveway, and limit WHERE you can park a car – they can fine someone who’s breaking those rules.