Parents may assume their children do not matter to an auto insurance policy until they are old enough to drive. In Michigan, however, your insurance company may need information about children on your auto insurance policy even when they are too young to have a driver’s license.
When applying for auto insurance, Michigan consumers are asked to provide information about other people living in their household. That means you should not assume a non-driving child can simply be left off an application because they never get behind the wheel.
This matters partly because Michigan’s no-fault system considers household members when determining Personal Injury Protection medical coverage. Depending on the PIP option selected, the insurance status and health coverage of resident relatives can affect the coverage available under the policy.
There is also an important distinction between disclosing a child as a household resident and rating that child as a driver. A five-year-old obviously isn’t driving the family car, while a teenager with a learner’s permit presents a very different insurance risk. Each carrier has its own underwriting requirements, so parents should answer household questions completely and let the insurer determine how each person should be classified.
Families should also update their insurance company as circumstances change. A child receiving a learner’s permit or driver’s license is an obvious reason to contact your agent, but changes in household residency or health coverage can matter too.
The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services recommends providing insurers with the names of people living in your household when purchasing coverage. Reviewing that information at renewal can help prevent unexpected questions when you eventually need to file a claim.
How E&Y Insurance Agency, LLC Can Help Michigan Families
E&Y Insurance Agency, LLC can help Michigan families review who should be disclosed on an auto policy and how household members may affect coverage. Rather than guessing whether your children need to be reported, you can review your household with a licensed insurance agent.
Call E&Y Insurance Agency, LLC at (248) 362-1313 to review your family’s auto insurance coverage.
