If you’re currently shopping around for new auto insurance, or reviewing your current policy, you may be scratching your head on what the different driver assignments mean and who in your household needs to be assigned where.
Our team at Berry Insurance are used to helping policyholders understand the intricacies of auto insurance, including how members of your household should be assigned on your policy.
In this article we’ll break down what the driver assignments mean on your insurance policy, including primary or principal drivers and occasional operators.
Table of contents:
- What are my driver assignment options?
- Principal & primary operators
- Occasional operators
- Why does my teen driver need to be a primary operator?
What are my driver assignment options?
When working with your insurance agent or provider, you will need to determine how every member of your household will be covered by your auto insurance policy. Having the right drivers listed properly on your policy is crucial to ensure you are not held liable in the event of any covered accidents or claims.
To understand driver assignments we should quickly go over what it means to be rated and listed on an auto insurance policy. Rated drivers are household members on your policy that will affect your insurance premium. Being a listed driver on the policy instead refers to anyone noted on the policy that does not affect the premium. Listed drivers should include any person who occasionally operates your vehicle, even including those covered by their own separate policy (deferred operators). To learn more about who to list on your policy, and who to exclude, read this guide: Who Needs to be Listed on Your Auto Insurance Policy?
Part of the last steps to finalizing your policy will be deciding who in your household is the principal driver of your vehicle(s) versus occasional drivers.
Principal & primary operators:
Whoever primarily drives the vehicle the most should be rated as the principal or primary driver on the policy. Being the primary driver of one of your household vehicles will affect your policy premium rates.
Occasional operators:
Insurers typically ask that all household members that are licensed drivers to be listed as occasional operators on your policy - as they can and may get behind the wheel of your vehicles even if they are not the primary operator.
This should include anyone that occasionally uses your vehicle, even if they are not a part of your immediate household or family - such as friends, extended family, neighbors, etc. that might have regular usage of your vehicles.
Being assigned as an occasional operator is an important distinction - one that insurance carriers can be sticklers on. For example, if a household has a teen driver listed as an occasional operator on multiple vehicles but is involved in a car accident, the insurance company may be inclined to investigate. After researching and interviewing, the carrier may determine that the teen driver used the vehicle more than “occasionally” and should have been rated as a primary operator. In cases like this, the claim may be denied coverage.
Why does my teen driver need to be a primary operator?
A question we’re frequently asked is why a policyholder’s youthful operator needs to be rated as a primary operator on one of the household vehicles. And hey, we get it, if your child doesn’t own the car, then labeling them as the vehicle’s primary operator can seem strange. However, this is still an important aspect of driver assignments, so let's break it down.
So, let's say that the Smith family has 3 licensed family members - 2 parents and a newly licensed teen driver. In addition to this, they have 3 usable vehicles. Insurance carriers will in most cases require each vehicle to have a separate primary operator - so each licensed driver in the Smith family would need to be rated as a principal driver on a different vehicle.
While some policyholders may state that their teen driver is only an occasional operator, in the eyes of insurance carriers they will likely be using one of the usable cars a majority of the time - and thus need to be rated as a principal driver. In this case, carriers are likely correct, as between driving to school, after school activities, or jobs - teen drivers will frequently be using one of the household vehicles.
The only exception to this rule is if the 3rd car is a vintage or older classic car, as they are typically driven less frequently and have their own specialized insurance policies. To learn more about classic car coverage, read this guide: How Much Does MA Classic Car Insurance Cost?
Assigning the whole family
We know that there can seem like an endless amount of steps that go into finalizing your car insurance policy. But now that you know more about what goes into assigning drivers on your policy, you confidently check this box off your list.
Has someone in your family recently passed their driving test? If so, congratulations! However, we also know how stressful it can feel to have a newly licensed teen driver in the house. To learn how to ensure your teen is fully protected behind the wheel, download our teen driver checklist below!
