We have a dilemma and I am not sure how to go about solving it.
My son has bought himself a car. He has actually been paying it off for some time from a private seller and made the last payment on Friday.
He does not have a driver license yet, he only has his temps. He needs more practice before he takes the test.
Now as far as I can tell through Google searches he can get the car put in his name even though he has no license.
The problem arises on getting plates for it.
In Ohio you must sign an affidavit stating you have insurance.
How does one get insurance on a car when you do not have a license yet?
Can I place the car on my insurance even though he is the owner?
Would we list me as the primary driver?
What address do we list it garaged at? his address or mine?
He is nineteen so there are no minor consent issues.
I was not sure if this belonged in GQ but figured it was safe to post here.
I don’t know the answer to your question. I would honestly call your insurance agent. Whenever I have called mine - I have Geico - they have always been super helpful and don’t kick me off the phone until I have asked all my questions. They would know best, IMO.
Also call the DMV. Or better yet, go down there in person. Find out what the deal is.
I am an insurance agent, but I am not YOUR insurance agent, so I have to advise calling your agent and ask them for help. Do not be upset with me if my advise causes you undue stress, is wrong in this particular situation, or blows up something valuable in your house. That being said…
I can tell you that without a driver’s license you really can’t get insurance. To insure a vehicle you have to legally own the vehicle (or it must be owned by an immediate family member in your household) and you must be legally able to operate the vehicle, which is where the license comes into play.
The only way I can think that he would be able to insure it without a license is if he is insuring it and immediately going out to take the test and get his license. The insurance company may have a short window (probably somewhere between 7-30 days, depending on your state) in which he can get insurance first, but more than likely the company’s computer system will either refuse to accept a policy for him because he has no license or it is set to come back in X number of days and cancel his policy if he doesn’t have a license number on file yet. Now, if he were just insuring it as a collectors item or an antique or something he may not have to have a license since it is a different category of insurance, but I am operating under the assumption he wants to insure and drive the car so I don’t think either of these situations apply.
Now since he is your son if he lives in your household you should have no problem adding the vehicle to your policy. However, if he is not already listed on your policy (which, without a license, he probably is not) and you call to ask about this situation your agent may be required to automatically add your son to your policy or exclude him so he is not covered to drive any of your cars. If neither of those sound like great options, see what you can do about getting him his own policy first.
Of course, every company is different and each state has different laws so I suggest calling your agent or another agent in your local area and discussing it with them before making any final decisions.
The insurance agent is the person that is important here. New cars are not instantly licensed at purchase. Dealers send in the license application right away, but it isn’t licensed. Insurance companies will insure a car that is not being driven, and is considered stored, often at a reduced price that reflects that it isn’t driven. They issue insurance on vehicles that are being driven, when the license is applied for.
I have contacted my insurance but have not heard back from them yet.
I was hoping he would be able to practice driving in his own car but I don’t think that is going to happen unless he puts the car in my name then cover it under my insurance and that would be a hassle and expensive to switch back later.
He does not live with me so I think that would even make it harder to place under my insurance.
I think I will have him transfer the title at least and then practice more in my car.
I wish he could just use my car for the test but I have a cracked side mirror so it won’t pass inspection by the driving instructor.
I have to ask about this part. I’ve known lots of people who own motorcycles, get insurance, yet do not have a license. This is here in Maryland and every so often they will send out a letter saying you need a license to operate said motorcycle. How is it any different? I know that to get plates here you have to take them your insurance papers before getting anything else. I’m trying to think if I know anyone who owned a car before they got their car license but can’t right now. I don’t see why it would be any different.
With auto insurance (at least as much experience as I have with auto insurance) I have found that generally speaking you cannot insure a car without being licensed except for two situations. The first being that you are not driving it at all and not keeping liability insurance on it. If you are storing it for a year while you are unlicensed that is cool, they will cover it against theft, fire, etc but will NOT cover it for liability. The second would be if you own cars that fall into a collector/antique category because again these cars will not be driven, they will essentially sit and look pretty, so they can be covered for theft and fire and such but no liability.
When you are driving a car regularly as a mode of transportation you are required by law to keep liability insurance on it and I have yet to find an insurance company that would insure a vehicle that is, for all intents and purposes, being driven illegally. If you find an insurance company that will provide you with liability insurance without a license you need to run away because you will essentially be paying for insurance you can’t use. Insurance companies will NEVER cover any situation where you were knowingly negligent of the law. Driving without a license? Sorry, not going to cover any of those damages. Driving under the influence? Sorry, that is your negligence and we won’t cover it. These situations go beyond “accidents” and into “use some goddamned sense, moron” and are as good as not having any insurance at all. If you check your auto insurance declaration page I am sure you will find this in there, though worded in such a way as to make your eyes glaze over.
Well, really you have a couple of options. The first is that with a learners permit you may drive someone else’s properly insured vehicle as long as they are in the car with you. You can take the driving test in someone else’s car that is properly insured (in most states, some like CA require that your name be on the insurance policy for the vehicle.)
The second is that you can buy a vehicle and call insurance companies until you find one that will let you set up a policy for a short time without a license number. Like I said previously, some companies have provisions that give you somewhere between 7-30 days to get your license and still maintain that insurance policy, but this could vary from state to state and company to company so you might be calling around for a while. And if you don’t get your license during the allotted time period the company will automatically cancel your coverage, so you have to be aware of that. If you only get 7 days and you fail the test you may not have time enough to take the test again before your policy is cancelled. The other problem with this situation is that a permit is not a license so you are not able to drive without a licensed driver with you, meaning that you can have all the insurance in the world and it is still illegal to go anywhere by yourself in that car.
In this situation the son may be better off borrowing mom’s car for the test or, since her car won’t pass muster for the DMV/DPS, maybe a friend’s car.