by armybrat_09 » Fri Aug 27, 2010 03:32 pm
I am insured with statefarm insurance for my auto policy. I joined them about 10 months ago and they didn't add my fiance to my car insurance policy because he has an outstanding driving record. because if they did add him then I couldn't be insured, but then in june of 2010 they decided to add him and now they are trying to cancel my car insurance. what should I do?
Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2010 04:44 pm Post Subject:
It's important to understand what is being done. About the only way a policy can be "cancelled" is for material misrepresentation (someone lied about something). A policy can be _non-renewed_ for just about any reason. Cancelling a policy is when they terminate is before the contract is up (6 months, year, etc).
If they simply don't want to renew the policy, they have every right to do this.
I'm going to take a wild _guess_ on this one... it's next to impossible to exclude a driver in a household. So even if he was not covered under the policy, SF would probably have needed to extend coverage for an accident if he was driving. As such, they added him to the policy in order to at least collect a premium which the policy was in-force. The policy is now expiring and they are choosing not to renew it as they don't want the liability of your fiancée.
If you've had the policy for about 10 months then this may be correct as the policy would be renewing soon.
Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 03:17 pm Post Subject:
if your fiance has his own policy separatley from yours, they may can exclude him. talk to your agent, im sure he doesnt want to lose a customer.
Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 05:09 pm Post Subject:
they may can exclude him
"May" is the key word. Most companies won't do this as they still end up providing liability coverage either to the driver or at least the owner anyway. So they don't collect a premium and still provide the same coverage.Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 10:55 pm Post Subject:
tcope is right; thats very true...typically it can depend on the company and the state. most standard auto policies will cover a nonlisted driver provided consent is given (direct or implied). what i have found is w/ my carriers is that most will allow the exclusion, some won't.
if he has his own insurance (in Georgia anyway), he should be able to excluded even if in the household provided it's disclosed. should you let him drive your car, he is specifically not covered (exclusion) and his company should cover him as secondary; your car as a nonowned auto. the potential problem with this is, with his driving issue he is probably nonstandard, his policy may not cover nonowned vehicles. many nonstandard and lowcost policies dont have this coverage.
this is something you need to talk in depth with your agent. he will know his products and state laws and best be able to advise you. each state and every company is a bit different...its not something to gamble with; not sure an open forum can give you exactly what you are looking for as a general question.
Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 03:02 am Post Subject:
When you posted "they didn't add my fiance to my car insurance policy because he has an outstanding driving record", were you being facetious or did you mean he has "items" remaining on his driving record?
I don't know of any insurance company that won't allow you to exclude any driver by name in any state. But it would not surprise me that an insurance company suddenly realizes a licensed driver in the household is neither excluded nor insured, and then adds that person to the policy and charges the additional premium for the coverage.
Is it possible that your "cancellation" notice is in response to your failure to pay the increased premium on demand?
Mid-term cancellations by an insurer for anything other than NONPAYMENT OF PREMIUM are rare, with the exception of discovery of a material misrepresentation as tcope discussed. So I think there is an underlying cause that you haven't mentioned.
Why would they add a driver just to cancel the coverage? It's costly to do either, let alone both.
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