Extent of Liability

[steve2006]

What is the name of your state? Maryland
My domestic partner and I have a standard auto policy for our 2 cars. The cars are titled in my name, and most of our assets are in my name. My partner's niece lives with us and just got her driver's license. As young drivers are accident prone and we see a potential liability, we purchased her a used car and put the title in my partner's name (few assets). The insurance company tells me that they are a "household" company and all in the household must be under the same policy. Who holds the title means nothing - just who lives in the house. This makes no sense to me. Can I be liable for accidents in the car titled only to my partner (when I was not the driver)? The insurance company also told me that in Maryland, your home is exempt in an auto liability case.What is the name of your state?

[stephenk]

Your best bet would be to get the highest liability coverage you can afford - at least $500,000 liability limits and purchase an umbrella policy on the cars and home for a $1 million. then put you, your partner, and the niece on the policy.

Insuring anyone for minimum coverage is foolish. A catastrophic accident will not relieve her from liability if the other party goes forward to get a judgment and hold onto it for a decade or more to collect from her. Bankruptcy is not as easy as it used to be.

[moburkes]

Every insurance company has their own underwriting guidelines. Your carrier requires that every household member be listed on the policy. Oftentimes it is because people don't want to insure the spouse with the bad driving record or the family member with the suspended license, because they do not want to pay the premiums. Other times, it is because they can be held responsible for the damages in an accident by another party (your niece) although the other party isn't driving a vehicle listed on the policy. So, they have a rule, and do not make exceptions, even when it seems that their policy doesn't make sense.

You can ask for an exclusion, if you do not want to pay the additional premiums for adding niece to the policy.