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Are There Changes To Coverage When We Gift A Vehicle To Our Son?

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Are There Changes To Coverage When We Gift A Vehicle To Our Son?

Did I screw up? We have a family policy where my husband and I are the named insured. The drivers included are my husband, myself and our son and cover three vehicles all titled in my name. Yesterday I gift transferred the car title to one of the vehicles on the policy to my son (keeping the same tag, etc – just changing registered owners from myself to my son) thinking that there would be no impact to the insurance coverage since the vehicle & drivers remained the same until my spouse questioned that assumption. Who is right? I tried to take care of the transfer of title to get it done and out of the way since my son has graduated college and will be moving soon for his new job at which time I thought that he could then apply for his own individual insurance. Question is….. did I lose coverage on that vehicle now when I transferred the title to his name. Again the vehicle is covered (or was) under our existing policy of which all three of us are included drivers. Would be so grateful for your advice!!! Potential new customer when son gets his own policy. Thanks!

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    Ruth Ladas Agent, RLI – Ruth Ladas Insurance, LLC, Fort Myers, Florida
    Thank you for your question. You haven’t screwed up, but you are correct to be asking the question. The transition to adult responsibilities is a journey through murky waters for most people. There isn’t just one correct way to do it! Since your cars are titled to drivers in the household, there is no problem. Your policy is fine just the way it is – for now. It sounds like it is time though for your son to go out on his own. Presumably he is going to be living on his own also and that change of residence is a good trigger for the change to his own insurance. Depending on your carrier, they may separate the policy out and even keep some of the accident-free credits that belong to that policy. You can also address your liability limits now. You will no longer have the risk of a young driver attached to your household. Your rates may go down considerably!

InsuranceLibrary.com – Is a Police Report Needed for my Auto Accident?

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If I’m In A Single Vehicle Accident That Caused No Public Property Damage, But Totaled The Vehicle – Do I Need To File A Police Report?

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    Ruth Ladas
    Agent, RLI – Ruth Ladas Insurance, LLC, Fort Myers, Florida
    Thank you for the question. I police report is not always needed for an auto claim. It really depends on the individual fact pattern of the event. At the very least, photos should be taken at the scene and a call in immediately to the carrier would be advised. I hope that this helps!
    Answered on April 20, 2016

Insurance Library.com – Can Insurance Companies Settle Claims Without My Knowledge?

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Ruth Ladas
Agent, RLI – Ruth Ladas Insurance, LLC, Fort Myers, Florida
Thank you for the question. Unfortunately, you don’t have much control of the claims process. Your insurance contract gives the carrier authority to settle claims on your behalf. Sometimes they pay claims because it’s less expensive to pay the claim than it is to fight it. This happens not just with auto insurance, but with all kinds of insurance losses. I hope that this information is helpful to you!

InsuranceLibrary.com – What Percent of My Income Should I Spend On Whole Life Insurance?

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What Percent Of Income Should I Spend On Whole Life Insurance?

  1. Ruth Ladas
    Agent, RLI – Ruth Ladas Insurance, LLC, Fort Myers, Florida
    Thank you for the question. You will likely get a different answer from everyone you ask about that. There is no set percentage as a norm. Here’s my opinion. I love whole life for several reasons; the most important of which is that you have a fixed amount to pay every month. Products with “flexible” payments leave it to you to have the discipline to make payments high enough to keep the plan going. That you are creating your own bank of money and that you can borrow from yourself is appealing as well. The product is lots more expensive than term insurance. I normally set clients up with a combination of term and whole life. After setting our budget, let’s say $150/month. We buy sufficient term insurance to satisfy their short term needs…like to get their children through high school or college…and put the rest of the budget into the whole life product. I hope that this information helps you. It’s a good idea to speak with an agent in your local area. I’m in Florida and if you live in my state, please contact me! Good luck.
    Answered on April 17, 2016

InsuranceLibrary.com is a repository of questions from the general public that are answered by volunteer insurance agents. Ruth Ladas is a regular contributor. For more questions and answers, please to to www.insurancelibrary.com