I Excluded a Driver and Then Married Him. Am I Covered?
Question: I signed an exclusion form nine years ago and have since married the excluded driver. He was in accident recently; can my insurance company deny the claims?
Answer: Exclusions are ongoing, so it's very possible that if you are with the same car insurance company that they could deny claims resulting from this auto accident.
When you exclude a driver from your policy, that person isn't rated for the policy and isn't covered when driving your insured vehicles. If the person is going to drive your cars, you need to take off the exclusion and add him or her as a driver and pay the premiums associated with having them as a driver.
While auto insurance provider's guidelines vary, it's pretty standard that a driver exclusion will remain in effect for not just your current policy term, but for all subsequent renewals, even if other changes are made to your policy. This means that the exclusion continues on until there is a mutual decision between you and your insurer to end it.
When you got married, you should have notified your car insurance company of the change in marital status and made certain that the exclusion was removed so that your husband would be covered to drive your cars. If you did this, then the accident should be covered by your policy without any issues.
If you failed to inform your insurer and remove the exclusion, then there are likely to be issues. Being married to the excluded driver can make the situation even more complicated.
In some states, there are laws that forbid you from excluding your spouse from your car insurance policy. So, your husband's accident may be covered because the exclusion isn't legally allowed; however, it's also possible that you would be responsible for paying for the past premiums needed to add him to your policy as a covered driver.
Or if may be possible that your state laws and car insurance company's guidelines would allow the termination of your policy and denial of claims because you didn't inform your insurance company of your marital status, which could be construed as misrepresentation, and because you allowed an excluded driver to use your vehicle.
You ultimately will need to speak to your insurer to determine if your husband is still excluded and if the accident will be covered. You also can contact your state's insurance regulator for consumer advice on your situation.
Whether the accident is covered or not, you'll now need to make certain that your husband is listed on the policy as a driver. This is a good opportunity to do comparison shopping for car insurance rates and make certain you are getting the best premiums possible.
The original article can be found at CarInsurance.com:Will exclusion end if I marry the excluded driver?