Insuring Adult Children

Blood may be thicker than water, but it is thinner than insurance contracts. An adult son or daughter may think that, when a loss happens, coverage is available from mom or dad's homeowners or auto policy. It usually isn't and finding this out after a loss makes matters much worse. Policies are typically clear. A relative is covered, but only if the relative is a full-time resident of the named insured's household. Even if the nonresident child lives next door, a parents' policy is not going to spread its coverage to take care of an adult child's belongings.

If this fact appears harsh, know that insurance contracts are meant to handle sources of loss that can be easily identified. Person A's cars or home is protected by Person A's auto or homeowner policy. Imagine if that weren't the case.

Example: The Rabbitfield's home and cars have been insured by Plausible Fire & Casualty for 20 years. In the last five years, the Rabbitfield's children have grown and started their own households. Per the Plausible home and auto policies, the insurance premiums and two policies that covered the original family's two cars and one home, now cover the original home and cars PLUS the following:

• Son Jimmy Rabbitfield's apartment and car
• Daughter Chana Rabbitfield's home and two cars
• Other son Perry's home, seasonal home and two cars
• Other daughter Bonnie's apartment and car.

Besides covering all of the property, the Rabbitfield parents' policies ALSO cover everyone's personal legal liability.

While it might be a bargain for insurance consumers if a single auto or homeowner policy could be stretched this far, it's not likely that the insurance industry could survive such flexibility.

Being Independently Insured
Understandably, insurance is not always a priority for adult children who are now on their own. In the beginning, there's often a phase where the kids commute between "home base" and their new apartment or home and their property is at both locations. The new grown-ups typically have few possessions, especially possessions of high value, and this adds to the likelihood that insurance is overlooked or seen as unnecessary. However, even when possessions are few, EVERYONE has a legal responsibility to handle the damage they accidentally cause to other people and/or other people's property. When a child reaches adulthood, they've also reached the point where they need to get their own insurance.

If an adult child asks you for insurance advice, give them the name of an insurance professional you trust to help them get the exact protection they need.


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Teen Text Mess

Statistics are starting to stack up, indicating a move in gender equality that no one should be glad to hear. Young female drivers are now just as dangerous behind the wheel as their male counterparts. The reason? Cell phones and its most popular teen use……texting.

Just in case you’re not familiar with texting, the term refers to messages that are sent via a cell phone keyboard. The messages tend to be very short, making use of abbreviations and codes and are very interactive; typically requiring a high level of back and forth responses.

Among the differences between men and women is the fact that the latter are far more social and communicative. Young females have taken their love of communication and embraced the fact that it is teamed up with mobility. No matter the time or place, one can be in constant contact with friends; even when driving.

The problem is obvious, yet teens are largely oblivious. Texting requires use of hands and eyes to send and receive…..those are two elements that are also fairly important to operating a vehicle. Increasingly, the attention given over to texting is resulting in a spike in accidents; both minor and serious.

In a ’07 study performed by Liberty Mutual Ins. and Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD), it was found that nearly half of teen drivers admitted to texting while driving. SADD suggests that parents try to control the issue by making clear that it’s unacceptable to use cell phones, especially texting, while driving. It is also important to clearly tell teens of a significant punishment for noncompliance and enforcing the rule. Just as important, parents should model the desired behavior. In other words, don’t use cell phones or text in a vehicle.

Texting is a nightmare when paired with driving….make sure you do your best to minimize this serious problem.

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COPYRIGHT: Insurance Publishing Plus, Inc., 2010
All rights reserved. Production or distribution, whether in whole or in part, in any form of media or language; and no matter what country, state or territory, is expressly forbidden without written consent of Insurance Publishing Plus, Inc