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Written by:
Shivani Gite
Contributing Writer
Shivani Gite is a personal finance and insurance writer with a degree in journalism and mass communication. She is passionate about making insurance topics easy to understand for people and helping them make better financial decisions. When not writing, you can find her reading a book or watching anime.

You can add all licensed household members to your car insurance policy, such as your spouse and children and others that reside with you. You can also add children that are away at school, but still reside at home during breaks and will drive your vehicle during those times. Although rules vary by insurance company and state, anyone else that regularly drivers your vehicles will usually be allowed to be listed as drivers on your auto insurance policy as well.

Key Highlights
  • Your car insurance policy will name you as a driver along with your spouse, your children who live with you, and any other licensed household members. 
  • There is no cap on the number of drivers you can list on your auto insurance policy; however, there must be a valid justification for doing so. 
  • If a person occasionally uses your car but you still want to make sure they are covered by your auto insurance, you can generally add them to your policy as a partial or occasional driver. 
  • Some regulations permit (and possibly mandate) that additional occasional drivers who reside outside the home be added.

You, your spouse, your children that live with you or any other licensed household member will normally be listed on your car insurance policy as drivers. The definition of a household member varies from one car insurance company to another but generally it means immediate or extended family that lives with you as well as non-family household members that drive your vehicle, such as a nanny. In some cases, a roommate can be considered a member of your household.

Typically, family members include any immediate or extended family member of driving age. This includes parents, children, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, foster children, in-laws and step family members. There may be some variations in this list among different carriers as well.

There is no limit to the amount of drivers you can insure on your auto insurance policy, there just has to be a good reason for listing them as a driver. Generally, you can’t insurance insure on your policy children that have moved out and others that do not reside with you or use your vehicle. A child is considered to have moved out if they have their own permanent address; if they are away at school but will be returning, they can stay on your policy.

It’s important to notify your automobile insurance company of anyone who operates your vehicle regularly.  In general you can add someone to your policy as a partial or occasional driver if the person uses your vehicle fairly often and you want to make sure they are covered. People who borrow your car occasionally don’t need to be listed on the policy, and are covered as permissive users.

You should contact your insurance agent or insurance company to determine what the company’s guidelines are on who can be covered by your car insurance policy and what the procedure is for adding a driver.

Do all household members need to be on your car insurance? As a general rule, yes. Car insurance companies want to know what risk they are taking on by insuring you. If you don’t want a particular person covered, you can request that they be excluded.

Laura Longero

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Laura Longero

Executive Editor

Laura is an award-winning editor with experience in content and communications covering auto insurance and personal finance. She has written for several media outlets, including the USA Today Network. She most recently worked in the public sector for the Nevada Department of Transportation.

John McCormick

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John McCormick

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John is the editorial director for CarInsurance.com, Insurance.com and Insure.com. Before joining QuinStreet, John was a deputy editor at The Wall Street Journal and had been an editor and reporter at a number of other media outlets where he covered insurance, personal finance, and technology.

Leslie Kasperowicz

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Leslie Kasperowicz

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Leslie Kasperowicz is an insurance educator and content creation professional with nearly two decades of experience first directly in the insurance industry at Farmers Insurance and then as a writer, researcher, and educator for insurance shoppers writing for sites like ExpertInsuranceReviews.com and InsuranceHotline.com and managing content, now at CarInsurance.com.

Nupur Gambhir

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Nupur Gambhir

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Nupur Gambhir is a content editor and licensed life, health, and disability insurance expert. She has extensive experience bringing brands to life and has built award-nominated campaigns for travel and tech. Her insurance expertise has been featured in Bloomberg News, Forbes Advisor, CNET, Fortune, Slate, Real Simple, Lifehacker, The Financial Gym, and the end-of-life planning service.

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Contributing Writer

Shivani Gite is a personal finance and insurance writer with a degree in journalism and mass communication. She is passionate about making insurance topics easy to understand for people and helping them make better financial decisions. When not writing, you can find her reading a book or watching anime.