According to the North Carolina Department of Insurance, no you cannot have a spouse as a named driver exclusion in this state. Due to North Carolina Financial Responsibility Laws named driver exclusions are not allowed for liability coverage. Some insurers will exclude drivers for physical damage coverages only.

Insurance guidelines differ however with NC insurance companies usually all members of the household of eligible driving or permit age must be listed whether they drive or not. Some insurance providers however may allow you to set up a driver so they will not be rated.

According to North Carolina state regulations, drivers may not be excluded from a private passenger auto policy. Under certain circumstances, however, with certain insurance carriers you may designate an individual’s driver status as other than “rated.” Such individuals are not included in the rating criteria.

For example with one NC car insurance provider the following are the only acceptable reasons to be classified as other than “rated”:

a. Persons aged 55 or older who are unlicensed and do not drive the insured vehicles.

b. Named insured, spouse, or other household family member who is physically or mentally disabled and does not drive the insured vehicle.

c. Spouse of the named insured who has never been licensed and does not drive the insured vehicles.

d. Household resident who is 15 years of age and does not drive the insured vehicles.

e. Household resident who possesses a learner’s permit only.

f. Household resident (other than principal named insured) with a suspended or revoked license and no driving privileges. Note: Physical Damage coverage is not acceptable.

g. A licensed household family resident if and only if all of the following requirements are met:

• i. S /he does not own or co-own any of the vehicles on the policy;
• ii. S /he does not regularly or frequently operate a vehicle on the policy;
• iii. S /he owns or operates a vehicle not listed on the policy;
• iv. S /he is insured on another auto policy insuring such vehicle and offering comparable limits of liability;
• v. S /he is not a spouse of the named insured or a spouse of any other driver on the policy.

The driver status for such persons should be designated appropriately. Insurance companies will rate on all individuals in the named insured’s household and all individuals who operate the insured’s vehicles unless the individual is listed on the application and is an acceptable non-rated household resident.

Keep in mind that fraudulent use of the driver status description or willful failure to inquire about and disclose all individuals in the household will result in termination. Giving wrong information about a driver's status or use of a vehicle can be construed as misrepresentation, a form of insurance fraud.

So in North Carolina you cannot put your spouse on the policy as a named driver exclusion however depending upon the situation you may be able to get your insurer to classify them as other than rated.

For more information on allowable exclusions in NC or non-rated household members you can contact the North Carolina Department of Insurance for consumer help or speak to your car insurance agent.

Since insurance companies’ guidelines vary you may need to shop around for the type of auto insurance you need for your situation. You can get auto insurance quotes online for NC here with us by clicking on this link.