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Written by:
Prachi Singh
Contributing Writer
Prachi is an insurance writer with a master’s degree in business administration. Through her writing, she hopes to help readers make smart and informed decisions about their finances. She loves to travel and write poetry.

Question: When it comes to car insurance, who is considered a household member?

Answer:  In general, an immediate or extended family who lives with you as well as non-family household members who drive your vehicle, such as a roommate, can be considered a member of your household by a car insurance carrier.

However, the definition of a household member can vary from one insurance company to the next due to different underwriting rules and guidelines that each carrier has in place and the language (terms) of your auto insurance policy. 

There also can be differences in state laws that help define who is considered a household member and should be listed on and covered by a car insurance policy. 

A policy often defines “family member” as a person living in the named insured’s household related by blood, marriage or adoption. So family members for insurance purposes may include any immediate or extended family member of driving age such as parents, children, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, foster children, in-laws and step-family members — although there may be some variations in this list among different carriers.

Digging deeper into this: A typical insurance policy may define a resident or household member as someone physically present in your household. Unmarried dependent children, while temporarily away from home to attend college, usually are still considered residents or household members if they intend to live in the household during breaks and use their parent’s home address as their permanent address.

Insurance company guidelines vary, so when buying insurance, you should find out from the insurance carrier who it considers a household member or household resident.

You need to inform the insurer of all household members

Since a policy typically provides coverage for the named insured and other drivers who live in the same household, an insurer will request information (on the application) on the other drivers when considering whether to sell a policy. During its underwriting process, an insurer assesses the risk presented and determines whether it wants to write that risk (issue a policy). If an insurance provider decides that it is willing to write the risk, it calculates the premium to be charged for the policy.

Not telling the insurance company about a household member is a misrepresentation, a form of insurance fraud.

As mentioned earlier, if you have a household member you do not want on your policy, and he or she will not be driving your vehicle, you may be able to exclude the person from your policy if your state laws allow it. However, your insurance company still needs to be aware of the person as a household member so that he or she can be excluded from your policy. If a person is excluded from your car insurance policy, they will not have any coverage extended to them, even if driving your vehicle in an emergency situation.

By contacting your state’s insurance regulator, you can see if your state laws dictate who is defined as a household member or if it is up to the individual insurance company. Once you know state laws, compare insurance companies to see which can give you the best rates for your household.

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

Prachi is an insurance writer with a master’s degree in business administration. Through her writing, she hopes to help readers make smart and informed decisions about their finances. She loves to travel and write poetry.