According to the California Department of Insurance, generally speaking if you are a parent and have a standard auto insurance policy, it will cover any person in the household that drives on an occasional basis.

However, when there is minor or adult of legal driving age in the household, your insurance company will require that person to be permanently added to the policy for a premium charge. The insurance company can also decide to exclude that person from your parents’ policy if separate proof of insurance from a different insurance company is provided.

An insurance company can start charging additional premium from the time that a driving permit is issued to a minor in a household. It is up to the individual insurance company to determine when to start charging additional premium. Some will wait until the driver’s license is issued. Since your son is no longer a minor and appears to have a full CA license, your insurance company will likely require that he be on your insurance policy.

Even if he normally uses other forms of transportation, such as walking, biking and riding the bus, it does sound as if he does borrow your cars on occasion and thus normally an insurance company will require that he be on the policy. If he has his own vehicle that he insures on his own through a different insurance company and can show proof to your insurance company then he may not need to be included on your policy. If not, then he will likely need to be on your policy. To find out for certain what your particular insurance company requires you will need to talk to your agent. 

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