Have Children Too Young To Drive? List Them On Your Michigan Car Insurance Policy...Or Else

If you have a teen who's finally old enough to learn how to drive, it makes sense that you would need to add them to your insurance policy before tossing them the keys to your car. That said, you probably wouldn't think to add an infant or a toddler to the same policy. And why would you? They're tiny and won't be driving for years. In most states, you would probably be right, but apparently, the state of Michigan is a little different, and failing to list your infant could cost you big time, ClickOnDetroit reports.

Initially, ClickOnDetroit focused on a single couple, Carson Howatt and Kara Vogel, who were told their Christmas Eve crash wouldn't be covered because they'd failed to list their toddler or new infant on their policy. Neither the 18-month-old nor the three-month-old were responsible for the crash — the other driver simply failed to yield in a roundabout. But when Geico found out they existed, it denied their claim, saying every member of the household had to be listed on the policy. Not everyone of driving age. Everyone. Including the baby that didn't even exist yet when they took out the policy. 

When the news channel reached out to Geico, it said, "Due to Michigan Personal Injury Protection requirements, all household residents must be listed on the auto policy, regardless of age." Geico also claimed that all insurance companies in the state have the same policy. Eventually, though, Geico did say it planned to cover the crash in question.

ClickOnDetroit's intervention may have helped Howatt and Vogel avoid an unexpected, rather expensive bill, but after publishing the initial article, readers began to reach out with their own stories about also being denied coverage after Geico found out they had kids who weren't listed on their policies:

Each of those families living in the area has been in an accident in the last few years.

After, they each submitted a routine claim with GEICO. Then came the questions.

"She then reiterated again they were both passengers, and I said, 'yes, they were both passengers in the vehicle. I was dropping them off at school,'" Crystal Turk said. "Not thinking that would turn into a reason as to them dropping the insurance a week later."

Each one of their claims was denied, all for the same reason, "failing to include all household residents in the application or attestation for insurance."

Every family said they are accustomed to only listing people of driving age on their policy.

What's worse, those families weren't just denied coverage. Most of them also had their policies canceled retroactively. And again, Geico blamed Michigan's Personal Injury Protection law, saying every car insurance company in the state had the same policy. A representative from AAA said the same thing, while Progressive and State Farm declined to comment (even though Progressive had previously told Howatt that only children of driving age needed to be listed), instead directing ClickOnDetroit to speak with the Insurance Alliance of Michigan, which, in turn, provided a long non-answer.

Ideally, shining enough light on this issue would lead to actual change, but in the meantime, if you live in Michigan and have kids who are too young to drive, you should probably call your insurance agent and see what you need to do to add them to your policy. It's annoying, and the cost of your coverage may go up, but at least you'll actually be able to use that coverage if you're ever in a crash. Once you're taken care of, you can find your state representatives here and your state senators here.