Your child passed their driver's, but are they insured to drive the family cars?

Having teenagers who are learning to drive is exciting. But it brings with it its own set of challenges, especially around insurance and the obligations placed on your child, and on you, by your insurer.

From a policy perspective, there is a big difference between a learner driver, an occasional driver and the regular driver. Knowing what your insurance policy states in each instance can protect you against significant financial losses should you ever need to claim.

Let's look at the key differences between these young drivers in your household:

• Learner driver: Most South African short-term insurers do cover drivers with a learner's licence. The stipulations are that the licence must be valid; there must be a licenced driver in the vehicle with them at all times and that driver's licence must be valid; and the learner driver must have the owner's consent to drive the car. Under these conditions, damage caused to the insured vehicle or another vehicle in the case of an accident will be covered under the policy, but higher excesses will apply. Some insurers don't cover learner drivers under any circumstances.
• Occasional driver: This is when your child has their valid driver's licence, and occasionally drives a car that is regularly driven by another insured driver. Depending on the type of insurance policy you have - nominated or named driver policy versus an open driver policy - occasional drivers over the age of 25 do not need to be listed on a vehicle policy. However young or inexperienced drivers, even if they only drive the car once a month, must be included in the policy as the 'additional' or 'occasional' driver.
• Regular driver: If the newly licensed driver will be driving one car in the household more than anyone else, they become the regular driver of that car. All regular drivers must be listed as such on the vehicle insurance policy.

Drivers under the age of 25 are considered inexperienced drivers, and statistically higher risk. As such, these drivers typically face higher premiums and higher excesses. In some cases, insurers even add an additional 'out of pocket' fee if a young driver is involved in an accident.

It's important to remember that aside from driving habits, the circumstances around young people's vehicle usage also differs immensely from you as their parents. As they're more social, younger drivers tend to drive and park their cars in different places aside from their regular day-to-day route, daytime parking or secure night-time parking spot.

In addition, young people often take their vehicles to university with them or move away from the family household fairly shortly after getting their driver's licence and becoming independent.

When there are changes to the residential address of the insured driver and the location where the car is parked, the insurer must be notified, as this has an impact on insurance claims in the event of theft or damage.

Check exactly what your insurance policy states, and inform your insurer of any changes regarding your young drivers. In can pay to shop around for insurance that is aimed specifically at younger drivers, as the age-related rewards can help foster positive driving habits.