Full-Time vs. Part-Time

• Auto insurance companies define a full-time driver, or primary driver, as the person who most often drives a given vehicle. Other members of the household with valid driver's licenses usually fall under the heading of part-time drivers for the same vehicle. If you have multiple drivers and more than one vehicle, each vehicle will have a full-time driver and one or more part-time drivers. There is no specific percentage, hourly or mileage limit to define a full-time driver. Instead, policyholders must report which driver is the full-time driver for each vehicle based on actual and expected use trends.
  
  

Coverage and Rates

• Both full-time and part-time drivers are eligible for full coverage under the limits of your auto policy. Many insurance companies also extend coverage to authorized guests who use the vehicle infrequently. For each vehicle, the insurance company determines insurance rates by examining the record of the primary driver, as well as any part-time drivers. The full-time driver's record will have more of an impact on determining rates, though every driver's history of accidents and claims will play a role in determining rates.
  
  

Considerations

• In general, vehicles with higher values are more expensive to insure. In addition, inexperienced drivers, or those with a history of multiple accidents and insurance claims, cost more to insure as full-time or part-time drivers. This means that a family's auto insurance rates will be highest if a teenage driver becomes the full-time driver of the newest or most expensive vehicle. Making the family member with the best driving record the primary driver on the most expensive vehicle, and listing the teenage driver as a part-time driver only on an older car, will save money.
  
  

Penalties and Fraud

• Reporting false information to your auto insurance company is a form of insurance fraud. It is illegal and may harm your ability to receive a payment following an accident, or continue coverage after a claim. For example, if a family with two parents and a teenage driver lists the mother as the primary driver of a vehicle, but the teenager crashes it on the way to school, the insurance company may be able to determine that the teenage driver was actually the full-time driver for the vehicle. The company can then deny the claim, or pay for the damage but cancel coverage for the entire family, leaving all of their vehicles uninsured.