Do you have to insure your child beyond the teen years?

In a perfect world, your 18-year old would be in college (on a full academic scholarship), living in a dorm, eating healthfully, studying hard and earning a 4.0 GPA.  She’d have a part time job working in her desired field, a car that she bought herself and insurance that she pays for.  She does her parents proud, doesn’t she?

Well, welcome to the real world, where your 18-year old is not going to college, is still living with you (and eating you out of house and home), sleeps till noon every day, and doesn’t even have the prospect of a job.  Oh, and she wants to borrow your car on Friday night and would like to know if you can lend her $20 for gas.

You can’t just toss your adult daughter out on her ear, as much as you’d like to, nor can you just remove her from your car insurance (much as you’d hoped would be the case when she turned 18).  No, she’s yours for all of her faults and foibles.  And as long as a licensed driver is living in your home, you must maintain car insurance on him or her.  There is no requirement or restriction imposed by an insurance company that a child is too old to be kept on a policy or that she needs her own. Point her in the direction of finding  cheap car insurance.

That being said, there’s also no requirement that says you have to keep supporting said moocher, er, licensed driver.  Of course, that’s entirely up to you.  It’s called tough love.