We have a 19 year old in the house with Autism/Aspberger's. He doesn't drive, doesn't have a permit, has never had a permit, probably will never have a license. It never occurred to us to tell the insurance company. They found out about him by pulling our income tax returns. (Violation of privacy, anyone?) They are charging us a fee to NOT cover him. In other words, if he takes the car without permission and destroys it, they will not cover it. We just found this out, so don't yet know the fee. So, what is the fee for? Is this legal? Seems like charging me at the grocery store for NOT buying milk.
we can't get Trump's tax returns, not sure how a dentist could get yours now if you have coverage through an employer, they could get from those records
Dentist? The AUTO INSURANCE company told us they found out about the 19-year old through our federal returns. Not sure how you got dentist out of that. I have no idea how they got the returns. When we asked, we were told they have the right. We know they don't. I've contacted the consumer advocate in Florida to get more information.
I don't think they can legally get your federal returns. Also, I don't see how they can charge you for not covering him. I can see how they can simply not cover him. At least with my auto insurance (in FL), it was free to cover my sons when they had a learner's permit. Check that possibility out.
He's autistic, so his learning curve is very long. He's been studying for the permit exam for five years. He's still not ready. He has no desire to drive, really. If an Aspie doesn't want to do something, they typically don't. It's part of the condition.
If he’s unlicensed and disabled, get an attorney. Firstly, they are not allowed to pull your tax information without your permission. They are not a government entity and lack that lawful capability. This is a privacy breach and needs to be dealt with properly. Secondly, they can’t charge you more for a disabled adult living in the home. That is unlawful and a discriminatory practice based upon a 3rd party’s disability that has nothing to do with your insurance coverage. I’ll only say this one more time, GET A ATTORNEY.
Sounds like some kind of overreach on their part, and obviously a very anti-customer attitude and way of doing business on their part. I can't imagine it is one of the big insurers. Something like this would be a PR nightmare for them, I'm sure. I suppose you could consult a lawyer for legal advice, and I'd definitely second what others have said and look at switching insurers.
So they still haven't sent us a modified bill, so not sure what's up with that. I called the Florida consumer services line and they told me that: 1. It is illegal for insurance companies to pull tax returns. 2. It is highly unethical, but not illegal, to charge to not cover someone 3. They will contact Progressive on our behalf to get the charge removed, once we can show what the charge is. I'm still not clear as to how they got our tax returns. It would mean some sort of corruption on the part of the IRS. (That a government employee is corrupt is not, in any way, a shock.) We're not giving up on this point. I'm okay if someone has to go to jail. Consumer services can't get started without a bill, though.
Progressive. They've always been very good to us. I had a brand new car and was side-swiped/forced into barriers on the roadside, and they covered it 100%/no deductible. Just a few months later, while I was inside the house, a lady hit my parked car and totaled it. Progressive covered it 100%, after deductible. They didn't raise our rates. I would hate to leave them, but we will likely have to, once we get to the bottom of this.
Actually when it pertains to an unlicensed driver + a disabled adult, it’s quite unlawful. All you really need to do is bring up a “Discrimination based upon disability” point to the proper people in progressive (Higher ups). Simply state, “I have a disabled adult son living with us, he’s unlicensed, therefor there is no reason he should be tacked onto my plan. Saying he may drive off with the car is discriminating against him based upon his mental handicap, you are stating he is not cognitive enough to make proper decisions, which would disallow the use of a vehichle preemptively either way.” They will right it and probably try to give you a discount, if they don’t, threaten a suite unless the wrong is righted.
Look at it in a this way. Your son, living in your household, poses a higher risk to your insurance company that most other families don't expose their insurance companies to. Therefor they're charging you more money for their taking the risk of insuring you. Any time a person thinks their insurance company is taking unfair advantage of them, no matter the reason, they have a course of action. Each state has a State Insurance Commissioner whose only responsibility is to keep a check on the actions of insurance companies working in their state. Check your state offices and call them with your questions. The cost of their services are free as our taxes pay for them to be in operation.
Can you be more specific. The charge is to not cover him, so any action he makes that causes an accident will not be covered. How is there any risk to Progressive, since the worst case scenario is they pay $0? They never actually gave us a reason/example as to what the charge is for, just that insurance companies require that all members over 18 in the household are required to be on the policy, even if there is zero coverage, and there's a fee for that. Still no bill, though, so I'm not sure what's up with that.
Sorry, no, I don't understand that. perhaps check the yellow pages and call your commissioner. I'm sure they can answer your question.
Is the 19 yo emancipated or did you make a legal decision to be custodial? Did you sign any waiver for the insurance company to pull your tax fillings?
No decisions have been made, yet, as he's still in HS for at least another year, maybe two, depending on how well he does this year. He's very much dependent on us; can't drive, can't work, can barely study. We absolutely did not sign any waiver. We never told them about the kid. When we asked how they found out, the reply was, "he's listed as a dependent on your income tax return."
