?DELIVERING HEADACHES

Your parents warned you that having teenagers was a good way to go insane. You believed them of course, they raised you! But you had no idea at the time that one of the biggest headaches was when your teenager took a job that removed them from your auto insurance policy. Very often the parents of pizza delivery employees find that to their consternation, their teen's delivery job is going to be a financial issue, but you must make sure they are properly covered.

Pizza Delivery Drivers aren't covered by automobile insurance companies. Surely you recall all of the information you had to enter into the forms on your first insurance policy. The extensive questions, about everything it seemed, felt invasive and intrusive. Why would an insurer want to know everything about how and when you used your car before they would even agree to give you a price quote? Actually, they need to know a lot about where, when and how much you're on the road. More time and more miles on the road mean the driver is more likely to be involved in an accident and for the company that means paying out for claims. You got it, more claims mean higher insurance rates.

It?s pretty obvious where we?re going on this one. In comparison to a nice, safe office job, a person who is on the road during work hours becomes a higher insurance risk. Most car insurance companies just would not take such a high risk for non-commercial premiums. It may come as a rude shock if your teenager is involved in an accident when delivering pizza and the company refuses to cover the damages. Thousands of dollars could be on your bill, and there could be nothing you can do about it.

There's An Alternative-A Commercial Auto Insurance Policy It's a terrible idea to just hand your child the car keys and wish them a good day at work. There's a lot more information you need to know, both as a parent and the owner of the vehicle. What kind of insurance does the employer carry or offer to broker? The ownership of companies that hire drivers for delivery are legally required to carry coverage that protects them during working hours. Sometimes they have company cars that may only be used for company business during work hours, that way the insurance rates can be managed.

Still others will use a non-owned style policy. This kind of insurance will work for delivery drivers using their personal family cars. However, it's important to note that non-owned auto insurance only provides liability coverage. If your car gets banged up, you're outta luck. That can be fine if you feel that the overall risk for other problems is low and your teen isn't going to be doing the job for a very long time. But if there's risk of other problems cropping up, or your child wants to be a delivery driver for a long time, you'll definitely want to talk with the employer and see what can be done for a more comprehensive policy.

As a last resort, you can always just purchase outright a proper commercial auto policy. The cost for this kind of insurance is not insignificant, so it's not a decision to make lightly. However, if you feel that the risk is there or your teen's making a long haul of the job, and you have no other options for getting the right coverage, you should probably go for it. No matter how pricey it is upfront, it's still less than the expense of paying for car repairs and the like yourself. As they say, better safe than sorry.

Susan Reynolds is the webmaster for a leading South African Insurance Portal that provides consumers with the best Car Insurance Options.