If your child gets a learners permit do you have to add them to your policy?

Answer

It looks like there are two questions here, but really they fall under the same answer.

One, if your kid is excluded from driving one of your vehicles, it's pretty much a "done deal." By that, it means that anytime he drives one of your vehicles -- even if it's just to park the car -- he would be excluded. Your insurance company wouldn't pay for any damages he caused if he had an accident (though sometimes they will pay the damages to your own vehicle under your first-party coverage).

If he's just gotten a learner's permit, and you plan on letting him drive (even with you in the car), the exclusion would still apply. You can argue with your carrier until you're blue in the face, but if the exclusion still exists, they won't cover damages he causes while driving.

Your best bet: Remove the exclusion and, as your carrier suggests, add your kid on as an occasional driver. A lot of companies don't even offer the "occasional driver" provision, so you're probably going to save money that way. However, once your kid gets his actual license, and starts driving regularly, he needs to be added on as a regular driver.

Hope that answers your question. I couldn't tell from your question, but it seems like your carrier is requiring your kid be added as an occasional driver because he's gotten a learner's permit. This is a reasonable expectation in my book, because your carrier would naturally expect the kid to drive with a learner's permit.