I have a question regarding State Farm specifically, because that is who we have and I believe the answer varies by company.

We have an Au Pair from another country. Our agent told us that she needs to have a Maryland driver's license in order for her to be covered under our insurance. It seems that all the other au pairs are allowed to drive with their international driver's license and that the insurance does cover them. I'd like to know if our agent is just saying that or if it is truly their rule.

Our au pair can drive just fine - it's just a bunch of hoops she has to jump through in order to even go take the test to get her license. And I *really* need her to be able to drive my kids NOW!

Thanks for any insight.

Not specific to state farm, I was under the impression that ( in NY) anyone driving your car with your permission( and with a valid license) is covered by your insurance. Not sure if having an international license makes a difference though. When I was in college Dh carried ins. for both cars ( and did not list me as a driver, too many tickets... ) because our agent told us it would be cheaper( we have allstate) . He said that as long as I had permission to drive the car, if anything happened we would be covered. ( Have since been added to ins, and never needed to make a claim while not listed. Not sure how true this is.)

I used to be an agent for another company....not SF, but one of their biggest competitors. As far as my company's rules go, your agent was correct. We did not insure those with international licenses either. I don't see any benefit for your agent in giving you incorrect information. If the company allowed it, it shouldn't make a difference to him what type of license your au pair had. Also, keep in mind that it's his job to make you happy....that's where his paycheck comes from. Agent's make ALL of their money from comissions, there is no salary at all involved (at least with my company it was that way). He wouldn't want to tell you she had to get another license if he didn't have to....why tick you off and take the chance of you transferring to another company??

Also, in reference to the PPs response, with my company, that is only half-true. Yes, if you have someone occasionally drive your car, they would be covered. However, if you have someone who is a regular driver, lives in your household, etc. they MUST be listed. If not, the company could deny coverage in the case of a claim. This policy was put into place to prevent exactly what the PP described.....having a driver with lots of tickets/accidents driving but not paying premium. The company is still covering the risk of that driver and therefore wants to collect appropriate preimum for that risk.

HTH some!

Very well said.

I worked for SF a few years ago. And yes, she will need to get a MD drivers license.

Thanks Priscilla! I was a little hesitant to answer at first because it's been a few years....glad to know my info is still somewhat up to date!

Thank you! I was afraid that was gonna be the answer, but I really wanted to get some more opinions. Sounds like he's right on track.

That being said, I think State Farm is rather high on the premiums - I think we may be looking at switching anyway. Any recommendations on companies? We do hate to think of switching because DH has been with this guy for over 20 years - and we always get great service whenever we need help. But money is money and some of the quick comparisons we have done are pretty incredible. Would love any advice in this area too.

Well......I'm a fan of Nationwide, personally! My dad's actually an agent and has a few offices. I ran one for a few years before figuring out that I didn't actually enjoy sales!

I just switched to Nationwide. Saving me over 700$ a year. I think that is because I don't have my husband on my insurance anymore. And technically he doesn't live with me or drive anything but a Humvee... going to Iraq. So I dodged a bullet there.

I had them before I got married and customer service was great. Never had a problem. Good Luck!

A lot of times some of the "non-local" companies like Safe Auto, Geico, etc. will be cheaper. However you will not have a personnal agent and will have to call 800 numbers for assistance. Keep this in mind while shopping. A personnal agent really can be worth a little extra money, especially when you have a claim!

I agree! Previously I had Acceptance Insurance (due to husband's bad driving record). We only talked to our Agent once... when we took out the policy. Other than that it was all 1-800s. I would rather pay an extra a month to have face to face time with my agents office.

I have an agent through allstate ( have had him for about 10 yrs). I CAN NEVER GET IN TOUCH WITH HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!! I call 3 times when we purchased our house looking for a quote for homeowners ins. Finally gave up and called the 800 # I need a new agent!