Add Your Nanny to Your Car Insurance Plan Today, or Your Family is at Risk!

Parents have been sued for millions as a result of their nanny getting in an accident (without the kids) while driving her own car!

• If your nanny ever drives your kids, in your car or even in her car, you need to put her on your car insurance plan. Typically, this does not cost very much unless your nanny is very young.
• Since a nanny is not a family member, she is not covered by the family's automobile insurance while she is driving her own car. This can be a problem if the nanny is in an accident on the way to or from work in her own car, even without your kids in her car. The law considers an employer to be liable for an injury caused by an employee while doing their work. This is called "vicarious liability." The family's automobile insurance will not cover vicarious liability and the family can be held personally responsible for paying any damages that are more than the nanny's coverage limits. 
• Even if your nanny has her own car insurance and high coverage limits, it may not be enough. A nanny who drives family members even just a few times as part of her duties may find that this is considered a ‘business’ use and that her ‘personal’ policy provides no coverage for an accident.  Nannies can get additional ‘business’ use insurance, which would be a higher premium, but rarely do.
• If the children were injured in an accident in the nanny's car, and the insurance company denied the claim then the benefits would not kick in for the children's medical needs either. 
• Always get your nanny’s driver's license number, check her motor vehicle records, and request proof of her automobile insurance liability coverage if she uses her own car. Be sure your Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist coverage limits are high—at least $500,000, but you might need more.
  

Better safe than sorry!