An excluded driver is a member of your household named in your auto insurance policy whom you explicitly omit from being covered. They might be a roommate with a suspended license or your adult child who has racked up too many speeding tickets.

Once someone has been named as an excluded driver, your auto insurance will not cover them if they drive any of the vehicles listed on your policy.

Here’s what else you should know about excluded drivers, how to add them and how they impact your car insurance coverage.

What licensed drivers can be listed on your policy?

You are generally able to lend your vehicle to family members, household members and friends, and your auto insurance will cover them under the concept of permissive use.

Even if a friend borrows your car and causes an accident, as long as they had your permission to use the car, your liability insurance should cover the damage.

As a policyholder, you can also list others on your policy as named drivers who have permission to drive your insured vehicles and share full coverage. These additional drivers could include teen drivers, adult children living in your home or unmarried partners.

You can also add people as non-rated drivers, meaning their driving history and other rating factors are not included in your rate calculations. You might add someone as a non-rated driver who only occasionally uses your car, such as a college student or deployed military family member. Named drivers, also known as listed drivers, should not drive your insured car regularly. Your insurance company will likely only allow listed drivers who have their own vehicle and/or valid insurance coverage.

Excluded drivers are also specifically listed in your policy — but for the express purpose of excluding them from coverage.

Read more: How credit history impacts car insurance rates

Reasons for excluding a driver

There are many reasons why you might decide to exclude a driver from your car insurance policy, not the least of which is to save money in this time of surging insurance costs. Other reasons to exclude certain drivers are:

• You don’t want them driving your vehicle. You may live with people you simply don’t want using your car, such as a roommate or adult sibling. While many policies will automatically extend coverage to occasional drivers — or even require you to add other adults living in the same home — naming an excluded driver means that person cannot legally drive your vehicle.

• They’re young or inexperienced. A new or inexperienced driver, such as a teenager, can wreak havoc on your premiums, especially if they later get in an accident or get traffic citations. Instead of adding them to your existing coverage, you can name them as an excluded driver and then purchase an individual policy in just their name, customizing the coverage limits to their vehicle.

• They have a poor driving record. When there are other adults in your home, your carrier will typically want you to add them to the policy as a named insured or rated driver. If they have a history of traffic violations, car accidents, DUIs, or have had their driver’s license suspended in the past, that poor driving record can come back to bite you in the form of higher premiums. Consider excluding this high-risk driver from your coverage and having them buy their own policy for their own car.

• They have a history of too many claims. You may choose to exclude a driver from your coverage if they’ve filed too many insurance claims in the past, even if those claims were on another policy or with another carrier. Insurance providers look at claims history when rating drivers and calculating premiums, so excluding them from your policy can save money.

Read more: Teen drivers are expensive to cover. Here's how to find affordable coverage.

How excluded drivers affect your claims and premiums

If there is a problem driver in your home, one of the best things you can do for your insurance rates is add them as an excluded driver.

If this bad driver isn’t excluded from your policy, your carrier may require you to include them as an authorized or rated driver, especially if they live with you. If they are an inexperienced driver, have a history of at-fault accidents or multiple claims, or have a driving record riddled with violations, you may find that your premiums are affected. This is often the case even if you don’t actually give that individual permission to drive your vehicle.

By adding them as an excluded driver, both you and your carrier reduce your overall level of risk. Your insurance company is no longer responsible if they drive one of your listed vehicles and get in an accident. Your insurance premiums no longer take their driving history into account, saving you money.

Risks of excluded drivers

One of the biggest things to remember is that once you’ve excluded a driver from your policy, you cannot allow them to drive your vehicle under any circumstances. Doing so opens you (and them) up to personal liability, were they to be involved in an accident.

Except in certain states, your car insurance company will not extend any coverage to a named excluded driver. This means that any property damage, bodily injury, or personal injury protection coverage is null when the excluded driver is behind the wheel, and you could be on the hook for any and all losses.

What if an excluded driver has their own insurance?

Just because a driver is excluded from one policy doesn’t mean that they cannot have their own insurance. In fact, if that individual plans to drive and/or has their own vehicle, they will need to purchase auto insurance.

If that individual is involved in an accident while driving another vehicle (other than one covered by the policy on which they are excluded), their own coverage should kick in to cover any losses.

What happens if you let an excluded driver use your car?

If an excluded driver takes your vehicle and gets in an accident, it really comes down to the state and even the individual policy.

If they’re at fault, they (and possibly you) may be liable for losses the other driver incurred.

If the other driver is deemed at fault for the accident, there’s a good chance that their liability policy will cover any losses incurred, even if the excluded driver wasn’t supposed to be behind the wheel. This will be determined by the insurance adjusters following the accident.

With that said: if you name someone as an excluded driver and then allow them to drive your vehicle, there will be repercussions. At the very least, as the policyholder you may be required to add that individual to your own auto insurance as an authorized driver. You can also expect your premiums to rise.

How to exclude a driver from coverage

Every car insurance company has its own process for naming excluded drivers on a policy. In most cases, you’ll be asked to sign and submit a driver exclusion form as part of the process.

It’s important to note that not all states allow for excluded drivers. Some states may offer limited coverage to excluded drivers, even after they are named on a policy. And in other cases, excluded drivers may only be added once you have shown that they have their own valid auto insurance coverage.

You will want to look up the specific rules in your state and also speak with your carrier to see what options you have before moving forward.

Can you remove an excluded driver?

You’ll need to contact your insurance company if you want to remove an excluded driver. You may want to add them as a covered driver if they improved their bad driving record, for example. Or to take them off your policy altogether, perhaps because they moved out of your home.

In any case, bear in mind that your car insurance rates could be affected.