Do You Need To Add Your Nanny To Your Car Insurance?

It’s very common for a nanny to transport your kids to and from school as well as to activities like the park, movies, or sports practice.

If driving is one of your nanny’s job duties, it’s important to make sure your kids—and your nanny—are safe and properly covered. One question that comes up a lot is: do you need to add your nanny to your car insurance?

Below, we walk through our top tips, including:

– Important tips to consider if your nanny is driving their own car

– Things to consider when the nanny is driving a family’s car

– The nanny’s responsibilities when driving children

– How to reimburse for mileage

– Worker’s Compensation Insurance

– Vehicle inspections and much more!

A job duty of many nannies includes driving the children around.

Some nannies will use their own vehicle to do this, and other nannies will use a car provided by the family.

There are many things to consider whether the nanny is using their own car or the family car.

Below, we walk you through what you should do and think about in each case.

We also spoke with a State Farm insurance agent to learn about any insurance considerations you should keep in mind. Let’s get started!

Nanny Using Their Own Car

First, let’s cover the nanny’s responsibilities. Your nanny will want to make sure that their vehicle is in good working order, and is up to date with any maintenance requirements.

Next, it’s a good idea to check in with the insurance company about any insurance requirements. Will driving the nanny kids result in an increase in insurance premiums?

According to State Farm, the insurance classification for a vehicle would only change from personal to commercial if the use of the vehicle is going to be for work purposes for more than 50% of the time.

So, for most nannies, this is going to mean that they are not required to make any changes to their policy, because they probably are not driving the nanny kids more than 50% of the time.

The same coverages and limits would still apply, but we do recommend taking a look at the policy to ensure there is adequate coverage, and maybe even consider consulting with an insurance agent about this.

If liability coverages are not adequate and the worst happens and there’s an accident, the driver could potentially be sued.

The party who sues could then come after physical assets such as a car, a house/condo, etc.

Please keep in mind that this advice was specific to State Farm. Your auto insurance company may have different regulations.

Family Responsibilities When the Nanny Is Using Their Own Car

First, you want to make sure that your nanny’s vehicle is in good working order. You might consider having your nanny take their car to a dealership or a mechanic for an inspection.

Inspections normally cost anywhere from $0 to around $200. If you go this route just make sure you cover this cost for your nanny. 

Next, you will want to cover any auto insurance premium increases that your nanny incurs. If the nanny normally pays $50/month but is told by their insurance company that they need to change their policy which will cost an additional $30/month, cover that $30/month extra cost for your nanny.

Make sure to verify any rate changes with information from the insurance company, and be sure to discuss and have a plan with your nanny for how reimbursements happen and how frequently reimbursements happen for those rate changes.

You will also want to get a copy of your nanny’s insurance card to verify that they have adequate coverages and that their insurance is not lacking.

Let’s Talk About Worker’s Compensation Insurance For A Moment

If your nanny is injured on the job while driving, they then would be able to file a claim through Labor and Industries to get reimbursed for any medical care needed, as well as any lost wages due to the injury.

If you aren’t sure how to go about doing this, the process of signing up for workers’ compensation insurance for your nanny is a lot less complex than you might think. 

Do Your Kids Use Car Seats?

Next, you’ll want to make sure that your nanny’s vehicle can accommodate the car seats that you provide.

This is especially the case if you need to fit three car seats across, and the car is on the smaller side. 

Make sure that you review with your nanny how to install the car seats properly inside the vehicle, and make sure you also cover how to buckle your child properly in the vehicle.

This might include where that proper chest strap placement is, or things like never buckling a child in their car seat while wearing a puffy winter jacket.

And if you haven’t done so already, it’s a good idea to tape emergency contact info to each car seat that will be inside your nanny’s car. In the event that there is an accident and your nanny is hurt or unconscious, emergency responders will be able to get in touch with you right away.

Mileage Reimbursement

It’s considered a nanny industry standard that nannies get reimbursed per mile for driving done on the job in their personal vehicle. For example, if your nanny is using their own vehicle to take the kids to soccer practice or the zoo.

The IRS sets this rate each year, so it’s going to change every year, but for 2022 the rate per mile is $58.5 cents is $62.5/mile beginning on July 1, 2022.

There are some great apps out there that can help track this such as MileIQ.

If you want to go above and beyond, consider providing regular car detailing for your nanny. As we all know, kids can make quite a mess when snacking/drinking in the car! If you offered this to your nanny, we guarantee they would really appreciate it.

Car detailing is one of those things that so many nannies talk about, and they want to ask but they’re not sure how to go about asking this.

Depending on where you live, car detailing can range anywhere from $50 to $300 for a good exterior and interior detail.

Things to Think About When the Nanny Is Using the Family Car

First, let’s cover the family responsibilities.

If someone has regular access to the family’s car, such as a nanny using the car for driving done on the job, the family will want to have them added to their auto insurance policy. Any coverages on your policy will extend to them as well as they will then be listed as an additional driver.

Before you add your nanny to your policy, make sure you know your nanny’s age as well as what their driving record might look like with a Motor Vehicle Report.

The reason for this is that there can be major rate increases if your nanny is under 25 years old, or if they have any tickets or accidents on their record from the past three years.

Your insurance company will run their own Motor Vehicle Report so you’ll want to make sure you do a thorough check before you consider adding this person to your policy, so that there aren’t any surprises. 

Most background checks include a Motor Vehicle Report Search.

Want to run a Motor Vehicle Report Search on your prospective nanny? Both our Premium and Premium Plus background checks include comprehensive Motor Vehicle Reports. You can learn more or order one by clicking this link.

You will also want to make sure that your own vehicle is in good working order, and is up to date with any needed maintenance before offering it to your nanny to transport your children.

You will also want to make sure that it has enough fuel. If your nanny is responsible for refueling the vehicle, make sure they have access to cash or a credit card for this purpose.

And remember, it’s never a good idea to leave cash or credit cards in the car, they should always be removed from the car after each use.

And lastly, you’ll want to review with your nanny how to properly buckle your children in the car.

Nanny Responsibilities When Using the Family Car

First, in order to add you to the family policy, the family is likely going to need some information from you.

This information will include your full name, your date of birth, your driver’s license number, and also if you’ve had any tickets or accidents within the past three years.

Next, you’ll always want to make sure that you are tidying up after yourself. Most nannies usually do this, but we’ve heard from some parents that it doesn’t always happen.

So for nannies, this would include cleaning up any crumbs, removing any trash, anything like that. And this could also mean refueling the car prior to the end of the shift if it’s low on gas if this is one of your job duties and the family has provided you with a means to pay for that gas.

Those are some things to think about whether the nanny is using their own vehicle on the job, or they are driving the family’s vehicle while on the job. We hope this information was helpful.