Can My Nanny Drive My Car?

If your nanny or other household employee is going to be driving your car, you need to check your insurance policy and make sure that he or she is a listed driver. This is especially important if the employee will be regularly driving family members to and from appointments, school, and for outings. Other safety precaution measures that should be done with regard to driving safety include:

• checking the employee’s driver’s license validity and for any record of violations and accidents (this is done prior to hire);
• asking about an employee’s driving experience at the interview (especially if the employee is not from, or has limited driving experience in, the United States, or is particularly young);
• ensuring the employee knows how to safely install child seats and all the regulations required for doing so according to child ages, if necessary; and,
• an employer should make sure his or her car is safe, clean, and ready for the employee to use.

It may also prove useful to go on a driving test run, before you hire the employee, so you can experience their driving skills yourself.

NOTE: According to the International Nanny Association, auto accidents are probably the most common type of claim involving a nanny and his or her employer. So, employers need to fully understand what and who is covered by their insurance policies. To be safe, employers may want to consider adding the nanny or other household worker to his or her auto insurance policy.

To what extent does an auto insurance protect an employer and the nanny when using a car during work hours?

Check with your insurance agent about what your particular policy covers. Major liability could exist if your household employee is not properly covered under the household’s auto insurance policy. While states’ and carriers’ requirements vary, the following is a summary of New York’s auto insurance:

For occasional users (babysitters) driving the family’s car, protection is offered through the liability and medical insurance segments of the insured’s (the family’s) car insurance. An occasional user driving his or her own vehicle is protected under the liability and medical insurance segments of the employee’s car insurance.

A regular user (full-time child care provider) driving your car should be listed as a driver with the insurance company. This protects the employer in the event that an accident occurs when the employee is driving the family’s car. An employer who does not notify his or her insurance agent of the regular user risks the insurer not renewing the insurance policy.

For more information, please contact GTM’s Household Employment Experts at (888) 432-7972.