StateCover Guide
Glossary

Named insured

By Editorial team, last reviewed

Quick answer

The named insured is the person, or people, that a car insurance policy identifies by name as the insured. It is usually the person who bought the policy, and it is shown on the declarations page.

How it works

The NAIC defines the named insured as the individual identified as the insured in the policy contract. A policy can also cover people who are not named insureds, such as household members listed as drivers or someone driving your car with permission. Those people are insureds, but not the named insured.

The difference matters because many coverage decisions belong to the named insured. Michigan shows how this works in practice:

  • The applicant or named insured chooses the level of personal injury protection (PIP) medical coverage when buying or renewing.
  • Lower or excluded PIP medical options depend on the named insured's health coverage, such as Medicare or other qualifying health insurance, and on what coverage the spouse and resident relatives have.
  • If the named insured relies on health coverage and loses it, the insurer must be told.

Example: a married couple can both be named insureds on one policy, while their teenage child is a listed driver on the same policy.

When you review your policy, check that every named insured and every driver in your household is listed correctly.

Sources

Last reviewed by the StateCover Guide editorial team. See our editorial policy. Spotted an error? Tell us.