Generally, the scariest part of a car accident is the collision. But for one Michigan woman, the fact that she was allegedly blindsided by her insurance company made her feel like she was “being ripped off.”
Carrie McCaskill of Oakland County told ClickOnDetroit that she was involved in a traffic accident on May 2 of last year, when another car “came about 40 or 50 miles away. [miles per hour]Trying to go around traffic and T-boned us.”
At the time, McCaskill had two passengers, her 12-year-old daughter and her daughter’s friend. All three, thankfully, were unharmed.
McCaskill said she filed a claim with her insurance company, GEICO, and “the process went as normal.” The claim, however, required a police report, which recorded McCaskill’s two young passengers.
And when she received notice that her car was worth more than $25,000, she said that the insurance company, which she had happily been with since 2014, remained silent on her claim. It got to the point, he added, that he couldn’t even log into his insurance app to check the status of a claim.
Finally, weeks later, he received a response he never expected.
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Instead of a standard update on her claim, the letter McCaskill received from GEICO noted that her policy was “retroactively under review” for her most recent renewal, citing McCaskill’s “lack of disclosure of all resident relatives.”
In other words, they canceled her insurance because she didn’t list her 12-year-old daughter, who is not legally allowed to drive, for her insurance coverage on the Personal Injury Protection (PIP) statement.
Worse, when the daughter’s friend, who was involved in the accident, went to the doctor for a post-accident checkup, GEICO sent McCaskill’s papers for a complaint against both her and the doctor, claiming that McCaskill’s failure to list his daughter on insurance did not provide medical coverage. The story adds, however, that the doctor in question had not even requested payment from GEICO (1).
The case, meanwhile, raises questions about what car owners must list on auto insurance forms, and whether insurance companies can cancel coverage if you fail to include a minor who isn’t legally allowed to drive.
Direct Auto—a division of Allstate—notes that, “Generally speaking, insurers ask you to list all household members when applying for a car insurance policy” but that “young children (usually under 14) should be exempt” (2). Other insurance companies suggest the same, including the Michaels Group, which adds that “unlicensed children are generally not required to be listed as drivers” (3).
However, state laws can complicate things. “Some states require that all household members, even those who don’t drive, be listed on your car insurance policy,” says CarInsurance.com. “This ensures that any situation where someone else might drive your car, even temporarily, is covered” (4).
Michigan laws, meanwhile, have their own unique quirks. They state that the “classification and regional base rates used by insurers in this state with respect to automobile insurance” should be applied based on certain requirements, including “the number of income earners insured under the policy” (5).
Since there is no age requirement for dependents listed on the policy, the law appears to leave room for discretion as to whether the insurance company should cover collisions. This creates a potentially costly situation for many drivers who may assume that only dependents of driving age need to be included in their policy.
In a separate report from ClickOnDetroit, insurance provider AAA confirmed, “Due to state law, everyone must be listed, including infants” on auto insurance policies (6).
That said, there is obviously wiggle room for insurance companies to provide coverage.
Another story about an accident in Michigan involved a local couple, their two young children and GEICO insurance. The couple told their local Fox 5 station that their car, with the entire family inside, was hit by a driver in 2025 on Christmas Eve. And while they luckily weren’t seriously injured, they say GEICO’s failure to list their one-year-old and three-month-old baby on their insurance policy could have “impacted” their coverage. Still, in the end, the couple says GEICO has agreed to cover the damage to the car — up to an estimated $15,000 — allowing them to avoid the same fate as McCaskill (7).
As for McCaskill, her attorney Chris Camper told ClickOnDetroit that the situation makes her “like she did something wrong and she could be stuck with a $25,000 or $26,000 lease.”
GEICO told the outlet that it complies with all state insurance regulations regarding claims and coverage, and cannot comment on pending litigation. Specific attorneys representing GEICO did not respond to requests for comment (1).
According to the Insurance Information Institute (III), in 2024, the average collision claim payout was $5,489, while the average claim for bodily injury was $28,278 (8).
The cost of an auto collision can, of course, increase depending on the severity of the damage and whether there were any injuries. And because different states have different laws — including disclosure of dependents on your insurance forms — it’s best to talk to your insurance agent about your family members so you’re not denied coverage based on incomplete disclosure.
That said, if you find yourself in dispute with your insurance provider, there are important steps you can take to help resolve the issue.
III suggests reviewing your policy, as “most companies offer mediation or appraisal services to help resolve differences and disputes. Your insurance policy will explain these options.” They add that sending a letter of documentation with all relevant information to the insurance company can help make your case (9).
Law firm DM Injury Law says supporting evidence should include everything from police reports and witness statements to repair estimates.
Detailed documentation, they add, can significantly increase the chances of winning an appeal (10).
If all else fails, III and others note that your state’s insurance regulator, an arbitrator or even an attorney may need to get the conviction you owe.
And although this adds cost in addition to legal fees, Babcock Tucker labor attorneys advise that “probably, once you hire a lawyer and they contact your insurance company, the dispute will be settled out of court” (11).
We rely only on vetted sources and reliable third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
ClickOnDetroit (1); Direct Auto (2); source name (3); Carinsurance.com (4); Michigan Legislature (5); ClickOnDetroit (6); Fox 5 (7); Insurance Information Institute (8); Insurance Information Institute (9); DM Injury Law (10); Babcock Tucker Labor Attorneys (11)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
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