Underage Drinkers Put Their Families' Life Savings at Risk
By Jenna Caplete, Coordinator DUI Task Force
in conjunction with Gallatin County Safe Kids, Safe Communities
"Youth who drink, even youth who simply attend parties where others are drinking and may get out of hand, are putting their family's life savings at risk," warns State Farm Insurance agent, Dan Rust of Bozeman.
Surely not, you may think. How could that be true?
For one, intentional acts are not covered. Second, state insurance minimums are not high enough to protect you from the full impact of your liability for negligent acts.
Consider the risks of unchaperoned parties. They may start with your teen inviting a couple friends and quickly escalate to forty or more youth. How? Simple word of mouth.
Risks at unchaperoned parties that are considered "intentional acts" include fights, rape, and sexually transmitted diseases.
Parents are considered guilty of negligent supervision whether or not they knew about the party. "If something goes wrong," Rust says, "attorneys will make it the parents' fault very quickly. It doesn’t matter if they were at work and couldn't be home."
For the past year, Rust has served as a volunteer member of Montana Parent Party Patrol, a forum sponsored by your Gallatin County DUI Task Force. Parents who have attended forums consistently rate what they learn about what their insurance does and doesn't cover as some of the most startling and valuable information included in the forum's presentation.
Under your home owner's insurance, the state requires that you carry $100,000 in liability.
"That isn't enough even for attorney fees if you are sued," says Rust. "That's where your life savings comes into play. Whatever your liability won't cover has to come from somewhere else if you're successfully proven negligent."
Most people think youth can't be sued. The truth is, it can take years for a suit to go to court. If by the time it does, the youth named in the suit is over eighteen, they can and will be sued. Ty Elliot, State Farm representative from Belgrade says, "A judgment against your child can last 20 years. Future wages can be garnished. And, they will go after the parents too.
"Damage to a home is considered negligent supervision. The parent should have known. The same holds true with alcohol use and sexual interactions that take place in your home. If kids get pregnant, the parents of those kids will sue the parents who allowed the party."
In July of 2002, Roberta Luedtke, a Missoula mother, thought she was doing the right thing when she sponsored an underage gathering in celebration of her daughter’s eighteenth birthday. Luedtke reasoned that if she provided the alcohol, and a confined setting, she could control the outcome. What she didn't understand was how long it takes alcohol to leave the body. At 6 am on the morning after the party, two young men left. On the drive home, they crashed. One died, the other was injured.
She has been convicted of negligent homicide.
"That Missoula situation gets back to the homeowner's insurance," says Rust. "But, since it was an intentional act, she chose to have the party, her homeowner's insurance won't cover her liability."
Underage drinkers are relatively new to driving. Mix their lack of experience as drivers with their inexperience with drinking, and you get a dangerous combination. That can be true even when they make what seems to be a responsible decision.
Consider: Your teen borrows the family car. They say they’re going to the movies, but attend a kegger. When it’s time to leave, they know they've had too much to drink and ask one of their friends to drive. The first issue is whether they pick a friend who is actually sober, or simply one who seems to function well while drunk. Either way, if that friend wrecks the car, and someone is killed or injured, your insurance pays. The insurance goes with the vehicle, not the driver.
Given that your teen gave permission for their friend to drive, your liability coverage will apply to what happens, but you will be vulnerable to law suits. With automobile insurance, state law requires that you carry $25,000 in bodily insurance, $50,000 for the total accident; $10,000 for property. "These minimums seldom scratch the surface," says Rust.
It costs very little to increase minimum coverages but people tend to believe that since the state sets the minimums, those make a reasonable guideline for coverage. They probably did. Years ago.
Add to that the fact that if at eighteen, a policy and car are still in a parent's name, the parent is liable for the acts of that eighteen year old while driving. Your solution? Ty Elliot suggests, "The title to the car should be put in the teen's name at that time."
At a party itself, liability does not simply affect those involved in property damage, or violence. It doesn't matter if your child stood on the sidelines and stayed completely sober. They were there.
Take this story of a Helena-area kegger. About one hundred youth attended. Within that crowd, several had a fight. During that fight, one young man was held on the coals of the group's campfire and severely burned.
When he wrestled himself free of the fire, he attempted to drive himself to the hospital and had a serious crash. According to Dan Rust, "His family's attorney has presented suit papers to every kid who was at the party because they should have stopped him from driving. The kids who weren't involved in the fight may seem innocent by our society's standards, but in fact, they are all liable."
Rust has another story. "A twenty-two year old was left in charge of his parents' home while they were out of town. He hosted a three day party that left holes in the walls, cigarette burns on furniture and carpets, and several items stolen, including his mother's jewelry box. Some of that was covered by insurance.
"The company who paid is gathering names of the people who were there, and they will get those names. Someone will ‘rat it out ' about who else was there. They will all be asked for restitution. If your child was at that party, you could get that call."
Summing up, Rust warns parents, "You don't know what could come back on you ten months later. Even three years later, by Montana law."
The message? Be proactive. Parent in a way that prevents alcohol and other substance abuse, maintain your family’s well-being.
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