Three months of summer driving is statistically the most expensive stretch on a family’s policy. A pre-season audit takes 45 minutes and prevents most of the avoidable damage.

Insurance carriers know what Memorial Day weekend looks like in their claims data. Accident frequency spikes by 15 to 20 percent from late May through August compared to the nine months surrounding it. Teen drivers are a significant driver of that number — summer is the period when newly licensed 16- and 17-year-olds log the most unsupervised miles. Add road trips, rental cars, boat trailers, and the general chaos of family schedules, and the window from May through September deserves its own checklist.

Before May: Policy-Level Checks

Review your liability limits

Most families set liability limits once and forget them. If your current policy carries 100/300/100 limits (meaning $100,000 per person, $300,000 per incident, $100,000 property damage), check whether that still matches your household’s net worth. A serious summer accident involving multiple parties can breach those limits quickly, and the excess comes from your assets. An umbrella policy — typically $150 to $300 per year for $1 million of additional coverage — is worth pricing if your household assets have grown since you last looked.

Confirm rental car coverage before the road trip

Many families discover at the rental counter that their auto policy does cover rentals — for liability, but not for collision. Rental collision damage waivers run $15 to $35 per day. If your policy includes collision and comprehensive on your primary vehicle, it usually extends to rentals. Verify the exact language with your carrier before booking. Credit card coverage adds another layer, but the terms vary significantly by card and require you to decline the rental company’s waiver entirely.

Check teen driver assignment

If you have a teen turning 16 this spring, confirm they’ve been added as a named driver before their first solo trip. Driving on a learner’s permit under a parent’s supervision is typically covered under the parent’s policy. First solo drive on a restricted license — without being formally listed — can create a coverage dispute if that drive ends in a claim.

During the Season: Habits and Tools

Track teen mileage explicitly

Teen drivers log 44 percent more miles in summer than in the school year, according to AAA Foundation data. More miles equals more exposure. If your teen is on a usage-based insurance program, review the score monthly rather than waiting for the annual summary. Summer UBI scores frequently surprise parents who assumed their kid was driving conservatively.

Document the vehicles before any long trip

A five-minute walk-around with your phone camera before a 1,200-mile road trip creates a timestamped record of existing damage. This matters primarily if you’re borrowing a vehicle, renting at a mid-trip city, or sharing driving with family members. Disputes about pre-existing scratches are the most common source of friction in rental and borrowed-vehicle claims.

Confirm towing coverage if you’re pulling a trailer

Boat trailers, camper trailers, and utility trailers are a summer staple. Your auto policy’s liability typically extends to a trailer while it’s attached, but collision coverage for the trailer itself usually requires a separate endorsement or a separate policy. If the trailer or boat is worth more than $5,000, confirm what’s covered before the first launch.

After Labor Day: Claim Cleanup

September is the right month to call your carrier — not because summer damage is still fresh, but because insurers are finishing their summer claims cycle and agents have more time for policy reviews. If you had any incidents during summer (even a minor fender-bender that you paid out of pocket), confirm they’re not sitting as open queries on your CLUE report. Unreported incidents occasionally appear in claims history databases through third-party reporting.

September is also the window to reassess teen driver coverage if your child is heading back to school more than 100 miles away. Most carriers offer a student-away discount of 5 to 15 percent when the teen driver is at school without a car and comes home only on breaks. That discount can be applied at mid-policy, not just at renewal.

What to Do This Week

Set a calendar reminder for the first week of May. Pull your declarations page, confirm your rental car coverage terms, and check whether your teen is formally listed as a named driver. The 45-minute audit in late April prevents the August phone call you don’t want to make.

Ready to put this to work? Pull your current declarations page and compare it against these benchmarks — or run a fresh quote to see where the market has moved since your last renewal.