Insurance is the transfer of risk and is designed to restore the insured to where they were before the covered property was damaged or destroyed. As the father does not own the vehicle, he cannot insure the vehicle. Property must be owned by the insured for there to be a reason to insure it. It's like me putting your vehicle on my policy; it's titled to you, not me, and I have no financial interest in the property; why then should I be able to collect financially if your vehicle is damaged?

Even though the sons live in the household with the father, what would happen if a claim check were issued to the father only, as he's the named insured on the policy? The son would not receive payment for property that is rightfully his, and the father would make money off of property that he has no claim to. The father could take the check to Dover and spend it at the races leaving the son without a vehicle or compensation.

Most carriers make claim payments to the named insured, not any insured on the policy. As the named insured in this situation does not own the vehicle, claims will not issue a check if the vehicle is damaged. Although they are relatives in the same household, it is the son's property, not the father's; however it is the father's insurance policy. Even if the son contributes to the premium payment, unless he is listed as a named insured with the father on the policy, there is no coverage. Family arrangements for payments of cars and insurance do not change the legal contract of an insurance policy or a title to a vehicle.

In your situation the father is insuring something he does not own, and that violates the basic principal of insurance. I'm surprised it even got added to the policy and through underwriting; it's common for underwriting to catch the discrepancy and refuse to add the vehicle titled in someone other than the named insured's name. The son needs to have his own policy or the father needs to be added to the title to the son's vehicle. That would give the father an interest in the vehicle he could then insure. Companies frequently will not list unmarried named insureds unless both individuals are titled to all vehicles on the policy; it depends on the company and their underwriting policy.