Insure Teen or Student Drivers On Parent’s Car Insurance Policy
Once your teenager earns his or her driver’s license and begins driving, you may be under the impression they’ll be automatically covered by your existing car insurance policy when they drive your car. This may be a catastrophic mistake. Depending on your state laws and your individual auto insurance policy, you may be required to add your teenager onto your policy. If not, they may not be covered at all, which means you could be stuck with crippling expenses should your teenager be at fault in an auto accident.
Car insurance companies generally need to know when your teenager begins to drive your vehicle. The reason being, teenagers are statistically much more likely to be involved in a car accident. In fact, 16 and 17 year-olds are three times more likely to be involved in an auto accident than adults. Since they are a greater liability, it’s no surprise that auto insurers want to know when they’re driving your car and will likely raise your insurance rates significantly.
Don’t be surprised if your car insurance premium doubles when your teenager is added to your policy. And it may even go higher. A teenage male will usually drive premiums higher than a teenage female, since boys are involved in a higher percentage of car accidents than girls. How much your premium rises depends also on many other factors, some of which are out of your control.
Yet just because your teenager is added to your policy doesn’t mean you have to get gouged with expensive auto insurance. There are a number of things you can do to reduce your premium even if you’ve added a teenager to your insurance policy.
- Increase your deductible: When you increase your deductible – the amount you pay before your insurance begins covering damage – you effectively reduce your auto insurers liability. Doing so results in a lower premium rate.
- Get a good student discount: If your teenager averages a B or better in school, ask your auto insurance company about a good student discount, which can reduce your premium by 5 to 15%.
- Have your teen take a driver’s education course: Teenagers who complete a driver’s ed course can sometimes get a discount on a car insurance premium.
- Choose a safer, less expensive car: Safer and older cars are worth less, and thus are also a lower liability to a car insurance company.
- Combine policies: When you combine auto policies or bundle different types of policies, such as life insurance, homeowner’s insurance, and health insurance, with the same insurance provider, you can usually get a big reduction or discount on all your insurance rates.
- Encourage good driving: Once your teenager establishes a clean driving record free from tickets and accidents, your insurance company will be more inclined to offer cheaper quotes or premium rates.
Quick Car Insurance Quotes
If you’re not satisfied with the rate you’re receiving from your car insurance provider after you’ve added your teenager to the policy or feel you need to comparison shop to ensure you are getting the best car insurance rates for your family, feel free to shop around.
MyCarInsuranceRates.com allows you to get instant auto insurance quotes from many of the best car insurance companies in the US. So take a moment now, enter your zip code and get a side by side comparison of car insurance rates and policies, and save a bundle on cheap car insurance for your teen or student driver.
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