Car Insurance for Teenagers

Understanding Car Insurance for Teenagers

There are many factors that play into a quoted car insurance premium. Insurance companies associate the risk involved when determining what coverage they can offer, and at what price to the consumer. Most frequently, car insurance rates reflect the driving record of the insured, but there are many other determining factors that can raise a rate when seeking car insurance for teenagers.

• Previous accident records
• Previous street violations or speeding tickets
• Age
• Gender
• Credit score
• GPA
• Insured automobile safety record

Tips to Lower Premiums

There are a few things parents and teens can do in effort to lower car insurance premiums.

• Set a good example: Encourage your teen to follow street laws, speed limits and safety precautions. Teens adapt their driving habits from watching their parents. Do you run yellow lights? Do you frequently pass in the turning lane? All of these observations can affect your teen’s perception on how to drive. Keep your family safe by leading your pack with a strict set of safety standards.

• Teenage curfew: Many states mandate a teenage curfew. Know the law and make sure your teen is never in violation.

• Multiple discount: Add your teen to your pre-existing automobile policy. It costs less to insure a teen by adding them to your own policy rather than seeking out their own coverage. By including them in a pre-existing policy, you’re likely to reap the multiple policy discount rewards often by insurance companies. For more discounts, consider combining your home, auto and life insurance under one umbrella policy.

• Hit the books: Auto insurance rates for teens frequently depend on their grade point average, or GPA. The higher school grades your teen earns, the less their auto policy premium will be. A rate of 3.0 or higher frequently decreases premiums by ten percent. Not bad, considering a higher GPA will also earn them a potential scholarship or entrance into the higher education facility of their choice.

• Drivers education courses: Insurance companies favor teens that have completed an extensive drivers education course through their school or community college. Many states mandate this education course, while others do not. Find out which insurance companies offer these discounts and then find out which school courses are accepted for the discount. Determine if the cost of the program outweighs the benefit of the discount, often the courses can be costly.

• Sports cars: It’s not entirely likely that the average teen will get their pick of their first automobile, but for those that do, steer clear of sports cars. A safe car with the newest safety protection devices will actually lower premiums.

• Drop tops: Convertible cars, along with pick up trucks are costly automobiles for teens to drive. Instead, consider a family sedan (four door) car with high safety ratings. Not only will your child be safer behind the wheel, the premium will be much less, not to mention the gas expense for filling up a four-wheel drive pick up.

• Drinking and driving: Number one on a parental nightmare level, drinking and driving is not only life threatening, but skyrockets automobile rates. Set up a plan for dealing with this situation. Teens need to be taught that no matter what they’ve done, they should be able to call home and get a safe ride before they ever step foot into a car as a driver after drinking. In addition, teens should also be taught to avoid riding as a passenger with a driver who is intoxicated.

Split the Expense

In effort to afford expensive auto insurance premiums, many parents suggest their teens contribute to the cause by working a part time job. Not only will their earned income make for supplemental weekend spending money, it will help them learn responsibility and the costs associated with the privilege to drive. Encourage your teen to split some of their hard earned cash to keep them driving safely in an automobile they enjoy.