Whether you are a teenager or are the parent of a teenager, you are going to have to face reality: teens can get licensed to drive! In fact, getting a driver license is almost a requirement for everyone, including teenagers. As you prepare for this inevitable event, you will also have to face the issue of getting car insurance for teens. Here we will review some of the considerations involved with insuring teenaged drivers and some hints to minimize their impact on cost.
Lack of experience
Car insurance is expensive enough without being a new driver, but as a new driver, a teen is considered to be a very high risk because of the inherent lack of driving experience. Although most states require a certain amount of hours behind the wheel with a beginner’s permit before being licensed, this time doesn’t count for much in the eyes of insurance companies. A good way to improve the insurance costs for a teen is by enrolling in an approved driver training course. Many companies offer as much as a 10% discount if the teen driver has completed such a program.
The issue of experience can be addressed once the teen has car insurance. By demonstrating care while driving (i.e. no driving violations or accidents), the teen car insurance rates will go down over time. While many teens want to stretch the limits of their new freedom, they should be counseled about the dramatic costs of driving incidents on the cost of their insurance.
Stability
Insurers assume that a teen driver is going to be unstable and unpredictable, so they will increase the cost of their insurance. While such instability is part of the nature of a teenager, there are some things you can do to mitigate its cost. First, you can find many insurance companies that offer discounts of up to 10% for teens with good grades. Insurance companies have found that teens who are better students are less of a risk for loss. This means that if you are a teen and you want to make driving as affordable as possible, you should become a serious student with a GPA of 3.0 or better.
Buying car insurance for teenage drivers on a separate policy is almost always more expensive than adding the teen driver to an existing policy of a parent. The better rates can be partially accounted for by the multi-car discounts that most insurers offer. Also, when the insurer sees that that the teen has some degree of accountability at home, they consider the driver as being more stable and therefore less of a risk on the road. Because of this, it’s very important to get quotes for adding on a teen to existing car insurance and for separate car insurance for teens. This information will help you decide which approach to take.
Some insurers have parent-teen driving agreements that you can sign. While not guaranteed, having one of these agreements in place can lower young driver car insurance costs.
Statistics
There’s not much that can be done to overcome the statistics of teen drivers. Not only are teen drivers statistically involved in more crashes than adults (they are four times likely to be in a crash per mile), they are more likely to die on the road, making highway accidents the leading cause of teen deaths. Insurers also know that 30% of the costs involved in auto accidents are caused by teens in the driver seat. You can do your part in improving these statistics, but other than that, you are stuck as part of this high risk group.
Another statistic that a teen driver can’t do much about is gender: males are twice as likely to be involved in an auto accident as females. Again, you can work to improve the statistics, but you’re not going to be able to change the effect of your gender on the cost of teen auto insurance.
The CDC has proven that teen drivers are at significantly higher risk of accidents and injuries if they are driving with other teens in the car. Teens are also documented to be lax in seat belt use. Also, over half of teen highway deaths occur on the weekend. These are all factors involved in the cost of young people car insurance.
While becoming a teen driver is a milestone of life, it comes with much responsibility and much danger, making the cheapest car insurance for teens quite expensive. By following these simple tips and making sure teens are educated concerning the risks of driving at their age, you can lower teen car insurance costs and improve chances of survival without injury or loss.
- What is a Good Car for a 16 Year Old?
- Car Insurance for Teenage Drivers
- Cheapest Car Insurance For Young Drivers
- Car Insurance For Teenagers
- Young People Car Insurance
