ifydcat Guess what? Teens are terrible drivers, by and large. They speed and they get in wrecks (and not necessarily in that order). This means that you have to be prepared for a major expense when you are going to insure them. However, there are some tips to help you reduce that bill a bit — check this article out to get started.
In most states, teens have to take a driving safety class before they can even think about getting their full driver’s license. However, there are also defensive driving classes that they can take that will bring your rates down as well. Check with your insurance provider to see if taking that defensive driving class will bring down those premiums a bit for your teenager; policies vary depending on the company.
Some insurance providers give discounts for high grade point averages. The thinking is that people who get good grades are better drivers — and this is proven by the statistics. As a result, if you can encourage your child to keep their grades up, then your auto insurance rates will drop — depending on the provider. Again, check with your provider to see if that discount is available.
Insurance premiums are based on the value of the car. If you buy them a brand new Hummer, your premiums will be sky-high. However, a Honda Civic that is 8 years old or a Ford Explorer with 60,000 miles on it will not have nearly as high a value. As a result, it won’t cost the insurance company as much to replace — and so your premiums will be lower. Also, when your teen gets in that first wreck, he won’t be wrecking that new Hummer — he’ll just be adding a dent or two to that old Civic.
Your insurer will ask you to estimate the amount of driving that your teen will do. If you can keep their mileage low, then their rates will be lower — because they’ll be less of a risk on the road. You need to be reasonably honest when making this estimate, so find out how far it is to school and back, and to work and back, and make an estimate that will match those values and keep your premiums as low as possible.
There are many insurers that will give you a discount for combining coverages. For example, if you have your homeowner’s policy with one carrier, that carrier may discount both coverages if you have your auto insurance with them as well. This may mean that you change auto carriers in order to get the discount, but if the difference is worth it, then you may consider combining with one carrier.
Some insurance companies will guide you through the initial sign-up process to get you the best deal possible, but many of them will not. It’s important to know what questions to ask. Good news, though — when they turn 24, their rates will go down — and hopefully sooner than that, you won’t have to pay.
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