Insurance for Teen Drivers

Teenagers driving, that sounds crazy right? Well, every year tons of kids become the proper age for driving and they get behind the wheel of a car. To parents and relatives who have been around them for a long time it might seem scary, and they’d be right. Over 200,000 teens area seen for accidents in the emergency room that were related to car accidents each year, and over 2,000 American teens die as a result of accidents. Many of the accidents are caused by distracted driving which is a big problem for teens in the US. More than 30% of teens admit to texting and e-mailing while driving, and that’s just the ones who admit to it! There are probably a lot more who do it but don’t admit to it. So, it’s understandable that these teenagers would be harder than older adults to insure. Here is a list of the best ways to insure your teenagers.

1. Age is a Factor

Your 16 year old will be lots more expensive to insure than your 19 year old. That’s because most insurance companies assume that by the time you are 19 you will have some more experience under your belt and will be a better driver. Sure, it might be more expensive than say, a 25 year old, but it is still more palatable. In some states insuring a 16 year old will run about $10,000 per year!

2. Choose a Cheap Car

You want to pick out a car for your kids that is cheaper to insure. This will keep your costs lower and make less expenses for you overall. You have to be careful because a car that seems cheap can be an expensive one if the parts for it are hard to find, or worse, if they are not even made anymore. So, do your research and get a good, safe and standard car that will be easy and cheap to insure.

3. Special Teen Insurance Discounts

Even though teens are eligible to insure, they are expensive. There are special discounts they can qualify for which will help you pay for them. The most common one for teens is a discount for good grades, which is just another encouragement for your teen to keep their grades up as if your encouragement wasn’t enough. The requirements aren’t too stringent. Most companies just request something like a B average.

4. Monitoring Can Be Good

Many companies that provide insurance for teen drivers offer parents a way to track their teenagers. These are devices that are put into cars and can track a teen’s location. It can track how fast they are going, how often they had to brake hard and even whether or not they are wearing their seatbelt. Some systems even offer two way communication and video feeds so you can see what your teens are doing. Some insurance companies give discounts of up to 15% for the installation of these devices. However, they can be costly and there is a monthly fee for the monitoring.

5. Get Educated

A driver’s education course can help you to lower the insurance coverage costs of your teen. This is because insurance companies believe that driver’s ed courses will give your kid the knowledge that they need to know to be safe on the roads.

6. Go For a Higher Deductible

If you are worried about your insurance rates going way too sky high because of adding a teen onto your plan, you can always go for a higher deductible. This means that you will pay more if anything happens but you will not pay more on a month to month basis. For some families who assume their teens will be careful, it might be worth it.

7. Other Discounts

Other discounts that you may be able to get include ones that are for having multiple vehicles on the same insurance policy. If your teen has their own car then it might cost a bit to insure them if you get a fully separate policy, so just bundle it into your own car insurance policy.

So now you know how you can insure your teen and possibly save some money through discounts that are offered for teens and their parents.