My daughter just had her fifteenth birthday and my wife and I are already preparing for six months from now when we get auto insurance with her name on it. She’ll get her Missouri driver’s permit and then a year from now she will get a graduated driver’s license.
Adding a teenager to your already existing insurance is great if you have insurance with discounts for added drivers. Despite having our own insurance, my wife and I are still shopping around to see if other insurance policies are better than our existing one. Here is a guide for all concerned parents who want to save money when a driver comes of age and still wants good coverage.
In general you will want to find an insurance policy that is cheaper for teenagers, not necessarily cheaper in general. According to Edmunds.com, teenagers are six times more likely to get into car accidents than 30 to 59 year-olds so the premiums on all teenagers will be higher than adults.
Good Grades, Good Driving
Keeping your teenager safe is important. Have your teenage know all of the laws before they take their driving test. In Missouri, there is a handy guide online and in booklet format that explains all of the basic rules of the road.
My teenager loves to text. A good investment is to get a BlueTooth attachment for a cell phone so they are less likely to be distracted while driving. Absolutely no texting while driving to keep everyone safe on the road is a must for your teenager.
Many insurance companies will give discounts for good grades because they figure, and correctly so, that a teenager responsible enough to earn high marks in school can also be a more prudent driver. Edmunds says that you can save up to ten percent on car insurance this way.
Motivating your teen to be a good driver and maintain good grades can be several fold. Allow them an extra hour or two of curfew, spend more time with friends, even tell them that the family can save up for them to have their own car to help teach them responsibility as an adult.
Ordering Insurance
Here are some decent plans for teens when you shop around. Rates will vary based upon geographic areas (the more cars in your area, the greater chances of a wreck and hence higher insurance) and what kind of car the teenager will have access to.
Since your teen is your own child and you want to protect them as much as possible, I would settle for nothing less than full coverage even if your state just requires liability insurance. Full coverage is more expensive but in the long run, which is just three years, it will be worth it.
You’ve seen the advertising for Allstate Insurance and accident forgiveness and safe teen drivers. Adding your teen to a policy is fairly simple and there are many programs that reward safe drivers. With many budget cuts in public schools, enrolling your child in a driver education class may cost a fee but it is well worth it.
Progressive Insurance is probably a cheaper way to go if you want small premiums. Progressive may be cheaper in general even though they may not offer as many discounts. The key is to shop around for many types of premiums and policies. When drivers turn 19 their premiums go down as much as 30 to 35 percent.
