Tips For Keeping Your Teen's Auto Insurance As Low As Possible

Allowing your teenager to drive gives them independence and can be beneficial to you. They can now drive themselves to and from school, sports and school events and to hang out with their friends. You will no longer have to be their personal taxi and shuttle them around. However, having a teenage driver is not cheap. Teenage drivers are more likely to be in car accidents than experienced drivers due to their lack of driving experience. However, this does not mean that you need to spend a ton of money on car insurance once your teen hits the road. Here are a few tips to help you keep your teen's auto insurance as low as possible.

Keep Your Teenager On Your Auto Insurance Policy

When you are looking to insure an teenage driver, you have to decide whether to get them their own auto insurance policy or whether to keep them on your policy. As a general rule of thumb, it is cheaper to keep them listed on a household or family auto insurance plan, rather than an individual plan. This is because a family plan is often discounted for insuring multiple people and multiple automobiles. You may also be receiving a discount for being a good driver and a safe driver. While your auto insurance rates will go up when you add a teen driver to this type of policy, the difference is typically less than it would be to insure the new driver under their own insurance policy.

Find Out If The Car You Are Buying For Them is Expensive to Insure

If you are looking to keep expenses as low as possible when your teen starts driving, you may not want to get them their own car. Instead, you may just want to list them as an occasional driver of your existing cars. However, if it is not practical for you to share a car and they need their own wheels, find out from the insurance company if a certain make or model of car you are considering buying for them is expensive to insure. Many parents make the mistake of thinking that just because a car is low in price, it will not be expensive to insure. Some low priced cars may be more likely to be stolen or severely damaged if they are involved in an accident, making them more costly to insure. Price out various cars before buying to find one that will not further increase your auto insurance rates.

Have Them Participate in a Safe Driving Course

Many insurance companies offer discounts for any driver that participates in a safe driving class or defensive driving course, including teenage drivers. If you are looking to keep your auto insurance rates as low as possible, ask your insurance company if they offer this discount and then sign yourself and your teen up for a class.

When your teen first begins to drive, you can expect your auto insurance rates to increase. However, there are things you can do to keep the increase as minimal as possible. Keeping the teen on your auto insurance policy, pricing out insurance rates for cars before you buy them for a teen, and having your teen participate in a safe driving course can all help you save money on auto insurance with a teen driver.  


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