If there’s one phone call every single parent dreads, it’s the call to their insurance company to add their teenaged driver to their policy. Their mind is awash with worry that their teen could become a statistic, like the 2400 teens who passed away from car accidents in 2019. And now, to add insult to injury, they’ll be staring down some serious sticker shock once they add their child to the insurance policy.
Even parents with relatively cheap car insurance can experience a serious spike when the time comes to add their teenager. So, how do you insure your young driver without breaking the bank? Our guide will show you some helpful steps to finding cheap car insurance quotes for you and your teenager.
First Things First, Brace for Impact
This isn’t the message that you want to hear. We understand.
Trust us when we tell you, however, that it’s better to brace for impact. It doesn’t matter what you do. When you add a teenager to your insurance policy, your rates will go up. Go in with that expectation, and you won’t experience near as much sticker shock.
The average rate increase for a policy adding a teenage driver is around a hundred and thirty percent. Mentally prepare yourself for that price increase in advance. It will help.
“What If I Just Didn’t Add Them?”
If the thought of your policy premiums increasing by that much has your heart racing, you’ve likely entertained the thought of simply not adding your child to your car insurance policy. We’re here to tell you that’s a horrible idea for many, many reasons.
First off, misrepresenting anything, no matter how small, on your auto insurance can be considered insurance fraud. Insurance fraud has severe consequences ranging from losing your policy to fines to even jail time. It’s not worth risking jail time to save a few dollars.
Secondly, if your child isn’t on your insurance policy, despite being a licensed driver, they may not receive the benefits of your Personal Injury Protection or MedPay coverage if they get hurt when driving your car. This could leave you and your family footing expensive medical bills.
“They Have Their License, But They Don’t Drive My Car”
You might wonder if you even need to add someone to your policy if they won’t be driving your car. Here’s the thing: Insurance companies can’t take your word alone that the teen won’t ever drive your car. Even if you believe your child would never drive your car without your express permission, they might still do it.
Insurance companies have to protect themselves, other drivers, and you against that risk. So, if they have their license, they need to be added to the policy.
“Fine, I’ll Add Them on the Oldest Car I Own”
Adding your teenage driver to the oldest car that you own might seem like an easy way to get cheap car insurance quotes. However, for many insurance providers, that method will not work. Most insurance providers will rate your teenage driver against the newest or most expensive vehicle on your policy, as there’s no guarantee that they won’t ever drive that car.
Some insurance companies give you the option to limit a driver to one specific car, but you need to research the matter thoroughly to see if they have that available. Plus, as a parent, wouldn’t you want your child to drive a vehicle with the latest and greatest safety features, rather than an old clunker that could give out on them when they need it most?
“So, Giving Them a Sports Car Won’t Matter Then?”
Before you go thinking you can give in to your teen’s pleas to gift them a sports car, let us restate that you can limit them to a single car on the policy with certain providers. In so doing, you need to consider the type of car you give them.
Sports cars, trucks, and high-performance vehicles have the potential to do a lot of damage in the hands of an inexperienced driver. As such, insurance companies will rate them as higher risks, prompting higher premiums. Far better to give them a safe four-door sedan and save the extra cash.
“They’re Eighteen- Do I Have to Insure Them?”
If the teenager in question didn’t get their license until age eighteen, you might be in luck. They’re eligible to enter into their own insurance contract. So, if you’re confident they have the finances to handle their own payments or are willing to help them foot the bill, feel free to send them packing to a Google search for cheap teen car insurance.
However, as long as they still live in your home and you cover most of their expenses, you can pay for their coverage. Can, and likely should, since you would be able to give them lower ratings than they would find on their own, and may have access to other discounts through insurance bundles and the like.
“What If They’re Going to College?”
If the teenage driver is going off to college soon, you might not think you need to find cheap car insurance for them. After all, they might not be driving much, if at all. Especially if their school has limited or nonexistent parking for freshmen.
However, they could still step behind the wheel of a classmate’s car. This means that they might still need coverage in the event of an accident. Thankfully, some insurance companies offer discounts or special statuses that can reduce your premiums drastically if your child doesn’t need or use their personal vehicle.
“Is There Anything That Can Lower My Premium?”
Thankfully, despite the fact that your premiums will almost assuredly get higher after adding a teenage driver, you’re not without options. There is a multitude of ways that you can mitigate the increases in your car insurance premiums. Some tactics you can try may include:
Check for Discounts
We touched on this above, but make sure that you check with your insurance provider for any discounts they can offer. Some insurers offer discounts for students with exceptional grades. Others, as mentioned above, can discount or lower your premiums when your teen’s car isn’t in use when they’re at school.
Another common discount available for any age group is a defensive driving discount. If you or your teen can prove that you’ve taken one of these courses (and were not required to do so by law) you can slash your premium costs significantly. And, of course, if they’re not the primary driver for a vehicle on the policy, having them listed as secondary can help you save as well.
You should also make sure that you have taken advantage of any safety features and bundling discounts you can. If you don’t, you could be missing out on a chance to lower your costs.
Ask for a Policy Review
Insurance agents are more than happy to help review your policy with you and help you find any savings that you may need. Trust us, they’d sooner help you adjust your coverages and search for discounts than lose you as a customer entirely.
Conducting a complete policy review to find all the ways in which you could save on your insurance costs will take some time. Make sure to dedicate an afternoon to the process so that you can ensure the best possible deal.
Adjust Deductibles
Another way to receive cheap car insurance without changing insurance providers is to adjust your policy’s deductibles. You don’t want to ditch Comprehensive and Collision coverage with a young driver in the house, believe us. So, adjusting your deductibles might be the best way to fiddle with the price.
If you increase your deductibles, or your amount paid out of pocket in the event of an accident, you can decrease your premiums slightly. Failing that, you may need to see what coverages you can eliminate elsewhere in your policy.
Pack Your Patience
Many insurance companies rate young drivers highly in their first year on the road. This rating can decrease with each year that your teen drives, which will help lower your premiums. With each year of safe driving, their associated risk will decrease, proving to the insurance company that they don’t need to prepare for payouts.
We realize that’s a tough pill to swallow when budgeting for your monthly expenses. However, if your teen keeps consistent insurance coverage throughout their driving life, it will make it much easier for them to find cheap car insurance when they strike out on their own.
Getting Cheap Car Insurance for Teens: Let’s Review
Cheap car insurance for teens can be a tall order to ask for, especially if you don’t want to swap car insurance providers. However, if you reach out to your insurance company and conduct a full, thorough policy review and see what options they have available, you may be surprised how many savings you can find.
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