Offsetting The Cost Of Adding A Teen Driver To Your Car Insurance Policy

6 April 2016
 Categories: Insurance, Blog


It's no secret that adding a teenage driver to your auto insurance policy is going to increase your premium. In fact, the cost of insurance premiums increase by 80 percent, on average, when a teenage driver is added to the policy. That much of a difference could really mess up your monthly budget. Fortunately, there are things that you can do to offset some of the cost.

Purchase a Car That's Cheap to Insure for Your Teen

You might think that adding another vehicle to your insurance policy will increase the rates even more. However, that isn't always that case. When you add a teenage driver to your policy, and the teen doesn't have a car that he or she primarily drives, the insurance rates increase across the board. If you drive a nice car that's fully insured, your rates could increase quite a bit. By purchasing a cheap car for your teen and making the teen the primary driver of the vehicle, the risk of the young driver damaging the other vehicles on your policy decreases. So, if your current vehicles are fully insured, consider purchasing a vehicle that costs less to insure, such as a four-door sedan. Then, add the vehicle to your insurance policy with liability coverage only and your teen as the primary driver of the vehicle.

Ask About Discounts

Most insurance companies offer discounts that can offset the cost of your premium. You can talk with a professional, like Kesner Insurance Agency Inc, to see what kinds of deals are available. When you add your teen driver to your insurance policy, ask your insurance agent if your teen qualifies for discounts, like the good student discount. If your child has at least a 3.0 GPA, he or she can usually qualify for these savings (however, some companies are more stringent in their GPA requirements).

Some companies also offer discounts for drivers who take an optional defensive driving course. If your insurance company offers a discount after the course is completed, it could be worth it for all of the drivers in your household to take the course.

Install a Monitoring Device

Some insurance companies offer devices that can be installed in vehicles to monitor a driver's behavior. If the monitoring device shows that your teen practices safe driving habits, such as following the speed limit, accelerating at a decent pace, and coming to a complete stop, it could lower your insurance rates. Of course, if your teen isn't practicing safe driving habits, it won't decrease your premium, but it will make you aware of which habits your teen needs to break as soon as possible.

The fact is, any time you add a newly licensed driver to your insurance policy, your premium is going to increase. By taking advantage of discounts, purchasing vehicles that are cheap to insure, and using a monitoring device, you can offset some of the costs so that the increase isn't as drastic.


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