Car Insurance for
Teens
Your son (or
daughter) is about to get the magic drivers license. He
(or she) is hinting about buying him a car or looking
longingly at your car keys-maybe you should hide them.
Consider that adding a teen to your policy can double or
even triple your premium, before you give out those keys-
better shop around for car insurance before your children
get licenses to lower those rates. Finding cheap car
insurance for the young driver can be a
challenge.
First,
read their report card. Most insurers offer
discounts--sometimes as much as 25%--for students with a
B average or better. That's all the more reason to
encourage your child to study hard.
Make sure your
newbie drivers have had driver's education. This can help
reduce rates.
If your household
has more than one car, pay attention to what car she
drives. Even if you never give your teen the keys to the
SUV, your car insurance company may price your policy as
if she drove the most expensive car in your garage. Be
sure to ask about this expensive provision-ask for a
reduction by demonstrating you are not going to allow him
to drive the expensive vehicle or switch insurers if the
reduction is disallowed.
Or you can send him
away to school, sans auto. Many insurers discount family
car insurance premiums when a teen is away at school
without a car. They, charge lower, "married" rates for
away-from-home students. "Away" usually means 100 miles
or more from home. The discount, which could be worth 10%
or more off family policy, is good year-round, not just
during the school year.
Finally consider
having insurance in child's own name as soon as they
reach legal age for your state. Consider, if your son
runs a stoplight in a car insured by you and injures
someone, your insurance policy will pay damage claims up
to its limits, but your total premium will be hiked by 5%
to 15% or so. But if your child had his own insurance
policy, you wouldn't be responsible for the legal
damages, and his premium would be the one that
suffers.
And if your car
insurance is still too high, public transportation for
teens, at least some of the time, is a good idea. After
all, the less they drive, the less chance of an accident;
and that will lower your rates too.

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