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.