How to properly insure a teen driver?
The teenage period is a tumultuous period of every kid’s life that’s filled with all kinds of challenges. Getting a driver’s licence is just one of many, but unlike others, this one is very desirable for them – teens are eager to get their licences as soon as possible and experience the first taste of freedom of movement.
However, from a parent’s point of view, this all might seem like a complete nightmare. Unlike teens, parents are aware of all the risks driving involves and aren’t so eager to have their teenage kids driving independently.
Young drivers are the riskiest group as they are inexperienced, dangerous on the road and quick to get tickets and cause accidents. For that reason, insuring your teen driver is an absolute necessity that will also raise your insurance rates. Teenagers do cost more to insure but there are ways you can control how much your insurance policy will climb. Here are several important aspects to consider when insuring your teen driver.
Preparation
From an experienced adult’s standpoint, driving seems easy, but for youngsters, driving is very challenging: they need to learn basic skills, quick judging and decision-making and acquire lots of practice behind the wheel in order to become a good and safe driver.
Driving instructors will teach your child all the basic rules on the road and help them practice their driving skills, but you will need to provide additional encouragement. Your teen will need at least 50 hours of your supervision before they can drive unsupervised and it’s best if you both keep track of how many hours you’ve spent driving together and evaluate your experiences.
Moreover, besides encouraging your kids to study and bring good grades home, urge them to keep their driving score clean as well. This will have a major impact on your rates. Also, giving your teen a big boring car instead of a Corvette, it will be much easier on your wallet and your nerves.
Is teen insurance obligatory?
Nearly every insurance company will demand that all your licenced family members be included in your insurance policy, whether they drive their own cars or yours. There might be an option for your teen to insure their own car, but as minors are mostly not legally allowed to own property or sign agreements, your consent will be necessary.
In most cases, it’s much cheaper to simply add teenagers to your existing insurance policy than it is to exclude them, and then buy an additional car and obtain insurance for that one as well.
If you already own several cars, assign your teen with the one that’s the cheapest to insure. Find information about insurance losses for cars older than eight years and search by make and model. You will find that those cars with lower insurance losses will frequently have lower insurance rates but still provide your teen with protection in case of a crash.
Look for discounts
Since your car insurance rate is quite possibly going to soar an average $800 a year when you add your teen to the policy, make sure you ask your insurer about discounts for teenage drivers. Many insurers award teens who maintain at least a B average. Also, if they are able to keep a clean driving record, insurance costs will be lower.
In addition, if you bundle up several types of insurance into one policy, such as auto, homeowners and life insurance, you’ll be able to cut costs to an extent.
Maintain your parental control
As it is rather intimidating for most parents to accept that their child has grown old enough to drive, there are ways they can still assert certain parental influence over their driving. Some insurance companies offer various monitoring devices that will help you keep an eye on the teen while driving. They might be pricey, but they will provide you with a certain peace of mind and your teen with a sense of security and responsibility. Your kids can be notified if they’re doing something wrong such as speeding, not using the seat belt, hard braking or cornering.
Having a device like this can help you even get an insurance discount but more importantly, it will give you the opportunity to discuss with your teen ways of driving safely. In addition to this option, there’s a lot of technology that you can use to your advantage such as blocking cell phone calls and text messaging while the vehicle is in motion and car speed and stereo volume limitation that can prevent careless driving.
For any responsible and caring parent, making sure your child is safe is one of the highest priorities of parenting. When that child finally starts driving, your worries tend to increase, so making sure you follow these guidelines will help you significantly lower the driving risks and your own anxieties.
Author BIO
If one thing is true about Lillian Connors, her mind is utterly curious. That’s why she can’t resist the urge to embark on a myriad of green living/home improvement projects and spread the word about them. She cherishes the notion that sustainable housing and gardening will not only make us far less dependent on others regarding the dwellings we inhabit, but also contribute to our planet being a better place to live on. You can check her out LinkedIn.