Teenagers and cars. A blessing and a curse. On the one hand, you can hand some of the driving responsibilities over to your children. On the other hand, you may need to pay an insanely high car insurance premium due to the fact that teenagers are notoriously bad drivers due to inexperience and/or recklessness. Fear not. There are a few ways that you can decrease your teenager’s car insurance premium.
Look at Multiple Insurance Companies. You should never settle for the first insurance company that you consult. Remember to ask multiple Dallas Insurance Agents about their prices and available deductions. You should also consider the company’s reputation for paying back claims and responding to inquiries.
Good Grades. Insurance agencies often offer lower insurance rates for high school and college students who have a history of solid scholastic achievement. The grade that your child we need to achieve to qualify for this deduction will depend on your insurance provider. Generally your student will need to fall within a B to A range to qualify for this discount. The discount is typically 10 to 20% off your student’s car insurance bill. You will need to prove that your student has qualified with a recent report card, SAT scores, or a written testimony from your school’s administrator.
Buy an Old Junky Car. For parents who were former teenagers with junky cars, you should not make up for your own miserable experiences with your own first car by buying your teen an amazing first car. Remember that insurance premiums are based on the value of your car. This is due to the fact that newer cars are more expensive to repair. The cost of labor and parts are higher. Thus the amount that your insurance company will expect is higher.
Defensive Driving. Some insurance providers will decrease your student’s insurance by 5 to 10% when they complete a defensive driving course. The driving course must be state certified by the Department of Public Safety and Motor Vehicles. Your teenager can complete a defensive driving course through a local driver’s education school, the Drivers Education program at your local high school, or through online courses. Be sure to check with your insurance agent before you enroll your student in a Defensive Driving course to make sure that the driving school will qualify you for the deduction.
Limit Driving Time. The amount that an individual drives directly influences how much you or your teenager will need to pay for your auto insurance. While having a teenager that can drive around their siblings or run some chores is handy, a lot of driving will lead to a higher premium. If you want to decrease your monthly premium, you should place a on the amount that your teen will drive every week. If the teen begins driving more, you should inform your insurance agent. If you continue to pay the lower premium despite the fact that the teen no longer qualifies for the lower rate, it could leave your insurance agency grounds to deny your claim.
Having a teen on the road can be stressful. The high insurance premiums that teens are expected to pay can add more stress to your lives. You can decrease the monthly premium and your own stress by cashing in on your student’s good grades, purchasing your teen an old car, enrolling your teen in defensive driving course, and limiting the amount of time your teen is on the road. With these easy steps it will become affordable for your teen to drive.
Earnest Parenting: help for parents who (gulp) have to insure teen drivers.
If you have responsible kids, then you don’t have much of an issue with regard to tickets and accidents. I was on my mother’s car insurance for 8 years. As soon as I had a job that paid enough, I paid half the bill. When I hit 25 and the rates for an individual policy were low enough that it wouldn’t break the bank, I got my own policy. Never had a moving violation (I’ve gotten 1 parking ticket…ever) and never been in an accident.
Teach your kids to be responsible drivers. If they can’t be responsible drivers, then they don’t get a car. Simple as that.
I agree with buying a car that is not worth much for your teenager. However, you have to make sure that it is still a solid car because teenagers are four times more likely to have accidents. You want a car that isn’t going to smash like a coke can in an accident.
4 times more likely? Oy. With 2 of them nearly licensed, this frightens me.