How much is car insurance for teens?
Teens and other drivers with less than 3 years experience often pay triple the premium, mature drivers pay.
And for teens with tickets and accidents, it could cost as much as a monthly car payment.
This might surprise you, but the best way to buy insurance for teens and new drivers is often times the cheapest way too.
Why is car insurance for teens so expensive?
Teens make up only 5% of all drivers but are involved in 20% of all accidents – and 8% of all fatalities!
New drivers need time to gain the experience needed to help them avoid accidents.
They also need to understand how dangerous driving a car really is.
Many teens tend to have friends in the car with them and tend to give in to peer pressure by,
- driving too fast in wet conditions,
- trying to make the light before it turns red,
- following too closely
- changing lanes too quickly.
- Fiddle with their cellphones
Teens forget about the other drivers on the road and that those drivers must react to their actions.
That’s why newly licensed drivers cost so much to insure.
Should you Buy a Teen driver their own policy?
Some parents are tempted to buy a teen their own car insurance.
The problem with this strategy is that in order to make it affordable, their teenager is forced to buy a stripped-down policy. Usually, just state minimum coverage.
Even when stripped down, it hardly saves the parent any money and leaves the teen with little or no coverage after an accident.
Sacrificing important coverage like Bodily Injury Liability, Comprehensive, Collision and Uninsured Motorist to save money.
The best and (usually the cheapest way) to insure a teen is to add them to their parent’s policy.
can adding the teen to their parent’s policy save money?
Parents usually qualify for better car insurance rates than teens because more discounts are available.
Most teens won’t qualify for the following discounts:
- credit score discount
- homeownership discount
- prior insurance discount
- multi-car discount
In addition, parents usually have higher coverage compared to what their teen could buy on their own.
So if your teen gets into an accident, there’s more liability if they cause an accident and more uninsured motorist coverage, if they were to get hurt in the accident.
Chances are if the teen is under eighteen years old, the parents would be liable anyway.
Lastly, by putting the teen on the parent’s policy, he or she would be eligible to drive any car in the household – not just the one they are rated on.
This could avoid an uncovered claim if you parked behind their car and they decide to use yours to visit a friend or run to the store.
What’s the best way to insure a new teen driver?
Add them and their car to the parent’s policy.
It will cost about the same, but the teen will be protected by the higher limits and broader coverage the parent’s policy affords them.
Embrace the fact that your teen is driving – just make sure they have enough coverage by adding them to your policy.
If you’re interested in getting a quote for your teen driver, click below:
Low rates, Choice of Companies, and Personal Advice from Local Agents
Cronin Insurance is the Wise Choice
