How To Choose The Best Car/Auto Insurance For Teens

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When your teenager is learning to drive, a fear of accidents isn’t the only scary thing parents are confronted with. There’s also the task of obtaining auto insurance for your new driver without having to take out a second mortgage on the house. A recent study by Insurance Quotes found that the average married couple will pay 80% more for their car insurance after adding a teen driver. This can vary by state – in New Hampshire, the average couple saw a 115% boost to the prices of their premium. To help out, we’ve assembled some basic information that every parent should know when shopping for car insurance for teens.

Things you should consider when shopping for teen auto insurance

Here are some things that every parent should know when shopping around for car insurance for their teen:

  1. Find out whether it matters if a teen is driving your car versus their own. You may be on a blanket family plan that covers every driver in the family for every car, or you could be on a car by person plan. Keep in mind that adding a teen driver to a family plan may make the rates go up on all your cars.
  2. Find out if your policy covers permit drivers ahead of time. Some carriers make this additional coverage.
  3. Before you buy a car for your teen, find out if the type of car will matter for insurance company rates. Not just when it comes to a station wagon versus a shiny red hot rod…different cars have different crash ratings and repair expenses that can affect their policy rates.
  4. Going with a higher deductible can certainly save you money, just remember that teen drivers often experience more smaller dings and fender benders. If you have a newer car and the potential repairs for even a smaller accident could get expensive, it may be worth it to pay a little more.
  5. Find out whether your child’s friends in the car are covered. In the remote chance that your child causes an accident that injures a friend, you don’t want any surprises later.

How car crashes will affect your auto premiums

Here is an example of how each at fault accident will affect your auto premiums, according to a 2008 Insurance.com study:

Number of accidents:                            Average annual premium

One                                                      $1,689

Two                                                      $2,041

Three                                                   $2,348

Four                                                     $2,806

Keep this in mind and share this information with your teen to give them extra safety incentive.

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