Teenagers and cars are not a very safe combination. The adrenaline and hormones that run through the veins of a teenager have proven to be the cause of many accidents. Another factor that causes traffic accidents is the inexperience of these new adolescent drivers. You can’t let your teen drive the streets without the protection of auto insurance coverage. These auto insurance coverages can be obtained from various insurance companies. Most auto insurance companies in your area offer teen insurance coverage to protect your teen, her car, and anything else she may damage while driving. The problem with these teen insurance coverages is that they are often expensive. Insurance companies feel they are exposing themselves to greater claim risk when they insure teenagers. However, there are ways you can lower your premiums when you get insurance coverage for your teen.
The first tip is to find the insurance company that offers the best rates on car insurance coverage for teen drivers. There are many of these insurance companies. You have to choose the one that offers the most comprehensive coverage for the least amount of premium. Request for quotes online. There are websites that even offer comparative quotes that put quotes from various insurance companies side by side so you can properly evaluate your options. Until the teen driver reaches the age of 25, she cannot expect to earn a minimum rate. Any insurance company that cuts its rates much lower than its competitors should warrant further investigation. Insurance companies that make offers that are too good to be true probably are. Beware of companies that are just looking to get your premium money and then prove useless when there is a claim.
It would also be a good idea to look for auto insurance companies that offer discounts even for teen drivers. There are those companies that encourage good academic performance by giving discounts to teenage drivers with good grades. Some insurance companies offer resident student discounts to teen drivers who no longer live with their parents or are at a college far from home. Such academic performance, to these insurance companies, is an indication of the amount of responsibility a teen driver exhibits. On the contrary, the prospect of being able to save money on car insurance premiums might cause your teen to improve her grades a bit.
There are other things you can do even before your teen needs auto insurance to set the stage for lower premiums. You can send your teenager to driving school. Those who successfully complete their driver’s education course have a better chance of being able to haggle for lower auto insurance premiums. Also, make sure that the car your teen decides to buy or the car you choose to buy for your teen is considered a low-risk car. This simply means that there are no SUVs, sports cars, or luxury cars. A nice old sedan would work just fine at this point in your teen’s life, unless he’s willing to shell out the money for car insurance premiums, which, by the way, isn’t much of a good idea. You should let your teen pay their own teen auto insurance premiums to give them more responsibility for keeping their car in good condition and their driving record clean and free of violations.