If you have a teenager getting ready to drive or one that just started driving, one of the most important decisions you could make is buying the right type of insurance. Today, insurance companies offer specialty auto insurance designed just for the teenager driver. Obviously as a parent, you dread every time your teenager gets behind the wheel but just as you had to learn, they too have to start somewhere. In addition to proper driving and safety education, having specialty auto insurance provides a little bit of comfort.
The one thing you need to know is that shopping around for the best specialty auto insurance policy is imperative when it comes to a teenager driver. The reason is that coverage of this type does not come cheap because teenagers in general have more accidents than adults do simply because of less experience. Therefore, along with getting great coverage, it would be worth your time to shop around for the most affordable premium.
The good news is that specialty auto insurance for a teenage driver could be discounted if certain factors were in place. For example, if you are divorced and your teenage son or daughter lives half of the time with you and half of the time with your ex-spouse, if you both maintain insurance through the same insurance company, you may not need to purchase a separate policy in that the teen would be covered by both parent’s policy. The teen as an “uninsured driver” could be a biological, step, or adopted child.
In addition, when looking at specialty auto insurance for a teenage driver, most insurance companies will offer discounts for various things. If your child maintains a certain GPA or above, chances are a reduction in price would be available. If your teen has been driving for awhile and has never received a ticket or been in an accident, a discount might be offered. You would need to check with the different companies from which you request a quote about the discounts offered for specialty auto insurance specific to your teen.
It is important to understand that even the most affordable specialty auto insurance policies are always going to be more expensive for boys than for girls. The reason is that statistics show that boys have more accidents than girls do so to protect their investment, insurance companies charge more for male teenage drivers. Typically, once the teenager reaches age 25, especially for males, the price of the specialty auto insurance policy would decrease substantially.
In addition, you must be 100% honest with the insurance company at all cost. If you allowed your teenager to drive but not have him or her on the policy of the parent that owns the vehicle, if the company finds out they have right to cancel the policy or refuse to pay a claim if an accident happened. Unfortunately, studies show that 14% of all drivers involved with a fatality are teenagers. In other words, for every 100 accidents involving death, 14 involved a teenage driver.
In fact, recent reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that teenage drivers of 16 and 17 years of age are three times more likely to have an accident than teenagers of 18 and 19 years of age. Although no specialty auto insurance policy is going to stop an accident from happening, it would provide coverage for proper medical care and protect the teen and family from lawsuit if your teenager were the driver at fault in a serious accident.
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