Insuring Your Young Driver With Less Stress

Where does time go? It seems like my oldest child was just a baby or a preschooler, and then he was a middle school kid trying to fit in. Now, all of a sudden, it is time to get him his driver’s license. Even though I enjoy watching my kids grow up, there are some milestones that I wish I could put off. While his new independence please me, it also scares me. But I know that I, like every parent, just need to do the best I can to make sure he uses his new ability to drive the family car safely.

Of course, I am the one who will pay the increased car insurance bills. My first quote, from my old auto insurer, was triple my old rate. I did a bit of shopping, and took some action, and managed to reduce that somewhat. Here are some of the things found out about getting lower car insurance rates.

• Driver’s Safety Courses – Make sure that your new drivers gets started the right way by taking an approved driver’s safety course. These courses have been proven to save lives and reduce accidents. They should also earn you a decent discount from yoru insurer so they are certainly worth the time
• Safe Cars To Insure – Insurers do keep statistics in the types of cars that tend to result in lower claims, either because of auto damage or personal injury. If you can choose a new, or different, vehicle for your new driver, research this important topic. You can save money on your premiums, and you will be protecting your offspring.
• Good Grades Help – Since a young driver does not have his or her own driving history, insurers tend to lump them all in a very high risk group. However, many insurers also know that kids with decent grades tend to be responsible in many different areas of their life. If your son or daughter has a B average, look for good student discounts too.
• Multi-Policy Discounts – Just as you can combine your home and car coverage for a discount, you may be able to throw all of your business at one insurer to see what sort of discounts they offer. Do not assume that your old company will be cheapest. After all, their underwriting may favor a mature, experienced driver like you, but it may not favor your son or daughter.

I have had another tip from an insurer since I drive a fairly new car that carries full coverage. He did not think I should insure my son on my car at all. That agent suggested I look into buying an older car for my son, and then only buy liability coverage. Of course, that suggestion is risky because if he would wreck it, and the accident was his fault, we would not be compensated for damages to his car at all. I am looking into buying an older, used car, and then insuring it with a fairly high deductible. That way, the car will be covered in case of an accident, if it is wrecked I do not lose my car, and also, we do not have to compete for use of the car on Friday night!