Adding a teen to your car insurance policy will add to your insurance costs, but how much? I’ve seen a teen driver add as little as $30 monthly to a policy premium or more than $300 depending on a wide range of factors. Here are a few things you can do to get the best rates possible for your teen.
- Most important. Be committed to getting your teen the practice and training to be a good driver. It is easy to miss this point in the rush of life, but it is so true that there’s an old saying for it: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Prevent that accident in the first place! Equip them with the skills.
- Call your agent ahead of time to get a sense for the costs and discounts involved (Good student? Drivers Ed? A telematics device?). And make this call before you buy a new car for your teen as sometimes adding another household vehicle for the teen can change the household risk profile considerably. In other words, adding your teen driver to the household is quite different from adding a teen driver and another car.
- If —if— your car is an older car that isn’t worth very much, see how much the collision coverage in particular changes the rate. It may be worth it to you to drop the coverage but know what you’re giving up without the coverage.
- Involve your teen in the insurance process too! One of my favorite things to do for parents is to meet with their teen. I give an insurance overview, quiz them about what to do in an accident, and show them how much an accident—or good grades—can change the rates.