Auto Insurance Guide:Auto Insurance and Your Teen Driver
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Adding a teen driver to your car insurance can raise rates significantly. And handing your teen the keys to the car can raise your level of stress.
Here are some tips on keeping your insurance costs down when adding a teen to your auto insurance policy:
• Many auto insurance companies give discounts for good grades–usually As and Bs. Check with your company to see if you qualify.
• Some insurance companies also give discounts for taking either their driver training program–or other driver education programs.
• If you have a choice, put the new teen driver as the primary driver or family driver on the oldest and least costly vehicle. This will save you on the rates.
• Before buying a new or used car, check with insurance company to see what the rate will be for the teen. Sports cars and other expensive cars may have higher rates. So know what you’re getting into before you buy. At the link in the box below, you can get rates from a number of companies to compare.
• Also check the crash safety rating and average repair cost for any car you might buy–that will impact the insurance rating, too.
• If getting new insurance, check the rates at a number of companies—use our service to search many companies for the best rates and services.
• If your teen is involved in a minor crash, you might want to have it fixed without reporting it to the company. For a teenager, having an accident–even a minor one–may cause your rates to increase (maybe even more than the cost of repairing the minor damage).
Auto Safety and Your Teen Driver.
Although the cost of auto insurance is of concern, of even more concern is the thought of your teen experiencing an accident. Some think Sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll are the greatest risks to teens safety. However, the biggest threat to teens really is parked just outside your home. Preventable motor vehicle crashes caused by teen drivers are the leading cause of death for teens in America today.
In addition to getting affordable teen auto insurance, your teen will need a lot of help on the road to becoming a smart driver.
As a parent, there is a lot you can do to protect your teen as a driver or, equally important, as a passenger in a car. Believe it or not, teens say their parents have the strongest influence on their driving behavior. Your teen values your guidance when it comes to driving. Take an active role in this important milestone. Be sure to review and discuss this important list with your teen:
• Always wear your seat belt–and make sure all passengers buckle up, too.
• Never try to fit more people in the car than you have seatbelts for them to use.
• Obey the speed limits, Going too fast gives you less time to stop or react. Excess speed is one of the main causes of teenage accidents.
• Don’t run red lights.
• Use turn signals to indicate your intention to turn or to change lanes. Turn it on to give the cars behind you enough time to react before you take the action. Also, make sure the signals turns off after you’ve completed the action.
• When light turns green, make sure intersection clears before you go.
• Don’t drive like you own the road; drive like you own the car.
• Make sure your windshield is clean. At sun rise and sun set, light reflecting off your dirty windshield can momentarily blind you from seeing what’s going on.
• Drive into your garage straight, not on an angle. Another teen thought her car would straighten out before she got inside, but instead she dented the car and broke the molding on the garage.
• Make sure your car has gas in it. Don’t ride around with the gauge on empty–who knows where you might get stranded.
• Don’t drink and drive, and don’t ride with anyone who has been drinking. Call parents or friends to take you home if you need a ride.
• Don’t take drugs or drive if you’ve taken any. Don’t ride with anyone who has been using drugs. Even some over the counter drugs can make you drowsy. Check label for warnings.