Teen drivers and insurance cost (ideas, legally, teens, milk)

[fallingwater]

My son turned 16 and we are now looking at the costs (and worries) of him driving. I called my insurance company to find out what we are looking at once he starts drivers ed and getting his license. I was told our insurance is going to double on our old car that has PLPD (which really stinks because it will be just as much as our brand new car with full coverage). She said she would figure out how much it would be if we wanted to add him where he could drive our new car. I opted to just go with the older car figures. I then asked if it would be best if we gave him our old car, that would be his and then we would get another car. My insurance agent said its actually best if we dont do that because then we would be looking at even more of a high rate cost if he had his own car. It's cheaper if we just add him as an occasional driver to one car. She offered some discount options such as him taking an addition course on road safety, good report cards (never understood this reasoning, like kids with good grades are better drivers ). So I thanked her for the info and have been thinking on what is the best option.

I have 3 friends that have teenagers that just started driving. I asked them how they were doing with the higher cost. All of them said they haven't notified their insurance companies and won't until they get caught. One has already given her son a car which they insured and the other two just let their teens drive whatever car is available. They told me its easy and the best solution. There are certain organizations I dont mess with in my life, the IRS and insurance companies. I decided to google not claiming a teen driver and found a lot of interesting articles. One went into great detail that an insurance company can decide not to cover an accident after they find out a teen in the household was never added to the policy, also it gave a state breakdown where these specific states have a law that backs insurance companies in situations like this. My state was listed. Its not a risk I am willing to take. Im just wondering how other parents are dealing with this new milestone. Did you feel it was better to get your teen their own car? Or did you wait because it was cheaper to have him as an occasional driver?

When I was a teenager, I was given a junk car by my uncle and I had my own insurance. It cost me 60 dollars a month and I had a part time job that allowed me to pay for it and still have some cash in my pocket. I cant see that happening now, what she quoted me my son would need a full time job to pay for the insurance cost if he was on the policy alone.

[malamute]

As a homeowner, I certainly wouldn't risk having a kid driving a car illegally without insurance -- the owner of the car can be held responsible. Also what kind of lessons are these people giving their children? That it's okay to lie and cheat?

It's very tough, especially if you have more than one teenager driving (I have) but it's one of the costs of having kids and raising them to become independent. It's cheaper for the parent to own the cars and just have the kids also on the policy -but it's not very cheap.

The good part of it is that you can make it clear to the kid that they are never to get a traffic ticket because you simply cannot afford higher rates, and that their driving is costing you plenty, you are sacrificing a lot for them and they'd better not blow it.

I tell mine that I'll pay and I let them know how much it's costing me --- so they'd better be driving like little old ladies in return. Even my son's friends knew that was the rule and when he'd ask if he could drive them somewhere, his friends would tell me that he always drives like a little old lady to convince me to say he could use my car to take them.

[fallingwater]

Originally Posted by malamute

As a homeowner, I certainly wouldn't risk having a kid driving a car illegally without insurance -- the owner of the car can be held responsible. Also what kind of lessons are these people giving their children? That it's okay to lie and cheat?

It's very tough, especially if you have more than one teenager driving (I have) but it's one of the costs of having kids and raising them to become independent. It's cheaper for the parent to own the cars and just have the kids also on the policy -but it's not very cheap.

The good part of it is that you can make it clear to the kid that they are never to get a traffic ticket because you simply cannot afford higher rates, and that their driving is costing you plenty, you are sacrificing a lot for them and they'd better not blow it.

I tell mine that I'll pay and I let them know how much it's costing me --- so they'd better be driving like little old ladies in return. Even my son's friends knew that was the rule and when he'd ask if he could drive them somewhere, his friends would tell me that he always drives like a little old lady to convince me to say he could use my car to take them.

Thanks. Ya, to be honest I was a bit surprised by their solution. I'm not keen on putting myself in a position where I could lose everything trying to be slick. I was just kind of curious how other parents were dealing with it (legally). If they thought getting their teen their own car was worth it or just adding them on the policy as an occasional driver to the cars they already own.

[markg91359]

My son turned 16 and we are now looking at the costs (and worries) of him driving. I called my insurance company to find out what we are looking at once he starts drivers ed and getting his license. I was told our insurance is going to double on our old car that has PLPD (which really stinks because it will be just as much as our brand new car with full coverage). She said she would figure out how much it would be if we wanted to add him where he could drive our new car. I opted to just go with the older car figures. I then asked if it would be best if we gave him our old car, that would be his and then we would get another car. My insurance agent said its actually best if we dont do that because then we would be looking at even more of a high rate cost if he had his own car. It's cheaper if we just add him as an occasional driver to one car. She offered some discount options such as him taking an addition course on road safety, good report cards (never understood this reasoning, like kids with good grades are better drivers ). So I thanked her for the info and have been thinking on what is the best option.

I have 3 friends that have teenagers that just started driving. I asked them how they were doing with the higher cost. All of them said they haven't notified their insurance companies and won't until they get caught. One has already given her son a car which they insured and the other two just let their teens drive whatever car is available. They told me its easy and the best solution. There are certain organizations I dont mess with in my life, the IRS and insurance companies. I decided to google not claiming a teen driver and found a lot of interesting articles. One went into great detail that an insurance company can decide not to cover an accident after they find out a teen in the household was never added to the policy, also it gave a state breakdown where these specific states have a law that backs insurance companies in situations like this. My state was listed. Its not a risk I am willing to take. Im just wondering how other parents are dealing with this new milestone. Did you feel it was better to get your teen their own car? Or did you wait because it was cheaper to have him as an occasional driver?

When I was a teenager, I was given a junk car by my uncle and I had my own insurance. It cost me 60 dollars a month and I had a part time job that allowed me to pay for it and still have some cash in my pocket. I cant see that happening now, what she quoted me my son would need a full time job to pay for the insurance cost if he was on the policy alone.

I have a son who is 20 and I've gone through all of this, so you have my sympathies. It isn't cheap to insure a teen driver. However, there are specific reasons for why that is the case. As a group, teens cause far more than their share of accidents and this is a fact that has been known by insurance companies for decades. Teen boys are the least safe group to insure. Although, it may simply be a question of them driving more miles than teen girls do.

Insurance companies offer the "good student discount" because there is a strong correlation between teens with high grades and safe driving. Its not made up and it shouldn't surprise you. Teens who are conscientious about following rules and doing well in school cause fewer accidents than those who do neither. It doesn't take huge effort for a young person to get a good student discount. A "B" or better average in school will usually do it.

My son worked for a couple of years before he was sixteen and we matched his contributions to a savings account and he was able to acquire a new economy car. We have a system worked out which details which of his expenses he has to pay and which we graciously pay for him while he is getting higher education and working part time. As he gets older, our contributions towards his expenses will be reduced and eventually, of course, he'll have to pay for everything.

Don't try to cheat or play games with insurance companies. They hold all or most of the cards and eventually you'll get burned if you try to do it. They are well aware that there are thousands of angry people out there trying to get a better deal on their car insurance. They know every game you can think up and than some.

Here are some strategies for trying to cut your car insurance costs during this difficult period.

1. The young person must earn the good student discount. If they aren't they shouldn't be driving in my opinion.

2. Raise your deductible on collision and comprehensive coverages to $500. You may be surprised how much this saves you. Eliminate the deductible entirely on older vehicles. I'd not have either coverage on a car that is ten years or older (possibly even eight years).

3. If you aren't doing so already, bundle your homeowners coverage with your automobile coverage. Most agencies offer a 10% discount for doing so.

4. Eliminate things like rental car coverage and coverage for CD players and special internal components in your car. You may not have this, but if you do its very likely an unnecessary expense.

5. You might consider the cars you are driving. Are they of a make and model that is expensive to insure? Anything that resembles a "fast car" or "sports car" is going to raise your insurance rates.

6. And, of course, get additional ideas for saving from your agent. Most want your business and will work with you. I find it problematic that so many people want to buy their insurance online now. Its not the same thing as a good relationship with an agent.

[WhereTheSidewalkEnds]

We added our son to our policy as getting their own is outrageously expensive. We only considered it because we gave our son our old car and wanted it in his name. There is only liability on his car.

There are already good suggestions above. Our son worked so he had to pay his portion of his insurance. We did the good student discount and our insurance company had an online course he could take that reduced the amount even more.

In the end it only cost $60 something a month to add him and he paid that back to us. He knew that if he did anything to make his rate go up, he had to pay the difference as well.

[golfgal]

It was only about $60/month extra to add our oldest son to our policy as an occasional driver. Yes, kids that get better grades are more responsible and tend to be better drivers, thus the discount. These things are studied in depth by insurance companies and their numbers are very accurate. Same thing with boy drivers vs girl drivers, boys tend to get into more accidents, thus higher rates for boys.

We don't make our kids pay for their car insurance. They are, however, expected to run errands for us as asked . Best thing about having teen drivers--"pick up a gallon of milk on your way home"!

[BirdieBelle]

Originally Posted by fallingwater

I have 3 friends that have teenagers that just started driving. I asked them how they were doing with the higher cost. All of them said they haven't notified their insurance companies and won't until they get caught.

This is idiotic.

"Easiest and best solution"? Until they hit someone and cause catastrophic injuries.

I have two teen drivers. I don't even want to write how much we pay.

[Mattie]

You've gotten some excellent advice here. We've had to add three teenage boys to our policy through the years, and still have two under the 25 year old age when things get a bit cheaper.

Good student discount must be maintained.

Any surcharges due to accidents or tickets become their responsibility. Knock wood, none of the boys have had to deal with either.

Look into an umbrella policy. That's a relatively inexpensive way to protect your assets as parents, should your son be sued in case of an accident.

We gave each boy one of our cars as their "own", but kept the titles in our name. The insurance agent crunched the numbers, and it saved a lot of money.

[zoso1979]

Originally Posted by golfgal

It was only about $60/month extra to add our oldest son to our policy as an occasional driver. Yes, kids that get better grades are more responsible and tend to be better drivers, thus the discount. These things are studied in depth by insurance companies and their numbers are very accurate. Same thing with boy drivers vs girl drivers, boys tend to get into more accidents, thus higher rates for boys.

In a conversation I had with our agent several years ago, he said young drivers are young drivers and insurance companies were reducing or eliminating the rate differences between girls and boys.

Do they have permits or licenses. Our insurer told us they didn't write them on the policy while they were still driving with their permit. We told our insurance the boys were in drivers ed. We had many friends who did not. We would not have considered having them drive with a license without being on the policy. IMHO, it's not worth the risk.In our case, the Ins co already know about them. I thought it was great that our agent had them both go and visit with him when we put them on the policy.

Some of the best advice our agent gave our sons, as often as you can, try and park when you can pull forward. Backing up in parking lots is a very common way to get into a fender bender. And yes it did happen.

[maciesmom]

I cannot imagine not covering any driver in my household. Are teens expensive to insure? Of course. But that is part of the expense of having children. My kids knew they were not getting their license unless they qualified for the Good Student discount. Any tickets and subsequent increase to insurance premiums were coming out of their own pockets. By age 16, they are on their way to becoming adults. In our opinion, part of parenting is increasing responsibility along with the privileges that come with age.