Car Insurance For Teenagers
We all know that youngsters enjoy the sense of freedom and control they get while driving a car – nothing is wrong with that, up to some point. However, the rush that some teenagers get when they are behind the wheel of a car can cause accidents. For this reason, all of the insurance companies have high rates when insuring a young driver. This article is addressed to both parents and teenagers.
Car insurance for teenagers under the age of 25 is very high as there is a more pronounced risk of vehicle-related accidents. According to Jeanne Salvatore, who works for the Insurance Information Institute (III), the high risk of accidents among teenagers can skyrocket the insurance rates 50 to even 100%. However, there are a few ways of lowering the rates, here are a few:
First and foremost, keep a clean driving record. Only one car-related incident can have serious repercussions on the insurance rates for a teenager, from a base of just a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars annually for at least 3 years.
Second of all, you should know that there are many insurance companies out there that offer discounts to those teenagers that attend high-school / college full-time and manage to maintain (at least) a 3.0 grade point average. They also offer discounts to those teens that take a locally accredited driver safety course as well as any other state-certified programs.
Teenagers that enjoy being members of certain community or civic organizations like Girl Scouts or Eagle Scouts may receive some discounts, according to David Champion who works for Consumer Reports. These insurance companies are looking for the least risky youngsters, so in many cases they decide to reward the time they spent improving the community, with discounts.
When deciding to purchase a car, choose a safer model, like a Volvo or a Honda Civic, as the car insurance may be up to 50% less expensive. In addition, the more safety features the car has, the less you will have to pay for the insurance. The newer cars that have lots of airbags are less expensive to insure. You’ll have to pay a lot for insurance if you buy a sports car, an SUV, or any other pricey model.
The following part is addressed mostly to parents.
More and more young people (ages 15-20) die in car crashes than from anything else, which leads to more expensive insurance rates. Probably the best way to avoid this risk is to set a good example when driving the car. Those parents that actively model safe driving techniques like the following in front of their son/daughter will certainly produce safer drivers with more affordable insurance rates:
1) Update your knowledge about the state’s laws;
2) Make your son/daughter participate in Graduated Driver Licensing, which is a 3-step program that helps new drivers practice driving under a lower-risk environment, before becoming fully car licensed;
3) Set and enforce rules regarding where, when and with whom the teenager may drive the car;
4) Tracking devices that monitor how your teen drives might sound a little bit too much, but their very good for lowering the rates for the insurance.
The car insurance for teenagers rates will start going down after the age of 25 as according to experts, the part of the teen brain that weighs risks, makes judgment calls and controls impulsive behavior does not mature sooner than that age. However, teenage drivers can overcome most of these immaturity-related issues by following the guidelines we provided above, tips that will certainly lower the insurance rates.
Source: Insureme.com
Post tags: Tags: automotive articles, car insurance, car insurance for teenagers
