Making Smart Choices & Working Together: Keeping Your Insurance Costs Low Even With A Teenage Driver

6 August 2015 by Elijah Steward

It is a commonly known fact that young drivers generally cost more to insure than experienced drivers and that adding your teenager to your insurance policy will drive up your premium. However, if you employ a few of the tricks below, you may be able to keep your teen driver's premium low. 

Assign A Specific Car To Your Teenager

 If you are not purchasing your teenager their own vehicle to drive, but are going to let them drive one of the vehicles you already have, you can save on your insurance rates by assigning a specific vehicle to your teenager instead of giving them blanket permission on your insurance to drive all of your vehicles. 

When it comes to assigning one of your vehicles to your teen driver, you will save the most money by assigning them to an older or standard vehicle over a newer or luxury vehicle.

If You Purchase Them A Vehicle, Keep It Basic And Safe

If you decide to purchase your teenager their own vehicle, don't go out and buy them the newest make and model unless you want to face really high insurance rates. 

Instead, purchase them a used vehicle that has high safety ratings. Used vehicles tend to cost less to insure than newer vehicles. You should also stick to a standard model instead of a sport or luxury model, which will also drive up your insurance rates. 

Make Your Teenager Take A Driver's Education Course

Your teenager may protest, but taking a driver's education course may lower your insurance rates. Many insurance companies take off a set percentage from your premium when your teenager has completed a driver's education course. Your teenager will generally qualify for this discount for a couple of years after taking a driver education course.

Call your insurance company and inquire about what types of discounts you can get if your teenager completes a driver education course and how long the discounts will apply. 

Make Your Teenager Keep Their Grades Up

Finally, make sure you make good grades a condition of them being allowed to drive. Most insurance companies will provide your teenager with a good driving discount if they keep their grades up. In order to qualify for the discount, you will have to send a copy of your teenager's report card into your insurance company.

Adding your teenagers onto your insurance policy does not have to cause your insurance rates to skyrocket if you follow the tips above. For your part, make sure the vehicle your teenager is driving is a standard vehicle with excellent safety ratings. For your teenager's part, make sure they complete a driver's safety course and keep up with their grades. By working together, you can keep your insurance rates low. For more information on car insurance, contact a company like Savage & McPherson Insurance.

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