Offset The Cost Of Adding Your Teenage Driver To Your Auto Insurance Policy

15 December 2015 by Elijah Steward

Adding a teenage driver to your auto insurance policy typically increases the policy rates a lot. While no one wants the cost of their insurance policy to increase, for many, such a staggering increase puts a huge dent in the monthly budget. Fortunately, there are several ways that you can offset the cost of adding your teenage driver to your car insurance policy.

Choose a Car That's Cheaper to Insure

Believe it or not, sometimes it can actually offset the amount that your car insurance rates increase if you purchase a car for your teenager, and make him or her the primary driver of that vehicle on your insurance policy. When you assign a primary driver to a vehicle on a car insurance policy, the insurance company adjusts your rates to reflect the fact that the primary driver will be driving that vehicle the majority of the time, therefore, the risk of the driver damaging the other vehicles on the policy is lowered. So, if your family has vehicles that cost more to insure and/or are fully covered, you can offset some of the costs by purchasing an older vehicle that doesn't cost as much to insure, such as a four-door sedan, adding the car to your insurance policy with liability coverage only, and making your teenager the primary driver of that vehicle.

Take Advantage of Discounts

Most insurance companies offer several discounts for teenage drivers to offset some of the rate increase. So, when you add your teenage driver to your car insurance policy ask your agent if your teen qualifies for discounts, such as:

• Good student discount. Many auto insurance companies offer discounts to students who maintain at least a B average during the school year. 

• Defensive driver discount. Some insurance companies offer a discount to teens who voluntarily complete a defensive driving course. This course is separate from typical driver's education courses, and can be completed by the insured adults as well to further lower the policy's rates.

• Safe driver discount. If your car insurance offers a discount to drivers who maintain a clean driving record, your teen will eventually qualify for this discount too. To qualify, drivers typically have to remain claim free for a specified period of time, which is determined by the insurance company.

Use a Monitoring Device

Several car insurance companies offer monitoring devices that monitor driver behavior. If your teen has good driving habits, such as not accelerating too quickly, obeying the speed limit, allowing enough room to come to a complete stop, and wearing a seat belt, using a monitor might help you lower your insurance rates. Of course, if your teen doesn't have good driving habits, installing a monitoring device won't help your rates. It will, however, make you aware of your teen's dangerous driving habits so that you can encourage your teen to drive safely at all times.

The fact is, any time you add a newly licensed driver to your insurance policy (from companies like Kesner Insurance Agency Inc), your rates are going to increase. By taking advantage of discounts, monitoring good driving habits, and purchasing a car that's has reasonable insurance rates, you can offset some of the increase.

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