Insuring Your Teen Drivers

Seeing your child grow up before your eyes and get behind the wheel of a vehicle for the first time is a gigantic milestone for any parent, and it’s not an easy one. It’s scary to know that your teen drivers are going to be out there maneuvering the open road on their own. One way to rest a little easier when you send your sons and daughters out adventuring is to make sure coverage is optimized so that your insurance fits both their needs and yours.

Teen drivers are about three times more likely to get into an accident than older drivers, therefore, you want to make sure you have the coverage in place to include both them and yourself if something were to happen. Here are the key things you want to consider in regard to your teen driver’s insurance:

• Liability Limits: Firstly, ensure that your liability limits are high enough. If your teen gets into an accident, there’s the potential for a lot of damage. Truthfully, state minimums just do not cut it when you have teen drivers. Your insurance should have the highest liability limits that you can afford.
• Umbrella Policy: Even with the highest liability limits on your policy, you may still want to consider purchasing an umbrella policy. An umbrella policy will give you additional liability coverage, so that if your teen should have an accident in which the damage to the other party is extensive enough to exceed your teen driver’s insurance on the auto policy, your umbrella will take over. While you may think the chances of having an accident with a substantial level of damage are low, the reality is that insurance companies consider teenage driver’s high risk because they don’t have the same experience on the road that adults do. With a lack of experience comes a much higher rate of accidents.
• Good Student Discounts: Is you teenager on the A or B honor roll? If so, it could go a long way toward saving you some money on your insurance policy. Celebrate their studiousness and be sure to take advantage of any student discounts offered by the insurance company.
• Buying a New Vehicle: If you are going to be purchasing a car for your teenager to use, think about the kind of vehicle you are getting. As fun as it might be for them to drive a brand new convertible, we know from the statistics that the chances of them totaling that vehicle are much higher now than they will be a few years down the road. Consider buying them an older vehicle where dents and scratches won’t matter as much, until they have gotten a bit of driving experience under their belt. Insuring an automobile that costs less will likely also make your teen driver’s insurance premium substantially less expensive.

Raising teenagers comes with its share of ups and downs. By ensuring your insurance is equipped to accommodate the unique circumstances that come along with having teen drivers in the house, it will give you a little more time to enjoy the ups and worry less about the downs.

We have teens too, so we know what you’re up against.  Contact our team at ProtectiveAgency.com or call (877) 739-9367. Our licensed insurance agents will be happy talk and answer any questions you have.