Besides graduation from high school, there is no more important event to a teenager than getting their driver’s license. Getting behind the wheel means a new status and freedom for teen drivers. While their new mobility may give some relief to over burden parents as they shuffle their children around, the added burden and worry make this a milestone most parents dread. Not only are there the safety concerns but added cost to the family budget.
Everyone knows that young drivers lead all other ages in the number of tickets and accidents that occur on the roads in the United States each year. Authorities report that the number one killer of teens in the United States is automobile crashes. This is believed to be because teenagers are more likely to take serious risks and often times do not wear their seat belts. Not only are teens more likely to engage in dangerous behavior behind the wheel, they are less capable of handling the consequences of an emergency situation.
Then there is the expense, the cost of adding a teenager to your car insurance can be staggering. Simply adding them to your policy can make it jump some 250 percent in cost. This amount can be reduced by shopping around. This is not a time for insurance customer loyalty. Also, teenagers who earn good grades and have taken driver education classes will be eligible for additional discounts from many insurance companies. There are some insurance companies who offer workshops that can be attend by you and your teenager for a further discounted premium.
Molding a Responsible Teen
While the cost of adding your teenager to your policy may be significant, it is much less than if your Teen decides to buy a policy of their own. A good way to teach your teen responsibility is to make them pay at least half of the difference in the insurance premium. In turn your teen can help with some of the household taxi driving. You may opt to have your teen pay for all of their car insurance cost by way of a part-time job. This may cause them to be more cautious driver because they know a ticket or accident will raise their already high premiums. The risk of having their car taken from them because they can no longer afford insurance may just do the trick to influence your teen to be a safe driver. I knew one parent who had their teen save up and pay her the deductible prior to letting her teen drive. The idea was the teen couldn’t drive unless that deductible amount was in the account. Then on top of this the Teen had to pay the insurance premium difference.
This is where we as parents can get creative with the driving rules and guidelines. The more risk the Teenage driver must retain in order to drive; the more likely they will be responsible behind the wheel.
Parents who will soon be or have already adding a Teen driver to the policy may want to compare insurance quotes. Low Insurance and Security offers a way to find low car insurance rates by comparison shopping several companies.
