Young Persons Car Insurance – How to Save on Premiums

Buying young persons car insurance for those between the ages of 16 and 24 can be a daunting task if the objective is to keep premiums to a minimum. Increases of 50% to 100% would not be unusual in this age group. The fact that sixteen year olds are six times more likely to get into an accident than someone over the age of 30 gives insurance companies reason to raise rates. Behind this statistic is teens’ tendencies to take more risks, drive faster than the speed limit, use cell phones and texting while driving, and drink and drive. Faced with these facts and tendencies, let’s examine some ideas on how to minimize premiums for young persons car insurance. Note that some of these ideas require pre planning before the young driver is even old enough for insurance.

Make sure as a parent, you set a good example – The young driver needs to establish a good driving record. One way to do this is to be exposed to a parent who drives safely.

Driver’s Education – Completing a driver’s education program can generate discounts in the neighborhood of 5-15% for young person insurance. It can pay to plan ahead by contacting the potential insurer to see if there is a particular driver education program that will generate the largest discount.

Student grades – Because students who get good grades are statistically safer drivers, discounts of 3-10% can be available. Grades typically need to be 3.0 or higher.

Put your teen on your policy – Assuming you as a parent have a good driving record, adding the young driver to your policy should generate a discount. This is where a multi-car discount usually comes into play

Choose the car wisely – For lower rates, be sure the young driver’s car reflects good safety features and good crash test ratings. It goes without saying; a good solid used car will also achieve lower premiums. This is a good area to plan ahead by checking with the insurance company to see which makes and models of cars are the least expensive to insure before shopping for the car.

Driving guidelines and restrictions – Many states have driving restrictions for a newly licensed driver that are reduced over time. Be sure you and the new driver are aware of these. In addition, providers of young persons car insurance may offer special rates to go along with certain restrictions. An example of this is restricting the driver to the use of one particular car rather than being insured for driving all of the family cars.

Drive safely – One minor accident or a moving violation can result in significantly higher premiums that will last for 5-7 years.

Delay driving – Premiums will be reduced be delaying driving and insurance needs until 17 or 18.

Buy insurance online – Savings of up to 15% can be realized by purchasing online where you deal directly with the company rather than through an insurance agent.

Get quotes from a number of companies – Some insurance companies don’t penalize drivers applying for young persons car insurance as much as others. It pays to compare.

Set up paperless billing and payments – Discounts are available, including those for month premiums automatically deducted from a checking account.

There you have it – eleven suggestions for reducing premiums for young persons car insurance. Both the parent and the young driver need to look at all these, as they require input from both sides. A good teamwork approach should result in young persons car insurance that provides the necessary protection at a reasonable premium.

For additional information on car insurance, including definition of terms, areas to consider for premium reduction, and where and how to obtain a policy, go to inexpensive car insurance