Discounted Car Insurance For Teens

Many parents shudder when they think about taking out a car insurance policy for their teenage son or daughter. After all, it’s common knowledge that auto coverage is particularly high for those under 25 years old. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t find affordable insurance for teens and young adults. Here are some tips to help reduce the cost:

1. Look for good-grade discounts.

Some insurance companies will offer discounts for students who maintain a certain Grade Point Average (GPA). Usually the benchmark is a 3.0 or B average. Besides helping you to save money, this is also an excellent incentive for your child to maintain good grades. Basically, saving money on auto insurance could allow you to buy a nicer car for your son or daughter. You can even require him or her to maintain a B average, in order to retain driving privileges.

2. Shop online.

As with other types of insurance, you can usually find some great deals if you shop online. This will allow you to collect and compare quotes faster. In particular, look for companies that specialize in auto insurance for younger drivers. Also, make sure that the quotes you get are applicable to your son or daughter.

3. Buy your teen a used car.

It doesn’t have to be a lemon (which you probably shouldn’t buy anyway for safety reasons), but simply buying a used car can help you to save a small fortune on your teen’s insurance. The concept is very simple: repairing new cars is significantly more expensive than repairing used cars. Buying a low-mileage vehicle that’s only a couple of years old can help you to save big bucks on your son’s or daughter’s auto insurance.

4. Enroll your teen in a driver’s education course.

Research shows that teens who complete such courses, tend to be safer drivers. You can find these courses at driving schools, while many high schools also offer them. The benefit of such programs is that they tend to be more thorough than learning how to drive through informal lessons.

5. Include your child on your insurance policy.

If your child will be driving your car, then you can add him or her to your policy, as a secondary driver. This is an ideal situation for newer drivers, as they likely won’t be driving too much anyway. Make sure to inform your insurance company that your teen will only be driving the vehicle for a limited amount of time (of course you must then adhere to it). This is a more affordable alternative to getting a separate policy for your son or daughter.

6. Look for a higher deductible.

This will help to significantly lower the premium for your child’s auto insurance policy. While that’s a good thing, keep in mind that your out-of-pocket expenses would be higher if your son or daughter were to get in an auto accident. So you should definitely take this approach with caution.

By following these steps, you can secure auto insurance for your teen that’s not only good, but also cheap. While auto insurance tends to be higher for young drivers, it doesn’t have to be sky-high!