Advice for Parents Insuring Their Teenage Driver

Insuring your teenager for the first time may feel like a daunting task. With 4 million teenage drivers hitting the roads this year, consider the fact that 15 to 20 year olds are three times more vulnerable to death and injury on the highways than any other driver. These statistics will make any parent lose sleep.

You can take steps to give you some peace of mind. When I was searching for insurance for my 16 year old daughter, the first person I called was my current insurance agent. He asked us both to come into his office to have a meeting. This gave him a sense of what kind of person Jessica was.

He explained ways the insurance company could help us keep the costs down. Here are some suggestions:

1. Be a good student and get a discount for earning A's and B's.

2. Enroll and complete a driver's education class.

3. Add your teenage driver onto your current automobile policy.

4. Write and sign a contract to help ensure that your teenage driver drives safely and that there are consequences for breaking the rules.

5. Increase your liability and deductibles on your policy.

6. Be sure your car is not on the most wanted list. Cars that are stolen or expensive to repair will cost more.

7. Make sure they pay for the increase on your policy so they can appreciate the responsibility of driving.

8. Once they are 18 and go away to college, take them off the policy.

Since Jessica was an honor student and I had a good driving record, the premium increase was around $900.00. Teenage girls are slightly less to insure than teenage boys, so I did get a break on the premium.

Parents that have a good driving history, a solid, safe car, a good student and a contract may be able to sleep a little better at night.

For more information check:

The Insurance Institute for Highway safety www.iihs.com

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration -http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov

Drive Home Safe- www.drivehomesafe.com

Teen Driving- www.teendriving.com