Tips For Buying Car Insurance For Your Teen Driver

Seth Smiley here from the Smiley Law Firm. Our topic for today’s edition of the Parents of Teen Drivers Facebook Group is, “Tips for buying car insurance for your teen driver.”

Car insurance is not a particularly sexy subject, and nobody enjoys dealing with it regularly, but we all need to look at it when our teens get their learner’s permit or license. I have some tips for keeping your car insurance rates lower, the proper amounts of insurance that you need, and what might happen if you don’t have adequate cover. As a personal injury attorney, my firm deals with auto accidents all of the time. We often run into cases where people don’t have enough insurance to cover all of the injuries caused. Therefore, their assets are at risk.

As soon as your teen gets a learner’s permit, you should contact your insurance company. In many cases, you don’t have to add the teen to the policy. They can just cover them as an authorized driver. You must check this as all insurance companies have different rules. If you decide to add your teenage driver to your policy, you can expect the price of your plan to go up by around 130%, in real dollars and cents that’s about $2,000 a year. One other thing you should do is to add your teen to the cheapest car you own. If it is less expensive, then your cost of insurance will be more affordable.

There are various discounts available to teens. For example, there are safe drivers, and good grade discounts, so ask your insurance agent what is possible. It would be best if you also shopped around. Different companies have different incentives to get teens and families on board, and they will offer some good promo deals. Also, keep in mind that If you have been with the same company for years, the rates creep up. Switching to a new company means you can get in on the introductory savings. Taking the time and effort to compare companies and making a switch can lead to saving some real money.You should let the insurance company know that your kid has passed driver’s ed, as there are discounts for that.

If your teen is already away at college, check if there is a deal offered. Often, if your teenager is over 50 miles away and won’t be driving the family car regularly, they can be covered at a cheaper rate. You can structure your insurance in a way that is suitable for your circumstances. For example, a higher deductible means a lower price premium. How much insurance should you have? Here in Louisiana, people often get insured with a state minimum of 15/30. It means $15,000 per bodily injury per individual and $30,000 in total. I recommend you go for higher coverage so that you don’t get stuck with any extra payouts from your personal assets. It would be best if you looking for 50/100, or possibly 50/300, to cover any higher payouts. If you have questions about this, please DM me, and I am happy to discuss how this works and how to make sure your personal assets are not at risk. So you want to make sure that your insurance protects yourself and your children by shopping around and getting a good deal that covers any eventuality.

If you have any advice or input about our topic “Tips for buying car insurance for your teen driver,” please comment below.