Car Insurance for Teenage Drivers
One of the biggest factors in determining the cost of car insurance is the age of the driver. Far and away the highest premiums will be paid by teenage drivers. Unfortunately this is because they are also far and away the most likely to get into an accident. There are however a number of ways that you can reduce the risk that your teenager will be involved in an accident and this will of course reduce the insurance premiums.
The biggest thing that you are going to want to do in order to reduce the risk for teenage drivers is to limit their driving privileges. Many states are already doing this with a graduated license and it has gone a long way to reducing accidents among young drivers. Even if your state doesn't have graduated licenses it is still a good idea to put the same restrictions on your child's driving. The biggest thing you are going to want to is limit the number of passengers in the car. In most states a teenage driver may only carry one passenger. This helps to reduce the distractions and keep them safer. The other big restriction that you are going to want to use is no nighttime driving. Accidents are far more likely after dark and if your child isn't driving at night it will reduce the chances that he will be involved in one. This will also help to reduce the amount you pay for car insurance for your teenage driver.
Other ways to reduce the cost of insurance for teenagers is to have them take drivers education. This will not only make them safer drivers but it will also qualify them for a reduction in their insurance premiums. There is also normally a reduction in rates for kids who get good grades at school. This one is a little confusing since statistically students with good grades are no safer as drivers than students with bad grades. The insurance company offers the discount primarily because they believe that students with good grades will be better customers in the future. If you can get a discount because your child has good grades by all means take it. Just don't assume he is a safer driver.
One of the best ways to keep the cost of car insurance for teenage drivers down is to raise the deductible on your policy. Most people have a low deductible in order to minimize out of pocket expenses. This is actually a mistake you are usually better off paying for minor damage out of your own pocket and only using insurance if there is major damage. This has the added benefit of making it unnecessary to make a claim every time your teen has a fender bender. Since every time you make a claim you can expect your rates to go up this something you want to avoid. Having a high deductible and only making claims when there is major damage will go a long way to reducing the car insurance costs for your teenage driver.