I wonder if the idea for the hit song “Jesus Take the Wheel” began with a parent teaching a new teen driver to navigate a busy intersection in Hillsboro or Beaverton. Nothing quite like driving with a new driver to get your heart thumping.
There’s a reason adding a new teen driver to your insurance will increase your insurance costs, but how much? I’ve seen a teen driver add as little as $60 monthly to a policy premium or more than $300 depending on a wide range of factors.
So what can you actually do to make the best of the situation.
Here are a few things you can do to get the best rates possible for your teen.
Be committed to getting your teen the training and practice to be a good driver.
The question is not “does my teen have the skills to drive well?” The question is, “does my teen have the skills to drive well every time she drives?”
And the answer is training and practice, practice, practice.
Once I was practicing with a young driver and we were navigating a stretch of construction. Concerned about hitting the cones on the left, she nearly drifted into the concrete barrier on the right. In fact, I had to physically grab the steering wheel to keep her from drifting into it. This student is sharp, coordinated, and smart but it still takes time and experience to learn what to consistently pay attention to.
The rush of life and the hectic demand of schedules may push you to skip steps but don’t do it. Get good training and take time to practice.
Sign up for drivers ed. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Prevent that accident in the first place!
Call your agent ahead of time
Upon hearing the cost of adding their child to the insurance, I’ve had parents almost march their teen back to the DMV to have their teen surrender their license! Call ahead. Or get your teen to call in!
Your agent should be able to give you a sense for the costs and discounts involved.
Along those lines, make this call before you buy a new car for your teen as sometimes adding another household vehicle for the teen can change a household’s risk profile dramatically. In other words, adding your teen driver to the household is quite different from adding a teen driver and another car.
Ask your agent to quote you with another carrier.
If you’re with an independent agency, ask them if they can check with another carrier or two for you. They should have nearly all the information they need to check, and this is one of the benefits of working with an independent agency!
We don’t advocate switching insurance companies to save a few dollars, but sometimes we do find significant pricing differences.
(If your agent cannot check other carriers for you, first get a quote from your current insurance carrier, gather your insurance policy details, and then call around for quotes. We’d love to help.)
Involve your teen in the insurance process too!
Many teens have no idea how much maintaining and insuring a car costs. It’s not their fault, they’ve never had to think about it.
Getting a license is a chance to help them begin to understand that the amazing ability to drive isn’t free.
If you really want to drive the point home (get it?), you can consider having them share in the costs.
Our family practice has been to simply have our kids pay a set portion of the cost every month starting at age 10. Just kidding, we start when they get their license (though we probably need to adjust for inflation!! 🙂 ). The amount doesn’t cover the full cost and that’s okay with us. The point is to help our teens make a meaningful connection between work and the ability to drive.
Give them a chance to learn about how insurance works.
One of my favorite things to do for parents is having a brief phone call with their teen.
I give an insurance overview, quiz them about what to do in an accident, and show them how much an accident—or good grades—can change the rates.
Hold off on adding another car if it’s not necessary.
For sure, adding a vehicle can add flexibility to a family’s transportation and sometimes that flexibility is worth the money. However, as far as insurance pricing goes, adding another car to the household along with a teen will increase the price even more.
Certainly, there’s the cost of adding another car. Also, because there’s another available vehicle, insurance companies will often assume that your teen will be driving more.
Consider removing collision coverage from an older vehicle.
If your car is an older car that isn’t worth very much, see how much the collision coverage in particular changes the rate.
Collision coverage is the part of your policy that covers your car for damages from most driving incidents, and if the car is not worth much, you may prefer to take on that risk yourself and save the money on your insurance. Sometimes it can be pretty significant.
Ways to Save for Teen Drivers?
Usual Discounts:
Good Student (3.0+) discount can be quite significant. Another way to reward good grades.
Drivers Ed: doesn’t usually save as much as good grades but the cost of the course is usually offset by the discount over several years. And your teen will be a better driver!
Resources:
- Drivers Education info for Hillsboro and the Portland Metro area
- Oregon’s page for getting a license requirements
- Go here to request car insurance quotes from us.
- Learn more About Us (actual people!), our Sensible Approach, or our Carriers.