Finding affordable teenage drivers’ insurance can be difficult. Although your teen could be the safest driver in the world, insurance companies work based on numbers alone. Unfortunately, the statistics say otherwise. Although teenagers may not have the highest rates of fatalities (thankfully), the Insurance Information Institute shows that they are a lot more likely to be involved in an accident.
The main reason for this is that teens aren’t as experienced at driving. Many first-time drivers tend to treat driving as a game and don’t give enough respect to the fact that they’re driving a two thousand-pound vehicle at high speeds. That is, until it’s too late.
Another reason for this is that teens’ prefrontal cortex isn’t fully developed. This region of the brain is responsible for teens’ behavioral characteristics and governs risk-taking behaviors. Before it’s completely developed ( at around 25-years-old ), teens and young adults are more likely to take unnecessary risks. Simply put, they’ll run a red light or try to make that hard turn without thinking of the potential consequences ahead of time.
Science and statistics aside, though, is it even possible to find affordable car insurance for teen drivers? In today’s post, we’re going to take a look at some easy ways to find the best car insurance for teens, young drivers and new drivers!
Although insuring a teen will almost always be more expensive than insuring an adult in your state, there are a number of different methods you can use to save money on your teen’s car insurance so that both you and your teen can rest easy knowing that you have an affordable, family-friendly policy.
Let’s take a look!
One of the best ways to reduce the cost of your teen’s policy is to add them to an adult’s insurance policy. When teens are added to the parent’s insurance policy, this gives the insurance agency more trust. It’s kind of like getting a loan co-signed by somebody with better credit than you- you’ll get a better deal with a lower interest rate. The same applies to putting a teen on an adult’s policy. They’ll get better coverage for a lower monthly premium.
Usually, the teens' biological parents or guardians are the best choices since they tend to be older than 30 and have already built up a solid credit profile, a good relationship with their insurer, and, hopefully, have a decent driving record as well.
The one downside to this is that the parents’ insurance policy will go up if their teen is involved in an accident. This means it’s critical for the parents to teach their teen safe driving practices and let them know the consequences of irresponsible driving.
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Other than your age and driving record (which teens have very little of), the best way to reduce your teen’s car insurance premiums is to buy them a cheaper car. Here’s a list of some of the cheapest cars to insure for teens, new and young drivers .
Cheaper cars lend themselves to more affordable car insurance for teen drivers because the insurance company has to pay for the repairs and damages to the vehicle. Newer vehicles or luxury vehicles can be double or triple the cost to repair or replace compared to older, used vehicles.
That being said, it’s also important to ensure that your teen’s vehicle is safe. You never want to sacrifice safety for a few extra bucks. However, there are still lots of high-quality, used vehicles that have safety features such as:
Driver and passenger airbags.
ABS brakes.
Anti-slip traction control.
Blind spot warning.
These safety features will ensure that if your teen does get involved in an accident, that they’ll be more likely to come out injury-free, which should be the most important concern of all.
This goes hand-in-hand with the above tip about buying a cheaper car for your teen. When you purchase an older car with cash and own it outright, then you can get away with just paying for a basic liability policy. These policies are typically your state’s minimum requirements and usually include:
Bodily injury liability coverage.
Property damage liability coverage.
A basic liability policy’s main goal is to pay for at-fault damages caused to other drivers’ property (their vehicle) and their medical bills if they’re injured. Of course, some parents may want the peace of mind that comes with giving their teens full-coverage insurance. However, if you think that your teen is a relatively safe driver or you live in a rural area where their risk of being in a deadly accident is lower , then starting them off with a simple policy may be the best option financially.
If you’re insuring a brand-new teen driver, then you may not be able to apply for this discount. However, if your teen got their license at a younger age and they’ve had a couple of years without being involved in an accident or receiving a traffic ticket, then they may be eligible for a safe-driver discount. These discounts are typically given out to drivers who’ve maintained a steady, safe driving record.
To find out, you’ll need to call your insurer and ask them if your teen is eligible for this discount. Not all insurers offer it, but there are a number of insurers that do, so it’s worth a shot if you’re trying to find the best rate on your teenage driver’s insurance.
Finally, the most surefire way to find affordable car insurance for teen drivers is to compare quotes . Unless you shop around a bit, you’ll never know whether or not there’s a better deal out there. Many insurers also offer considerable discounts for drivers who are switching from another insurer, so keep that in mind.
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I was hopeful about going with Travelers. My cousin oversees the building of large hotels (the W and Virgin in Nashville) and told me that is who he had used commercially. But after having roof damage from a storm, I have had a really bad experience. From the very first person I dealt with, it became quickly clear from my first dealings and was confirmed throughout the process, is how little they care about the people they insure and how they truly want to pay as little as possible. While my neighbors were having positive experiences with their insurance companies after the storm, mine has been terrible. I would highly recommend staying far away from Travelers Insurance and going with literally anyone else but them. —Jason McAnally
AAA is only good if you never have to use them. My daughter was borrowing my car and got hit by a hit-and-run driver who left the scene. AAA would not pay for damages on my car because she was not on the policy and I didn't have full coverage on my car I did have uninsured motorists but they still would not pay the claim so I have a wrecked car and now AAA is canceling my insurance What a waste of time and money. We reported to insurance board and still nothing was done. I'm going back to allstate, atleast they pay claims.
The quote they gave me was not the correct price. it turned out to be twice the amount they said. Plus the agency is in California 1500 miles away and I received bad customer service.
Horrible, we are DRIV3 Rentals a Car Rental Company in Los Angeles California. One of our clients purchased a Bonzah policy to rent a vehicle from us. An accident occurred where there has been significant damage to our 2021 BMW M4, we proceeded to file a claim with Bonzah. Let me just say the way this company handles claims is from the stone age. They do not contact you anywhere except emails. Our company has been in a 100+ email chain with Paul and Art from Bonzah for at least a month. They have confused our claim with other claims and at times just simply not responded back at all. We supplied all the necessary information needed for the claim and everything seemed ok. Fast forward to last week out of no where Paul stops answering so we call him over and over until he answers at this point he not once told us this by the way that they pulled the police report and our driver isn't listed, this is false as I immediately went to the LAPD police station and found out the report Paul pulled was filed online from one of the other drivers and not an official report from the officer on the scene, the officer on the scene made a statement in which debunks that whole claim and in fact our driver was the driver. I have never in my 20 years in the auto industry been accused of anything like this furthermore Paul stating that oh we don't know if your driver knows the other driver and they could have planned this. Insane really, Paul stated that if we could get a statement from the officer he would expedite our claim and damages check, Paul, Art and Bonzah has since started to ignore us. They don't answer calls, emails, text messages anything for almost 2 weeks now. How ironic that once we debunk their claim of our client not being the driver they stop responding. Don't use this company, stay far away.
We have been with progressive for 18+ but Have to give a one star with this experience. We hit a big rock on the highway. Randell Fergen repair rep . argued with me; claimed I was off roading in my car, which I have never done . Randell told me “this was not an isolated incident”. Because my other wheels had scratches according to him. The auto shop they picked and Randell told me it the wheel just needs a balance . Randell quoted me the price I would have to pay for the balance. I took the car to Discount Tire since the balance is covered. Discount told me “the wheel is bend badly” We called back to the rep Kiera Washington to update her and ask for a new repair rep. She said she could not and when I asked to speak to her supervisor she said “ I’m not dealing with you” and hung up on me ????