What Will Your Insurance Look Like With a Teen Driver?

Handing your keys over to a teenager may be terrifying and also carry significant risks. In today it’s important for young people to treat driving as a privilege that comes with great responsibility. Year after year, motor vehicle accidents continue to take the lives of thousands of U.S teens. New drivers are among the most dangerous on the road and have a higher rate of accidents compared to an experienced driver.

One of the things you worry about with your young driver besides your child’s safety, is the cost of insuring your teen. Auto insurance is required by law in California, so if your teen is getting behind the wheel, they need to be added to your policy. Of course, adding your teen to your auto policy will increase your auto insurance rate. Two things we normally ask is if they’ll be getting their own car or will they be using one of the household cars as an occasional driver.  We also want to know if they are a good student. This will give you an additional discount.

Learners Permit Versus Newly Licensed Drivers

In most cases, if your teen is driving the family vehicle or has a car that is co-owned by a parent, your teen can be added as a permit driver to the family auto insurance policy with no rate increase because they are using your vehicle with your permission. Once they get their driver’s license you will need to add them as a listed vehicle operator on your car insurance policy and umbrella policy as a rated driver.

Licensed Teen Driver Discounts

It’s true, teen car insurance rates can be pricey because teens are more likely to have accidents, so do not overlook opportunities to save. The most common ways to save on teen car insurance is:

Good Student discount- Most insurance companies offer a discount for students who have at least a 3.0        GPA and are taking a minimum of 12 credits.

Electronic Monitoring Discount – If you adhere to safe driving habits as verified by an electronic monitoring system that plugs into your car, most insurance companies will offer a discount.

Driver Education Discount – If a newly licensed driver takes a driver’s education course, your teen driver may qualify for a discount.

How does coverage work for teen car insurance?

If you add a permit or licensed teen driver to your policy, they will benefit from the same protection that you do as the policy holder on your car insurance policy and umbrella insurance policy in California. All listed drivers have access to all cars listed on the policy, liability limits are shared, and extra coverages are also applied (ex. Loan/lease gap, & rental car reimbursement). Your teenager will be insured up to your policy limits when driving your vehicle or when you drive their vehicle.