Insuring a teen driver has its own set of challenges for a variety of reasons. First, teenagers, being new drivers, have little or no driving experience, and as such, are more prone towards being involved with car accidents. Furthermore, male teenagers by nature can be more reckless – particularly when it comes to going over speed limits, which is yet another reason why they are more likely to get into accidents. In fact, teenager drivers are three times more likely to be involved in a car accident and die as a result.

 
Unfortunately, insurance companies are well aware of these facts, and once your teenage son or daughter is included in the policy, this will be reflected in the insurance cost. Amusingly, insurance companies are also factoring in the sex of the teenager: male teenagers included in a policy increase the cost twice as much as female teenagers.

 
How does one reduce these costs to their bare minimum?
 

• First, include your son or daughter in your policy, if possible, as this is bound to be cheaper than getting them their own auto insurance policy. Furthermore, if they have their own car, you can include it as well in your policy (under Multi-Vehicle discount – see our article on auto insurance discounts).
• Second, follow the standard guidelines of reducing costs as outlined in our article Ten Useful Tips For Making Your Car Insurance Cheaper. Most of which will be relevant here as well.
• Third, and this might be hardest one: but Be a Good Parent. This means:
  1. Acting as a positive role model: how would you expect your son to drive responsibly if you don’t?
  2. Explaining to them the dangers of drinking and driving, sleeping while tired, as well as the usage of cell phone usage while driving. Although they are likely to have heard these lectures a million times, coming from you may make the difference.
  3. Supervising them while driving at first: this way, you can see their style of driving as well as potential weaknesses, and you can comment on that. On the upside, if your son or daughter are really good drivers, this may also relieve some potential concerns you may experience.
• Fourth, encourage your son or daughter to get good grades. Many insurance providers give discounts (up to 25%!) to teenagers who maintain high grades (at least a B average), because these are perceived as better future risks.
• Fifth, anticipate potential trouble, so consider raising the liability coverage in your policy. This might be more expensive now, but cheaper in the long run.
• Sixth, encourage your son or daughter to get good grades as well as attend a driving training course. Also notify your insurance provider if your son is a student and is away more than 100 miles from home. These will qualify you to certain discounts (as outline in this article. Note that in this case, it might be a good idea to take them off your insurance completely: if they are not likely to be driving, perhaps the added costs are not worth it.
• Seventh, and this is just common sense: get a car that is considered to be a safe car. Not only this is safer for reckless driver, but will also affect your insurance premium.

Many people feel as though they are paying too much for their auto insurance, but they often don’t go to the trouble of comparing quotes from several different auto insurance providers (you can use this link to get a free insurance quote in seconds: this form only requires filling 2 pages of relevant details, and afterwards you will get a quote). In addition, many people do not know that there are auto insurance discount options available to people who merely ask for them. A person does not have to be the best driver in the world to be able to get discounts through his insurance company. Asking about available discounts is a great way to lower one’s auto insurance premiums. Please check the Insurance Quote section to see if you are eligible for any specific discounts.

There are many different auto insurance discount policies available:
 
Safety discounts:

1. Safe vehicles: some vehicles are considered to be safer than others (according to a safety rating). Thus, the safer the device, the greater the chance of a discount.
2. Safety features/Anti theft devices: any safety features that are included in the vehicle that is to be insured (such as anti-theft devices, automatic seat belts, etc) may give an additional credit as well.
3. Safety courses: some states enable insurance discounts to individuals who have taken a special safety class.

 
Driver related discounts:

1. Safe Driver discount: If an individual has never been in any type of collision or has received a speeding ticket, he may qualify for this type of discount.
2. Military discounts: in some states, if a person is serving or has served in the Military in the past, or is a member of AAA or AARP, he or she may get additional discounts to the price of their insurance.
3. Student discounts: if a son or a daughter of an individual is a student living more than 100 miles from your home, and is included in the insurance plan, you might be eligible to get a discount as this means he or she will not get to use your car often.

 
Coverage discounts:

1. Multi-Driver or Multi-Vehicle discount are available if there are multiple drivers on the same car or multiple cars on the same policy. This comes out cheaper than having separate policies.
2. Multi-line discounts: if an individual needs a homeowner’s or renter’s insurance, he can potentially combine it with his auto insurance as well and get a discount on his policies.

 
Consequently, when obtaining auto insurance, it is very important to take the time to answer all of the questions that the insurance representative asks to see if any discounts are available. As can be seen, there are so many different types of auto insurance discount policies that may be available, so it never hurts to ask.