How to Get Cheaper Car Insurance for Teens

Ways to Make Automobile Insurance for Teenagers Less Expensive

Oct 24, 2009

Car insurance for teens can be expensive, but there are practical things parents can do to get cheaper car insurance for their teenage drivers.

Parents have many worries when it comes to teenage drivers. Safety of the teen drivers is of course always a big concern, but following that, the cost of car insurance for teens is on most parents' minds as they begin teaching their teenager how to drive.

Save on Car Insurance for Teenager by Buying the Cheapest Car Possible

One of the primary things car insurance companies look at when it comes to determining the cost of adding a teen driver to the parents' policy is the value of the car the teen is driving. Choosing a less expensive car for a teen is a good way to get cheaper car insurance.

Of course, this doesn't mean that a teen should be given an old junker to drive; safety and reliability are important issues for the parents of teen drivers to consider. Even so, it's unnecessary and inadvisable to buy a teenage driver a brand new, expensive car, particularly when the teen is first learning to drive.

Save on Car Insurance for Teens by Buying the Safest Car Possible

Buying the safest car possible for teen drivers not only provides parents peace of mind, it can also lead to cheaper car insurance.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is an independent nonprofit organization focused on reducing the number of automobile related deaths, injuries, and property damage by providing information on safety ratings of various vehicles. It can provide value insight into safe cars for teenagers to drive.

In 2009 the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rated the following the following as their top safety picks for smaller vehicles:

Safety ratings are also provided for mid-size and larger vehicles as well, but many of the smaller cars listed above also fit into the cheaper car category and therefore savings is maximized when selecting both a safe and cheaper vehicle.

Save on Car Insurance for Teens by Choosing a High Deductible

If you’ve already selected an inexpensive, safe vehicle for your teen to drive, an additional way to save on car insurance for teenagers is to select a plan with a high deductible. Policies with high deductibles are significantly cheaper because the insured bears a higher portion of the cost of repairs that are the result of an accident or other damage.

Sufficient money should be kept in a savings account to cover the cost of the high deductible should a teen get in a car accident, but the premium savings makes choosing a high deductible a good way to save on car insurance for teens.

Buying a car for teens based on emotions or solely on what the teen desires is a guaranteed way to spend more money on car insurance for a teen than is absolutely necessary. Choosing a safe, inexpensive vehicle and opting for a policy with a high deductible is a great way for the parents of teenage drivers to get cheaper car insurance.

The copyright of the article How to Get Cheaper Car Insurance for Teens in Automotive Insurance is owned by Rebecca Livermore. Permission to republish How to Get Cheaper Car Insurance for Teens in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.