Stop That Rate Hike: How To Save Money When Insuring Teen Drivers

If someone in your household has recently reached that major milestone of becoming a licensed driver, congratulations and sympathies may be in order. While it's a proud moment for any parent, it's also time for a possible auto insurance rate hike. You can take a couple of simple steps, however, to reduce those increased rates, so read on to learn more about saving money on car insurance for teens.

1. Snoop on your teen. You can learn a great deal about your teen's driving habits, along with your auto insurance company, by inserting a small device under your car's dash. Insurance companies provide the device, which monitors your teen's driving habits. The device measures driving parameters such as braking, cornering and speed, and the results get reported back to you via online reporting tools. The insurance company evaluates your teen's driving habits and uses an algorithm to assign a rating.

This little device benefits parents in 3 ways: it helps pinpoint poor driving habits so that they can be corrected, it can lower your insurance premium just by attaching it to your teen's vehicle and your teen may exhibit safer driving skills just knowing that they are being monitored by their parents and the insurance company. It bears mentioning that these devices could help people of all ages to improve their driving habits.

2. Pay attention. Young, inexperienced drivers are the most vulnerable to distracted driving practices. Novice drivers often overestimate their ability to multitask while driving, leading to accidents and raised rates. In fact, teen drivers are two times more likely to be in a car accident if they are using a cell phone or other hand held device.

The potential for distraction extends to anything that takes the teen's attention from the road, so eating and drinking, putting on make-up, using the navigation system and more can be just as bad as cell phone conversations or texting. Since even relatively minor accidents can cause your auto insurance premium to ratchet up, make sure that your teen pulls over before taking care of tasks and device use and maintain a good safety record.

On top of these two methods, you can extend the emphasis on good driving habits even further and at the same time reduce your insurance rates by enrolling your teen in a driver's education class. To learn more about the above money saving methods, and more, contact your local auto insurance agency or company like Allstar Insurance. 

 

Share