The data about teenage drivers are not very good. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) state that people whose age is 16 are involved in traffic accidents nearly six times more often than drivers whose ages are between the ages of 30 and 59. This is the reason that car insurance premiums are much higher for this age group.
The good news is that some auto insurance companies do not take the same negative view of young drivers as stated by the IIHS. Some of these auto insurance companies offer discounts that to assist in helping you cut costs. A point to remember: high risk = higher insurance premiums. Use this measuring principle as you look around for insurance.
Here are some recommendations to assist you in keeping your insurance premiums lower and hopefully your teenager's driver's license free from violations:
· Assist your teenager in learning the traffic laws and how to correctly follow them. The first and easiest way to keep your insurance premiums at their lowest is for your teen to keep his/her driving record clear from traffic violations. You as their parent should know and understand what the traffic laws for your state are and help your kids to follow them.
· Be a good example. Ask yourself these questions: Do you speed or drive in a reckless manner? Do you find yourself yelling at other motorists while you are driving? If your answer is yes to these questions it will be difficult to expect any different from your teens. Make it habit while behind the wheel to demonstrate how to drive with patience and how to observe and follow the traffic laws of your state. A point to remember: your actions speak louder than your words.
Add your teen driver on your policy. Instead of having a single policy on your teen driver, add them to your policy as an additional driver. This will pass on any discount that is currently on your policy to them. Register them in a driver education course. There are discounts available for teen drivers who take certain driving classes. Before you do this call your insurance company to find the best courses to enroll in, this will save you from paying big bucks for a course that may not be acceptable. Boycott the sports. Sometimes parents may try to live vicariously through their teenager by buying them the hot/fast sports car that they couldn't get in when they were the same age. Focus on getting your teen driver a clean, reliable and safe vehicle in doing so you will get lower premiums. This tactic will also diminish the temptation for your teen to drive fast. Get them to pitch in. Explain to your teen driver that auto insurance costs money and how it is in the family's budget. Provide them the opportunity to assist in chores to help cut the costs associated with their car insurance. If nothing else this tactic may allow them to feel you are treating them like an adult. Communicate the dangers of drinking and driving. This in itself is a tough topic to discuss especially to a teenager who already feels like they have everything figured out and under control. Just take some time and explain to them how this issue is of great importance to their and others safety. Use traffic school to if needed. If your teen driver does get a ticket on his/her license, encourage them to attend traffic school to keep the violation and points against their license removed. Take a ride with them. Your teenager may have been a safe driver last year when they obtained their license however don't assume that bad driving habits have not slipped in since then. So jump in the care with them and take a ride to the store, the movies, etc. This will give you a great opportunity to observe their driving habits in a non-confrontational way. If you see them breaking some good driving habits then point it out in a diplomatic way. More importantly praise them for the good driving even more.If you can implement some of these ideas, you will find it easier to make it through the teenager driving years safely. This will also keep your auto insurance premiums from being a 800 pound gorilla in the room.
0 comments:
Post a Comment