Teen Drivers and Car Insurance can be a worrisome (and costly) combination.
So, what happens when a client makes that dreaded phone call to us asking to add their newly licensed “youthful driver” to their policy? Here are the top three topics we discuss that can help you protect your teen driver while protecting your wallet:
1.) Safety for your Teen Driver: According to a release from the Department of Motor Vehicles, the number of deadly crashes among teens has increased nationally by 26 percent over the last three years. However, Connecticut has seen a 40 percent decline. This is largely due to Connecticut adopting the Graduate Drivers’ License laws in 2008. Since then, over the past decade, fatal crashes among teenagers have decreased by more than 150 percent. This is great news for our teens and their parents in Connecticut! To further improve teen driving statistics many insurance carriers are also now offering programs to enhance teen driving safety and parent involvement.
2.) As Parent’s, your new Liability Exposure: The nature of insurance is to provide you with protection from risk. In turn, insurance carriers develop certain appetites for specific risk exposures - and not all companies want to cover Youthful Drivers. An insurance company may make its premium rates for Youthful Drivers much higher than other drivers in an attempt to push them out and avoid covering them. As agents, we are aware of different company’s appetites and have knowledge of which companies cover Teen Drivers more favorably than others. We can review your current coverage and suggest if your auto policy can be rewritten to a more Youthful Driver friendly Insurance Carrier (well, as friendly as it can be!).
3.) Tips that Help you Protect & Save:
- Umbrella Insurance: There’s no way around it, Teen drivers are considered high-risk drivers. We will evaluate your underlying auto policy liability limits. We will likely suggest adding an umbrella policy if you do not currently have one. Doing so is highly recommended to provide greater financial protection in case of an accident involving your teen.
- Driver Education: Discounts are offered by almost all carriers if a teen has gone through Driver’s Education, even if your state doesn’t require the course.
- Good Student: Insurance Companies offer a Good Student Discount for students with A/B averages. Some carriers even extend deeper discounts based on the drivers GPA.
- Carrier Plug-Ins & Extended Education: Various carriers are now offering discounts for car plug-ins that will monitor a teen’s driving behavior. There are also incentives for teens to complete further driving education offered through the insurance carrier.
- Higher Deductibles: Some carriers will offer a discount for a Youthful Deductible. What this means is a higher deductible applies if the youthful driver has a car accident in an undesignated vehicle on the family policy. If a parent were to get in an accident then the lower, standard policy deductible will still apply.
As an Independent Agent, we evaluate your new risk exposure with each of the carriers we represent. This allows us to offer a variety of solutions for your unique situation.