Car Insurance For Young People
Out of the approximately 6 million auto accidents that occur every single year in the United States, a large portion involve young drivers. Sixteen year old drivers are actually the age group most likely to be involved in an accident. For this reason, insurance companies offer higher rates for younger, inexperienced drivers, and it becomes a necessity to search for lower premiums on car insurance for young people. This is a short guide for finding car insurance and keeping rates low.
The Type of Car Makes a Difference
This is one of the first considerations you should think about before even talking to an insurance agent. The cheapest car insurance for young drivers depends a lot on the type of car they are driving. The same is true for insurance for people of all ages, but it’s especially relevant for a first time driver. If you’re buying your son or daughter a car and are worried about insurance rates; look for a car with good mileage, excellent safety features and a small engine. For much older vehicles though, you may want to consider third party theft and fire coverage, which covers claims made against you for personal or property damage.
Use Defensive Driving Techniques
Avoiding an accident should be everybody’s first concern while out on the road; accidents can not only cause debilitating personal injury or death, but they’re a surefire way to skyrocket your insurance premiums. Always yield when in doubt, and pay attention to what other drivers around you are doing. In fact, some companies, such as Progressive, offer discounts for safe driving practices, which they document via an on-board tracking device. By driving at certain times of day and regulating your speed you could save as much as 30 percent on your final premium.
Pay Attention to the Rules of the Road
It’s not only accidents that cause an increase in insurance premiums; something even as seemingly inconsequential as one speeding ticket can drastically hike up the monthly rates that you pay. For young drivers, depending on how fast they were driving, the rates can actually double! Insurance companies crack down on speeding quite a bit because the faster a car is going, the more damage it is likely to cause in the event of an accident. Therefore, a documented history of fast and/or reckless driving poses a larger liability for the insurance providers.
Look for a Student Discount
Expensive car insurance for young drivers can be offset by student discounts, which can lower the monthly premium by as much as 10%. These discounts are provided for students who are actively enrolled in a university or community college, allowing them to focus more on their studies and less on their budget. Other discounts include a no-claims bonus, given after a certain amount of time with no accidents and advanced drivers education bonuses, given for successful completion of a course like Defensive Driving Basics.
Finding affordable car insurance for young drivers may take awhile, but understanding the rules by which these rates are set can help you offset some of the charges and fall under a lower insurance bracket, saving you both time and money.
