Car insurance is an expensive yet indispensable part of car ownership. But when a teen is factored in, your car insurance rates could go through the roof. If you want to get the cheapest car insurance for teens, consider the discounts available for students, the type of car you should buy and the coverage you should choose to keep the rates down to the lowest.
This article aims to help you with all that you need to consider while buying the cheapest car insurance for your teens.
Good Student Discount for Teen Drivers
Most insurance companies offer student discounts for teen drivers, especially the ones with good grades. Typically, the students should have grades averaging above a 3.0-grade point.
Before purchasing auto insurance for your teens, get the most recent report card ready. If the average is below the 3.0-grade point, don’t worry – the teen can still avail the discount when the grade improves in future.
Related Article: 6 Ways to Get Discounts on Car Insurance
Is the Teen an Occasional Operator?
If your teen doesn’t have a car of his/her own but uses your car occasionally, some insurance carriers can allow him/her to be added to your policy as a secondary or occasional driver.
This is a great way to lower your car insurance rates and save some cash. Make sure to mention this to your agent while purchasing an insurance policy for your car.
However, keep in mind that different insurance companies define “occasional drivers” differently based on state laws and underwriting guidelines. For example, if the number of cars in your household exceeds your family members, insurance carriers will actually treat your teen as a primary driver.
Choosing the Right Vehicle for a Teen Driver
If sharing your car with your teen is not an option, the next option to buy him/her a car. Buying the right car for your teen driver is key to getting lower insurance rates because insurance companies typically consider teen drivers rather risky.
If you want to buy a cheap car for your teen, look for a vehicle ranging in the age group from 6 to 10 years old. Moreover, look for airbags and other safety features because safer cars tend to have lower rates.
PLPD Coverage
Apart from buying the right car for your teenage driver, it’s also important to choose the right coverage in order to get lower rates.
If you have chosen the right vehicle for your teenager, you can insure the car with PLPD (Personal Liability Property Damage) Coverage.
The PLPD coverage requires that the vehicle isn’t purchased on a loan and the owner is in a position to replace the car on their own should something happens to the vehicle.
PLPD is considered the cheapest car insurance for teenage drivers while physical damage coverage is the most expensive for a teenage driver.
Not opting for comprehensive and collision coverage, for example, can make your insurance rates cheaper.
Related Article: What is Car Insurance, and Why is It Important?
Resident Student Discount
Teenage drivers that are going away to college or commuting may want to lower their coverage, particularly when they want to leave their car parked in their parents’ garage for a specific period of time.
If your college is at least 100 miles away from your home, your parents can qualify for Resident Student Discounts which is up to 30% discounts on premium. This is a great way lower their car insurance bills.
Insurance Parent’s Policy or on a Separate Policy
When it comes to teenage staying on their parents’ policy, the terms and conditions of insurance companies are so complicated that it’s difficult to determine the cheaper option.
However, theoretically, there are some thumb rules to follow.
It’s cheaper for a teenage driver to stay on their parent’s policy because the teenager would enjoy the big discounts such as multi-car and multi-policy.
However, sometimes, it’s wiser to let the teenage driver have a separate policy. Many insurance carriers rate a teen based on all vehicles on the policy. If a couple of vehicles have full coverage, and the teenage is automatically rated on all vehicles, you’ll likely to a higher rate. In such a scenario, having a separate policy for the teenage driver is wiser because the driver will be only paying for one vehicle.
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