As exciting and scary as it is for a son or daughter to drive, it also does not come cheap. Besides the costs of a new or used vehicle, you can also expect your auto insurance premiums to balloon if they join your plan.

Because they are young and untested drivers, teens pay much more for insurance despite making far less money than almost any other demographic. While teens work their minimum wage jobs, often parents end up on the receiving end of these massive premiums.

This does not mean that you should settle for the first quote that comes your way though. While you can initially expect to see your premium double, there are ways to keep costs down.

Ways to Keep Car Insurance Costs Down

While there is no way to avoid a major increase to your car insurance premium once a child turns eighteen or becomes a fully licensed driver, there are ways for you to avoid the maximum increases.

Here are some tips to avoid those sky-high premiums.

1) Keep Your Child On Your Policy

Whether your child is paying for their own car insurance or not, you are going to want them on your policy versus their own one. By purchasing an umbrella policy, which covers the automobile and teen driver, you’ll be protected from potential lawsuits that would likely result in higher damages than if they sued your teen directly.

Since teens are the safest drivers for insurance companies to bet against because of their limited history of driving their premiums are always going to be the highest until they have a proven track record of success.

They also don’t have a history of responsible spending and limited income, so a parent backing them is a metaphorical form of insurance for insurance agencies.

2) Sports Cars Look Nice But Cost More

While you may want to purchase your child the nicest car you can afford, flashier cars will affect how much your auto insurance costs.

Avoid cars known for their speed and torque, and go with something more modest such as a sedan or small SUV.

While they may not be the coolest looking cars they are safer and will be easier to handle for the inexperienced driver in your family.

Besides making sure they are driving a safer car, consider a defensive driver safety course.

While many inexperienced drivers take a course to receive their learner’s permit, a more in-depth course after they’ve been on the road for a couple of years will benefit them and reduce the cost of their car insurance.

3) Parents’ Cars Are Off Limits

In cases where your son or daughter get their own car, one way to reduce your premium is to keep them from driving anything but their own car.

As Irena Boturla noted from her own personal experience, she could save thousands of dollars by limiting her son’s driving experience to only one vehicle.

“When we started out our insurance premium yearly was about $5,100. When I added him on to our policy, our insurance skyrocketed to $10,180. I didn’t know what to do as I truly couldn’t afford to pay that amount.

I kept going back and forth with my agent and after putting both our heads together, she came up with an idea that is rarely used today.

Knowing that my son would never drive either one of our vehicles because we are extreme fanatics, we decided to exclude him from all our vehicles but his own.

This basically means he’s not allowed to drive our cars. This brought our policy premium down to about $8100 saving us approximately $2,200 less in premium.”

Car Insurance for Teens in Montclair, NJ

Now that you know some ways to decrease your premium, reach out to the experts at Schumacher Insurance Agency.

As a local insurance agency in the heart of Montclair, NJ, we’ll do everything we can to ensure that you pay the lowest premium possible when your teen is ready to drive.

We’re both here to help you save monthly and to give you peace of mind knowing that if something were to happen to your teen, such as a fender bender or worse, your family is financially protected.