As parents, one of the scariest things is your teenage child sitting behind the wheel and driving on roads that are already unsafe. According to a survey, there were over 6 million passenger car accidents in 2019, and the numbers have already risen. What’s even worse, according to the CDC, more than 250,000 teens were taken into the hospital for car accident-related injuries. These are scary statistics, and you need to ensure that your teenage drivers are insured properly. 

With an unending sense of adventure, a desire for taking risks erupting on their faces in the form of pimples, and trying to emulate Fast and Furious in the suburbs, teenagers are the most dangerous drivers according to every survey. This is why insurance companies charge the most to teenage drivers or someone who is under 25.  

Don’t break a sweat, because, in this article, we’ll share some of the best tips and tricks to choosing cheap car insurance for parents with teen drivers. This article will describe ways to reduce the cost of insurance rates, insurance premiums, and ways to prevent insurance rates from going up even after an accident. Let’s get started. 

Accident Forgiveness Add-on: A Must Have

If you have a teenage driver in your family and they need to get an auto insurance policy, then it would be foolish if you don’t get the accident forgiveness add-on. Not all the insurance companies offer this add-on, so choose the one that does because it can do wonders when it comes to an insurance price hike. 

Since the teenage driver is very likely to be in an accident, either because of seeking the thrill of riding rashly or just due to the lack of experience on the road, you will need accident forgiveness to prevent insurance rates from going up. The moment the policyholder gets in an accident and makes an insurance claim, the insurance rates for the subsequent year will increase. 

Accident forgiveness will “forgive” one accident insurance claim and your insurance rates will remain the same. So people who are very likely to make a car insurance claim should get this add-on. 

Get the Good Student Discount

Most insurance companies offer great discounts to students who do well in school or college. Auto insurance policies are already expensive and getting low rates for great policies is very difficult. But if your kids are good at school or college and they get good grades, you can get the “good student” discount. You can save as much as 20% on policies if the grades are straight As or the GPA is high. 

Some insurance companies might not mention it directly, but with a little bit of inquiry and digging, you can get great discounts. So don’t shy away from asking. 

Get a Cheap Car, a Used Car if Possible

To bring down the cost of auto insurance, the first step should be not getting an expensive car. The type and make of the car directly affect the rate of auto insurance. Bigger, expensive, foreign-made cars are not only very expensive to maintain and repair, but they are more likely to be in an accident, especially if you give them to teenagers. So if you thought paying a lot for that sleek car was the only damage to your wallet, wait till you see the insurance rates. 

The best tip here would be getting a cheap, locally made car like a Honda, Ford, or Toyota., preferably small with not too many horses in the engine. Getting a used car would be even better since the insurance rates would go down even more. This can help the teenager get a nice and slow start in learning to drive, and if they get in an accident (which they will) the damage won’t be too expensive to fix. 

Getting a used car is also beneficial in terms of coverage. Since the car is already busted, you can skip getting collision or comprehensive insurance coverage. Collision coverage is one of the most expensive auto insurance policies. To avoid getting these two policies and you can pay from your pockets in case the car gets in an accident. Fixing an old, used car will be cheaper than paying the insurance price.  

Get Personal Injury Protection Plan

If you live in one of the 12 “no-fault” states, getting a personal injury protection plan is mandatory. But if you don’t, we still recommend getting personal injury protection for the teenagers and yourself as well. The cost of medical treatments is extremely high, and even a single ambulance trip could cost you thousands of dollars. 

Having a personal injury protection plan is always useful because even if the driver’s liability insurance (who’s at fault) is not enough to pay for the medical treatment, your injury protection plan will kick in, saving you potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Add Your Kids as Occasional Drivers to Your Policy

Instead of getting separate auto insurance policies for your teenage kids, it could be much better to add them to your existing auto insurance plan as “occasional drivers” and not “primary drivers”. This is perfect for kids who are still learning to drive and perhaps need a year of experience before they get their auto insurance policy. 

Deductibles

Deductibles are always a great way of saving money on auto insurance premiums. But in the case of teenagers, it might be just the opposite. Higher deductibles mean that you will have to pay more from your pockets in an insurance claim, but the benefit here is you get to pay low insurance premium rates. This is great for experienced drivers who are less likely to make an insurance claim. 

But consider teen drivers who are more likely to get in an accident, and a lot of minor ones. If you raise the deductible to save money on insurance premiums, minor accidents, and even some major ones will require you to pay the deductible amount. It would be better to reduce deductibles so that accidents don’t cause much damage to your wallet.