Young Driver

Why Car Insurance for Young Drivers is so Expensive

An important milestone in every young person’s life is getting their driver’s license. For young people, getting their driver’s license is a big step to adulthood. Although driving a vehicle means more freedom, responsibility, and independence, it also comes with a number of costs, particularly the cost of auto insurance. Young drivers, particularly young teen males, are faced with high car insurance quotes. The reason that young drivers tend to receive higher insurance quotes is that the insurance companies have rated them as high risk drivers.

High risk drivers are drivers that are at a higher risk of making a claim or having a claim filed against them. When insurance companies rate drivers, they will rely on statistics to determine their risk. For instance, a 2005 report by the CDC revealed that “although teens accounted for only 10% of the population, 12% were involved in fatal motor vehicle accidents. As well, 4,500 teen deaths were a result of injuries sustained during an automobile accident and 400,000 teen drivers suffered nonfatal injuries.” Much of the reasoning behind such high statistics is a teen’s lack of driving experience, increased likelihood of taking more risks while driving, and they tend to violate more traffic laws such as speeding. Therefore, the car insurance quotes reflect the risk.

Although it may seem disheartening to learn that young drivers receive higher car insurance quotes there are a number of measures that can be taken to reduce the costs of young driver auto insurance. Below are a number tips to reducing young driver car insurance quotes:

Online Auto Insurance Quotes: The internet is a great source to locating cheaper auto insurance for teens. There are auto insurance resource websites and insurance websites that provide a free online insurance search tool that allows users to acquire several insurance quotes from a number of different auto insurance providers. Users just submit some personal details such as their ZIP code, age, gender, make, model, and year of the vehicle. Once they have “clicked” the submit button, it is just a matter of seconds before they receive several auto insurance quotes.

Auto Insurance Discount Incentives: When purchasing car insurance, it is important to take advantage of all discount offers. Such insurance policy incentives can include: a discount for teen drivers who have taken and completed a defensive driver’s program, a discount for maintaining a high grade average such as an ‘A’ average, a discount for maintaining low mileage, fuel efficient vehicle discount such as driving a hybrid car, discounts for installing anti-theft devices and safety devices such as airbags and motorized seatbelts.

Type of Vehicle: The type of car that young drivers drive will affect the cost of their insurance premiums. For instance, cars that are at a high risk of theft such as sports cars will cost more to insure. Teens can lower their insurance premiums by driving an older car that is at a low risk of getting stolen.

By taking the time to find out the factors that are taken into account when determining the price of an auto insurance policy taking steps to mitigate those factors, researching insurance options, and taking advantage of the available discount incentives, young drivers can greatly reduce the price they pay for their car insurance.