It’s certainly a challenge for all parents to keep their insurance costs under control once they add their teenager to their policy. Insurance professionals would often suggest 3 different ways that enable you to keep your costs at bay –
Shop for coverage
Shopping for the right coverage is certainly a good way of achieving multiple quote offers from various carriers. You’ll know how to distinguish between a good and a bad rate once you start comparing between different rates and the benefits associated with respective policies. It’s understandable that in today’s world we have little or no time to go and shop for insurance. A better way to go about it is to find an independent agency in your locality. Independent agents are closely associated with various companies and hence they have an easy access to multiple quotes. It’s also a better idea to call an independent agent rather than calling too many agents at a time. This way you’ll need to share your personal information only once and not every time you call an agent.
Your credit has to be clean
Make sure you have a clean credit report. Credit has the biggest influence on your insurance premiums. All major carriers will look for the insurance score of the household head. Either the husband or the wife will be considered as the household head depending on their FICA score. The one who has a better credit rating may choose to be the head of the household. This way you might achieve a better rate if you have a better credit. You may remember a few things in order to achieve a better insurance score –
Try and pay your bills before the due date is over in order to ensure a good rating. Also make sure that your accounts are in a good standing financially, and that the outstanding balances for all your credit cards are low. It will be beneficial to keep your credit card balances below 25% of your card limit.
Buy a cheaper car for your teen
The chances of a teenager getting into an accident are far more than the experienced drivers. It’s very important that your teenager starts driving with a cheaper car. With a cheaper car, it will be easier for you to pay cash if necessary and your teen will also learn to become more responsible. It’s all about the odds, but you need to make sure that you’re on the safer side. Don’t waste your money with too many policies, rather get the much needed liability coverage for your new car. If you don’t get collision and comprehensive coverage for your teen, it will reduce your premium quite considerably. Collision and comprehensive coverage is costlier for teen drivers as they get into accidents quite frequently.
It’s always advisable that you don’t buy a car for which you’ll need to have full coverage in place. If you buy an expensive car, you may need to pay for such coverage till your teenager grows up to be a responsible driver. Whenever you add your teen, don’t forget to inquire about discounts. You must inquire about good student benefits and driving courses specifically aimed at teens. Any independent agent will be able to provide you with information regarding discounts offered by most insurance carriers in your locality.
