What to Know About Insuring Your Teen Driver in California

Getting your driver’s license as a teenager is perhaps one of the most defining moments of those years of change. This is the personification of freedom, at least in a teen’s mind. Almost magic. However, there is no denying that teenage drivers are less experienced, and they are much more likely to be involved in a vehicle accident than drivers in other age ranges. Here, we want to talk about some things that you need to know about your teenage driver in California.

Adding Your Teen to Your Insurance Policy

Your teenager must be covered by insurance before they roll out on their own. When your teen obtains that driver’s license, it is time for you to protect them and others on the roadway. You could have your teenager purchase an insurance policy by themselves, but this is probably going to be quite expensive.

What many parents opt to do is add their teenager to their own insurance policy. Yes, this is going to cost a little bit more money a month, but it will be less money than if your child had to get a policy on their own. Besides, you can get your teenage driver to reimburse you for the expense if you want.

In the state of California, auto insurance rates are determined by how long a driver has had their license. This is a decent indicator of how much driving experience a person has had.

When you decide to call your insurance carrier to add your teenager to your policy, we know that you are going to want to look for ways to reduce your rates. There are certainly a few ways that you can work to reduce your total premium after adding your teenager to the policy. This includes:

• Good student discount. Believe it or not, many insurance carriers will offer discounts for students who have good attendance and who maintain at least a B average or have a certain GPA. These students, at least according to the insurance carrier, are probably less of a risk.
• Away from home discount. If your teenager attends school more than a certain amount away from your home, you may be able to get a discount on your policy for that driver.
• Defensive driving course discount. Have your child take a defensive driving course, as this type of course often results in a discount for insurance.
• Driver’s education discount. Make sure your student takes a driver’s education course, either through their school or through a private but certified driver’s ed course.
• Occasional driver discount. If your teenager rarely drives your vehicle, you can ask if they qualify as an occasional driver, which may lower your premiums.
• Safe driver discount. After a certain amount of time driving with no accidents and no traffic citations, you can ask the insurance carrier to reevaluate the overall monthly premiums.

Shop Around for Better Pricing

Do not be afraid to shop around to look for better insurance pricing elsewhere. Some people have loyalty towards a specific insurance carrier, but money is money. If you can get a lower price somewhere else, go for it. There are insurance brokers who can shop around for the best price, or you can go to individual insurance company websites and get quotes.