Cheapest Student Car Insurance

Parents are often concerned about the high price of car insurance. Finding the best rates involves taking the time to shop around, but you can do a little more to find affordable rates for your child’s auto insurance.

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Here are a few tips to help you save when it’s time for your new driver to get behind the wheel.

Be Aware of the Statistics

It’s easy for parents to be frustrated by the high rates for student drivers, but the facts is that those rates are based on statistical evidence showing that teenage drivers are most likely to cause an accident.

Experts believe that this is the result of a combination of factors:

• Lack of experienced leads to poor hazard detection, including the ability to identify potential threats and monitor their environment closely enough.
• They tend to be overconfident and underestimate the threats around them.
• This same overconfidence may lead them to believe that their better drivers than they think they are, and this contributes to them taking more risks.

Risk Factors that Parents can Minimize

You cannot necessarily make your child understand that he or she is not invincible, but there are some other risk factors that you might be able to minimize. The statistics also show that drugs and alcohol are often a contributing factor in fatal car accidents.

Take steps to ensure that your children don’t drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Carrying passengers is also cited as a contributing factor in accidents. The risk of 16- and 17-year-old teens being in an accident is 3.6 times higher when they’re carrying passengers. It’s believed that the drivers are more likely to be distracted, and there’s also the belief that the passengers may encourage the teens to take more risks or drive dangerously.

This has prompted states like Indiana to place passenger restrictions on teen drivers. They aren’t allowed to have other riders in their car for the first 180 after getting their license unless they have another adult in the car.

Many states, including Indiana, also have restrictions for teenagers to prevent them from driving alone at night. This is because teens are three times more likely to be involved in an accident after 9:00 p.m. They’re more likely to be tired and unable to fully concentrate on the road, and teenage recreational activities that contribute to accidents are also more likely to occur at night.

One of the best ways to find lower rates for student drivers is by encouraging clean driving records. You can monitor your child’s driving by investing in different cell phone apps that make it easier to monitor driving habits.

Many of these carry a small monthly fee for the service, but you can be alerted if your child has a habit of speeding, taking fast turns or engaging in other risky behaviors. You can also limit your child’s driving after dark and the number of passengers in the car at any given time. Some companies even provide you with discounts if you invest in this type of monitoring program for your child.

Boys Compared to Girls

If you have a young man in the household, you can expect to pay a little more than girls are charged. This is because research shows that boys are more likely to be involved in accidents.

However, taking the time to shop around and look for better rates can help you save money on the premiums for your son’s insurance.

Learn how to Counteract the Most Common Errors

Knowing where teens make mistakes can help you give your child some extra training behind the wheel. Improving their driving skills will help improve their driving record, and that can lead to lower rates.

Additionally, you’ll avoid costly rate hikes that insurance companies may impose if your child has moving violations. Specifically, remind your child to:

• Turn off cell phones and keep the radio volume low to minimize distractions
• Look ahead on the road and take particular care when making right turns
• Always look over their shoulder before changing lanes
• Adjust speed appropriately when driving in dangerous weather
• Leave a safe following distance between themselves and other cars
• Your child can also benefit from extra training on recovering from skids, handling unexpected swerves and navigating around hazards in the road. Spend some extra time riding as a passenger in your child’s car so that you can get a better feel for their driving skills and help them make improvements. You’ll ultimately find better rates for your student, and you’ll keep your child safer in the process.

Grades and Rates

The National Safety Council reports that kids who get good grades are safer on the road. This is why many insurance companies offer discounts to student drivers who are making the honor roll on a regular basis.

You can use this information to help encourage your children to study harder and keep their grades high throughout high school and their college years. When comparing different companies and plans, ask specifically about their good student discounts to see how much of a discount they offer and what kinds of grades will qualify.

Be prepared to provide the company with proof of the good grades, including a report card or letter signed by the school administrator.

The 100-Mile Limit

Many college students don’t need a car while they’re at school. If your child attends a school more than 100 miles away and lives on campus, then you may qualify for the student away at school discount.

You’ll still maintain coverage on that student for when he or she is at home for a few days, but you’ll have discounted rates that reflect the occasional driving status of your child.

Rethink the Coverage

You don’t want to skimp on liability coverage with a teen driver. If your child causes an accident, you don’t want to wind up facing a lawsuit because you didn’t have enough coverage. However, there are other ways to lower your monthly premium without putting yourself at risk financially.

While you should not reduce coverage for liability, you can raise your deductible on collision and comprehensive coverage. Make sure that you have enough savings to cover the deductible if necessary.

Another option is to have your teen driver put money in savings to cover the deductible. If your teen is driving an older car, then you may choose to forego collision and comprehensive coverage completely.

If you have the money set aside to replace an aging car if it’s ruined in an accident, then you can lower your monthly premiums by carrying just liability coverage.

Help your child become a better driver to enjoy lower rates and keep him or her safe. Taking the time to shop around is one of the best ways to find cheap student car insurance. Before signing with any one company, check the consumer ratings to ensure that the company will provide you with the service you need.

You may also be able to get discounts if your child agrees to take safe driving classes. Shopping around for the right company will take more time and effort on your part, but it’s worth it to help you and your child save money.

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