Jump to content

Menu

Teen Driving and Insurance


Recommended Posts

We just got a quote today on how much it would cost to add my teen to our insurance. He'll be taking his test in 2 weeks. State Farm wants $800 a year. :scared:  And that's with the good student discount. Please tell me there is something cheaper. We'll switch companies if need be.

 

There are cheaper options out there, right?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We are with Country Financial (used to be Cotton States) and looking at dd getting her license this fall. She will be 17. We only have 2 vehicles, so she will be listed as an occasional driver on our 2003 Honda Van. It's going to under $200 every 6 months. 

 

Wow!  I think car insurance rates vary widely by state.  We added our 17 year old last week.  $1000 additional per year. (Cincinnati Insurance) After one year with a clean driving record that amount will be slashed.  After 3 years driving she will be treated as an adult experienced driver for rates.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow!  I think car insurance rates vary widely by state.  We added our 17 year old last week.  $1000 additional per year. (Cincinnati Insurance) After one year with a clean driving record that amount will be slashed.  After 3 years driving she will be treated as an adult experienced driver for rates.

 

We've been with this company since before she was born. I got laid off while I was pregnant with her. I called literally every insurance company in town to try and save on our rates, and they had the best. 

 

There is something she can do online, which will make it about $165 every 6 months. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, car insurance can vary widely depending on what state you're in, what type of vehicles are involved, what type of coverage you have.  Also, when adding a new driver how many vehicles you own can make a difference.  We had three vehicles when oldest DS first got his license and the insurance company automatically assumed he had full access to that third vehicle.  It was in fact his car as far as we were concerned, but for the first eight months or so that he had his license he certainly didn't have full access to it, as we limited his driving.  But of course that didn't matter to the insurance company.  IIRC ours went up right around $800/year the first year, and then has gradually come down as Dancer Mom said.  And in a couple of months we get to start all over with youngest DS!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In CA, our insurance said if we keep DS with a permit (versus an actual license) until he is 18, adding him at 18 won't be very much as compared to adding him at 15 1/2.  The downside is that he would have limited hours in which he could drive. (Which actually might have its advantages, too!)

 

Ask your insurance what other options you have.

:)

Hot Lava Mama

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We just got a quote today on how much it would cost to add my teen to our insurance. He'll be taking his test in 2 weeks. State Farm wants $800 a year. :scared:  And that's with the good student discount. Please tell me there is something cheaper. We'll switch companies if need be.

 

There are cheaper options out there, right?

I don't know.  I dread calling for a quote.  Several of my friends said their rates DOUBLED when their teen son got a driver's license at 16.  Others said the insurance was not as costly when they made their son wait till 17.  I am hoping that girls are less expensive than boys, and that 17 costs less than 16.

 

Like others have said, I do think exact cost varies greatly by state, area (urban vs. rural), make/model/age of vehicles insured, whether the family has enough vehicles that the child is assigned his/her own, coverage level, etc.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our insurance (century 21) goes up $1200 (driving their own, very old vehicle)! Good student discount takes off about $100/year. And it stays at the same rate, boy or girl, for any new driver until they've been driving accident-free for 4 years.

 

It's pretty horrible if you have more than one kiddo in that age range at the same time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, I called ours and got $800 with the good student discount.  That's for an 18 y.o. male with the good student discount on both of our older vehicles.  He's just getting his learner's permit, but I wanted to plan ahead.

 

Friends three miles away with a kid the same age were quoted $1100.

 

Friends of ours in the local area told me that it cost them over $2000 for a 16 y.o. male with driver's ed and insurance.  But they wanted another driver because of family needs, so they did it.

 

And for one of mine's male cousins, they're paying $600 for a 17 y.o.

 

Go figure.  But when DH and I married, I was paying double what he was from the same company.  But I lived in a neighboring state in an urban area in a high rise.  He was in the suburbs in a town house.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since posting this question a few days ago, I've shopped around for some quotes, and State Farm is coming off as reasonable. Wow. Just Wow. Well, at least I'm more prepared for the next one, who is 14.

 

And now you know.  Maybe I'm forgetting, but I don't remember my parents complaining about the expense, and I got my license right at 16.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We were told that in our state there was no option of only insuring our son on the vehicle he would drive, he had to be insured on all vehicles. I don't recall the exact price, but I know that it would have cost at least twice as much as we were paying. Fortunately, he didn't get his license until he was 18 and then moved far away enough for college that he did not have to be on our insurance at all. I think he would also have been exempt from being on our insurance had he went to college closer, but lived off-campus. After two years at college, he bought his own used car and pays the insurance himself. So fortunately, we never had to pay the astronomical fees.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...