Obtaining auto insurance coverage for your teenager may prove to be costlier than you expected, especially if you are getting it done for the first time. Many parents are initially taken aback when they get the quotes from auto insurance providers to cover their child. However, this is not surprising when you take into consideration the various factors that insurance companies look into when calculating the insurance premiums. Let us take a quick look at some of the factors that play an important role while calculating the cost of the auto insurance premium.
One factor that the insurance providers take into consideration is the age of the person who applies for insurance. The younger the age of the person, riskier they are to the insurance providers and hence the auto insurance premiums for young drivers are very high. Also, children in their teens hardly have any hours of driving to their credit. Hence, insurance companies will not be able to judge how safe they are on the road and, therefore, do not take any chances.
The type of car that teenagers drive today is also a deciding factor. The more expensive and fancy the car, higher will be the insurance premiums, especially if you do not have any special safety features fitted in the car. Also, teen drivers are known to drive fast and recklessly on roads and the increasing number of accidents caused by teens is a startling proof to that. The insurance companies do not consider the combination of fancy cars and teen drivers to be a good one and hence, increase the insurance premiums.
Teens are often susceptible to peer pressure and an increasing number of children are resorting to drinking and driving, despite warning by the government and their family. Most of them even drive under the influence of drugs and other banned substances, thereby increasing the chances of meeting with accidents. Since the cost involved in such claims always are very high, insurance providers are careful before hand and charge high premium.
Furnishing a good driving record will also help in getting reductions in your premiums. However, teen drivers do not have a driving record to show as proof and this always goes against their favor.
If you child has good grades in school, you are in luck since auto insurance providers consider them to be among the responsible lot. However, if the grades are not something to pride upon, then be willing to shell out more from your pocket.
