Teenage Drivers

Gender

Auto insurance premiums are driven by statistics. Statistically, male teenage drivers mean higher rates. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2013 the motor vehicle death rate for drivers and passengers ages 16 to 19 was almost twice as high for males vs. females.

Type of Vehicle

If you’ve got a newly licensed driver, then you more than likely will also have a vehicle to add onto your policy as well. While some carriers assign vehicles to certain drivers, the carriers that Andrews Insurance Agency writes through don’t assign vehicles to certain drivers. So while your teen, if added to your policy, will be covered to drive all vehicles, adding another vehicle to the mix will increase premiums. A brand new vehicle with comprehensive and collision will cost much more than a vehicle with liability only.

Good Student

If your teenage driver has good grades, usually a GPA of 3.0 or higher, they are most likely eligible for a good student discount. The percentage of discount varies by carrier, but usually the agent will need a copy of their last full semester’s transcript to show GPA.

Driver’s Education

If your teenager took driver’s education and got a certificate of completion, then they will usually be eligible for a driver’s education discount. Whether the course was taken in school, or parent taught through a website, carriers will usually apply discounts for completion certificates from whatever course you’ve chosen.

As always, check with your agent to see what kind of discounts you could be receiving for your teenage driver and what your carrier takes into consideration when rating a teenage driver. It’s very important to let your agent know the moment your teenager will be driving, be is a license or a permit. Adding your teenager onto your policy will insure that in the even of an at fault accident, your limits of liability will be honored.

-Jordan Newcomer

Licensed Property & Casualty Insurance Agent