Finding Car Insurance Savings for Your Young Driver

Your child just turned 16 and they are thrilled. Finally, they can drive themselves to school, soccer practice, and outings with their friends. You, however, are not quite as thrilled. Even though you’re excited for them and the free time you’ll get back with their driving, you are worried about the auto insurance hike that’s about to hit you hard. Of course, you did pick your Omaha auto insurance with care to get yourself the best rates and coverage, but there’s still nothing you can do to avoid the price of a young driver. Or so you thought. While you’re right that there will be a rate increase with your teenage driver, there are still ways of keeping your car insurance reasonable.

Car Insurance Rate Reducers

There is no beating around the bush: young drivers really do raise rates. As they aren’t considered adult drivers until age 25, there isn’t much hope that you’ll see dramatically better rates while your teenager is still on your insurance. However, that doesn’t mean there is no way to mitigate the new cost of your auto insurance. When determining rates for young drivers, your Omaha car insurance will most likely consider:

• Good grades
• Driver’s ed classes
• Type and age of vehicle
• Use of “telematics”

Grades are commonly known to reduce insurance rates for young drivers. Most insurance companies connect good grades with safer driving, and your local, Omaha car insurance is no different. If your teenager has a B average or better, there can be up to a 20% reduction in rates. For many parents, good grades are often a prerequisite for access to the car, so grades and rate drops go together nicely.

Driver’s ed classes seem like a given, but not all teenagers take them as they aren’t technically required for passing a driver’s test. While not all insurance companies offer discounts due to drivers ed, it’s worth checking with your Omaha car insurance. Regardless, it’s a good idea to enroll your young driver in drivers ed as safer driving means lower rates in general.

Many parents debate whether to go old or new with the car their young driver is using. While newer cars often have better, higher-tech safety measures, in terms of insurance rates an older car may be the better option. Many older cars are low cost and are therefore not worth the price of their deductibles for collision and comprehensive coverage. Looking up your older car on Kelly Blue Book can give you a good idea as to whether you’re paying more for the deductibles than the car itself. By maintaining only liability insurance on the car, you can reduce your rate significantly. Of course, it goes without saying that we only recommend an older car if it is adequately safe. Luckily the safety requirements on cars in the last couple decades make it perfectly reasonable to find an older car that provides both safety for your child and auto insurance savings.

Telematics is becoming increasingly popular as tools to determine driving patterns. The telematics device is installed in the car to monitor things such as speed, time of day driving takes place, and how often hard braking happens. The devices are left in the car for anywhere from three to six months to gain a sufficient amount of data before determining rate deductions based on driving habits. The benefit of these devices is that rates are based more on safe driving habits as opposed to classic determinants like age or gender. This can translate to good savings if your young driver is a safe driver with the added benefit that the telematics will only help your rate, so there are no penalties if your young driver isn’t the best.

Navigating insurance for young drivers can be a mess, particularly if you’re trying to keep your rate reasonable in the face of a 16-year-old. Fortunately, your local, independent Omaha auto insurance agent is here to help.  We want to help you save money while feeling confident in your insurance coverage for you and your teenager.

Come set up a time to talk young drivers with one of our qualified Omaha auto insurance agents today.