Insurance for your Teen Driver

At Hanby Insurance, we specialize in helping you find the right insurance for teen drivers. There are a lot of rumors and misconceptions out there, and we want to help put those to rest to make sure you have the best possible coverage with no added surprises should your teen driver have a claim.

Here are a few of the most common myths and mistakes people make regarding insurance for teen drivers.

1. –I am not going to insure my kids until my insurance company makes me. This is a bad idea. Most policies require that you list everyone who is of driving age on your policy. When you fail to do so, you are essentially violating the insuring agreement. To have the best possible claims experience,  you should add your young driver to your insurance policy the minute they get a license
2. I will buy my young driver a policy from another insurance agent so I don’t have to add them to mine.  Again, bad idea in 99% of circumstances. If your child is under the age of 18, they legally cannot obtain their own insurance policy, which means you are still going to be the owner of the new policy. Any claims that occur on this policy are still going to show under your name because you’re the named insured. Buying from another agent will only complicate your insurance even more, especially if the policy limits are different come claim time.
3. I want to buy my young driver a brand-new car, but I also have an old truck I use on the weekends to run errands. Can you rate my teenager on the old truck and rate me on the new car? No. This is called rate evasion and if something happens with your young driver behind the wheel of the mustang what are you going to tell the claims adjustor? It will be obvious whose car it really is.
4. I heard if I buy my kiddo a red car the insurance will be more expensive. Not true. Honestly, your insurance agent has no idea what color your car is.

How do you get the best rate for your teenage driver?

1. Make sure you are getting all the discounts!
   • Trained Driver Discount: Most carriers offer a Trained Driver Discount for driver’s education classes.
   • Good Student Discount: If your child has a B or better average most companies will give you a nice discount. Be sure to ask for the Good Student Discount. You will need to provide a recent copy of their grades.
   • Garaging Address: If you have a college student, your agent can garage the car in the appropriate county (given that it’s in the state of Texas), which can also lower the rate. If your college student does not take his/her car to college, there is also a discount for that.
2. Buy a cash car for your teen driver if possible. We suggest buying young drivers a car that you don’t have to carry comp and collision coverage on. Liability insurance and uninsured motorist coverage for a young driver is usually between $150-$200/month. When you add comprehensive and collision coverage, the cost is well over $200/month, often closer to $300.
3. Use an Independent Agent. We recommend an Independent insurance agency, like ours, because we have a lot of options for young drivers and we have access to multiple insurance carriers.
4. Keep a clean driving record. Make sure you teach your young driver the importance of keeping TICKETS off their record.  Have them take a defensive driving course or do deferred adjudication if they happen to get a ticket.  Accidents can’t be controlled but you can prevent tickets and the last thing your teen driver needs is an accident and a ticket on their driving record.
5. Telematics. More and more companies are offering telematics. Some of them are only 90 day programs and if your child is a good driver they can earn up to a 30% discount in many cases. However, watch out because some companies will penalize you and charge a higher rate if you’re not a good driver.

Still have questions about insurance for Teen Drivers? Hanby would love to help you! Please call our office today, 972-285-0381, or chat with us via our website.