There are two completely different sets of hopes and expectations as teenagers grow up. The teenagers are counting down the days when they can finally get behind the wheel of a car and start cruising. They expect nothing but fun and new-found freedom. The parents are dreading the day when they have to start paying for insurance so that, every time they watch their children drive away, they can hope to see them come back alive. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a driver under the age of twenty-five is four times more likely to die in a traffic accident than an older driver. Because of the seriously increased risk of physical injury and damage to property, the premium rates for drivers aged between 16 and 24 are 50 to 200% higher than for other classes of drivers. It takes effort to find affordable coverage.

The first decision is whether to add your teen to your existing policy or buy a new policy. The answer is fairly simple. If you have a poor driving record or you drive a vehicle that is expensive to insure, it will almost certainly be less expensive to buy your teen a cheap secondhand car and pay a separate insurance. If you have multiple vehicles, the insurer will assume all named drivers will drive all the vehicles so the rates will be set by the most expensive car. But if you have an excellent driving record in a steady family car, adding your child to the policy may be a good choice. But, keep talking to the insurance company. As your children age, the risk of accidents reduces. Some companies offer better rates from the age of twenty, others from twenty-three. The incentive for starting a separate policy is to give your child direct track record as a driver. While they shelter on your policy, they do not earn significant discounts. So the sooner they start holding a policy, the sooner they begin earning personal discounts.

Auto insurance companies like young drivers with a good grade average so, if your child has a B grade or better, this saves between 5 and 10%. Then make sure your child goes through all the driving courses approved by the insurance company. This always produces better results than you trying to teach. There are also special schemes offering discounts if the teenagers sign pledges not to drink and drive. Finally, there are discounts if your children leave home to go to college or university. Make sure your children qualify for all the available discounts. In all this, the cheapest auto insurance is not necessarily the best. Look for a company with a good reputation for handling claims and then