Adding Your Child to Your Auto Insurance Policy: All You Need to Know

Adding a new teen driver to your auto insurance plan may not be on your mind, but doing so is essential to safeguarding your family's finances. Fortunately, there are a few things you may take to mitigate the increase in premium. Here is all the information you require when adding a newly licensed driver to your household's auto insurance plan.

Why Is It Necessary to Include Your Child in Your Insurance Policy?

You must add your child to your auto insurance plan if they have a driver's license, reside in your home, and operate a vehicle that is registered to your address. Everyone residing in your home who has access to one of your vehicles will need to be registered as a driver on your auto insurance. If your child has a license but doesn't intend to drive anytime soon, you might choose to formally exclude them from your auto insurance plan. However, if they do start driving and have an accident, your auto insurance provider won't pay for the damages.

Increase in Premiums with a Teen Driver

Your auto insurance premium will probably go up if you add a teen driver. The average cost of automobile insurance for drivers under the age of 16 was among the highest of all age categories. The average annual premium cost for full coverage insurance climbed by $2,000 to $2,300 when their parents' policy was added to it.

Teenage drivers' inexperience behind the wheel is partly to blame for the increased insurance premiums, but there may be more variables at work as well. Teenagers typically lack the credit history and credit score that some jurisdictions use to calculate auto insurance prices. Additionally, they are not eligible for incentives like loyalty, bundling, or multiple vehicles.

What Happens If Your Child Is Involved in an Accident?

If you incur a traffic ticket or are involved in an accident, your premium can rise even further. Moreover, male drivers sometimes also have higher insurance costs due to the fact that there are twice as many male drivers killed each year than there are female drivers.

Offsetting High Premiums

• Raising your deductible: Raising your deductible will also lower your rate. However, remember that young drivers are more likely to be involved in car accidents. You shouldn't increase your deductible above what you can comfortably pay out-of-pocket.
• Safety ratings of your car: Insurance for cars with low safety ratings may be more expensive. Visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) website to check safety ratings before buying your child an automobile.
• Multi-car discounts: When parents cover all of the family's vehicles with the same company, they frequently save money on auto insurance.
• Bundling discounts: When you combine renters, homeowners, or vehicle insurance policies, some providers will give you a discount.

Contact Knight Insurance Services to Cover Your Vehicle

You should cover any car you use with a commercial auto insurance policy, especially when you have a teen driver at home.  Contact our professionals at Knight Insurance Services right away to find out more about selecting the best commercial auto insurance policy. For 100 years, we have offered our clients advice on the best insurance options for all their needs and are committed to doing so in the future.