Auto Insurance For Teenage Drivers: How to Minimize It

Teenagers are excited about getting their independence when they pass their road tests. As a parent, however you may be stressed about including your kids on your auto insurance policy. Oklahoma City Insurance companies usually view teenagers as high risk drivers due to their lack of experience and perceived incompetence behind the wheel. Teenagers are often adventurous on the road; they may want to try stunts they have seen in movies or on television. Insurance companies know this, that is why your premiums will increase when your teenager starts driving. Fortunately, there are several factors you can control to minimize the raise in premiums when you add teens to your insurance policy.

Type of Vehicle

Teenagers often like customized, fast and sporty vehicles. These teens enjoy speeding which is exactly what makes them high risk drivers. Insurance companies on the other hand, hate seeing teenagers in fast vehicles. The faster the vehicle, the higher the chances of an accident. Think twice before buying a sports car or other turbo-charged vehicle since your insurance premiums will shoot up. In addition to worrying about premiums, you should ensure that your child drives a car which is even safer than yours because teens are more likely to get into accidents due to their lack of experience and willingness to take risks.

Driving History

Insurance companies favor drivers with clean driving records. If your teenager causes any type of accident, your insurance premiums will rise. Your premiums will also go up if your child gets speeding tickets because breaking driving laws can increase the risk of accident. Teens who have few to no driving related incidents on their records will be seen as a lower risk, so you'll pay less if your kids keep their driving records clean.

Enrollment in a Teen Driving School

All teenagers should take driver's education in order to lower their risk level. Insurance companies will offer lower premiums to kids who are in these types of programs. The grades your kids get in these classes can also significantly impact the premiums. Insurance companies often award a 25% premium discount to teenagers who score a mean grade of ‘B’ or more in driver's education courses.

Driving Frequency

Your premiums will be higher if your teen drives more frequently because every time an adolescent gets behind the wheel, it's considered a higher risk than if an adult was driving. Thus,  if your child is listed as an occasional driver, your premiums will be low compared to if he or she is listed as a permanent driver. If possible, limit your child's use of the car to occasional drives in order to keep premiums low. If you want your child to be able to drive frequently, take extra safety precautions to minimize the risk to your teen and to your vehicle. You might also want to consider getting separate insurance for your teen driver to save money on your premiums.

There are lots of factors to consider when adding teenagers to auto policies. If you are thinking about getting a vehicle for your teenage driver or adding your child to your policy, call an agent at Strunk Insurance today at 800-375-8356 for a free quote.

Emergency Fund? How About Insurance Policy?

Financial advisors often stress the importance of creating an emergency fund. In this economy, filled with job stress, global uncertainty and fallen business profits often still struggling to reach pre-2008 levels, the wisdom of setting aside six months’ worth of expenses into an emergency savings account is not lost on the average individual. What may be lost on the average person, however, is the actual ability to save that much money when trying to support a family and pay off debts.
An emergency savings account is not the only type of emergency fund that one should consider. Another more affordable way to create an emergency fund is to invest in insurance policies that protect the value of your assets in the event they are lost, stolen, or damaged during an insurable incident.

The Value of Insurance

Imagine how expensive it would be to rebuild your home after a hurricane, tornado or fire. Even with a full emergency savings account it’s doubtful you could afford to pay this expense out-of-pocket. However, for a very small annual premium you can purchase a home insurance policy that does just that. This home insurance policy can even be designed to protect the value of your contents and may pay for loss of use if you are displaced by the insurable incident.
And what about your car? If you were to total your car or if it were to be stolen, could you afford to buy a new one? An auto insurance policy can work as an emergency fund reimbursing you for the value of your car when totaled during a covered peril, paying for a rental car, paying for certain repairs, and even covering your liabilities.
Your family faces an emergency event should you pass away. After your death, how would they replace your income, your contribution to the family, pay for your funeral and reach the future financial goals you set?

 A life insurance policy creates a much-needed emergency fund for your income loss and funeral expenses.

A disability insurance policy creates an emergency fund for income replacement should you become disabled in an event that is not related to work. You can choose short- and long-term disability policies and create a more flexible, accessible benefit than social security provides.
Your Oklahoma City Insurance is a vital component in any emergency plan. Give us a call at Alexander & Strunk and find out all the ways that affordable insurance policies can be designed to provide the protection you need at the time that you need it.