The best part about having kids is anxiously anticipating the day they can drive a vehicle all on their own, with a car-full of their friends.
OK, that might not be true. What is true is that excited new driver of yours is going to need some car insurance for their latest ticket to freedom.
Here are three things you should know with regards to adding a child to your auto policy.
Driver’s Education Course Discount
First and foremost, you should do all you can to ensure the newest member to the driving club is a safe driver. Having your child complete a driver’s education course is a great step to helping them be a safe and responsible driver.
From a car insurance cost perspective, completing a driver’s education course is a great way to offset some of the cost of insuring your family’s newest driver.
A new driver will have higher insurance rates because they have no driving history. Completing a driver’s education course will credit a new/teenage driver with two years of clean driving history. This translates to a 10-15% discount off their car insurance.
Primary Driver vs Secondary Driver
If your newest driver happens to be fortunate enough to have their own vehicle, they will need to be the primary driver on the vehicle.
If they will be driving a car of their parent(s), as long as there’s already a primary driver assigned to that vehicle, then they can be listed as a secondary driver.
There is a pretty large difference in price to insure a primary driver compared to a secondary driver. If you and/or your child have interest in them being a primary driver of a vehicle, it’d be good to look into the cost of insuring them as such.
When Are Good Driver Discounts Activated?
Many companies – not all (this is where using a brokerage like Surex comes in handy) – will offer convictions-fee and claims-free discounts to their customers.
Once a new driver has gone three consecutive years without a traffic ticket (photo radar and parking tickets don’t count), they will be eligible for a convictions-free discount. Typically, a convictions-free discount will be 5-10%.
Once a new driver has gone six consecutive years without an at-fault claim on their record, they will be eligible for a claims-free discount. A claims-free discount will be in the 10-15% range.
Again, all insurers are different, as to whether and when they offer these good driver discounts. The years it takes to be eligible for these discounts also highlights the importance of passing a driver’s education course. For a new driver (or parent of a new driver) hoping to take advantage of car insurance discounts, being credited with two years of clean driving at the start of their driving experience puts a teenage driver that much closer to these discounts.
