by mega » Wed Jan 23, 2008 11:55 pm
Parents who have teenagers who are about to turn of driving age ( 16 years old in many states), are always looking for ways to cut the high cost associated with adding these young drivers to our policy. While I do not think there is any single good answer that will make it affordable, there are a couple of things that you may want to check into with your company or agent that CAN help take some of the pain and expense out of insuring teens.
The single most important cost reduction when our daughter turned 16 and got her licenses was enrolling her in a drivers education course. Many parents are already aware of this but you may not be aware that your child's grades can also be a factor towards lowering the cost of insuring.
Check with your agent about both. You might be surprised in the $$'s you can save.
The single most important cost reduction when our daughter turned 16 and got her licenses was enrolling her in a drivers education course. Many parents are already aware of this but you may not be aware that your child's grades can also be a factor towards lowering the cost of insuring.
Check with your agent about both. You might be surprised in the $$'s you can save.
Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 12:33 am Post Subject:
Was news to me! I'm sure a lot of parents will be interested in hearing that. :)
Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 12:58 am Post Subject:
I don't really see how high grades results in more responsible drivers. If every genius was a safe driver, then everyone who owned a fortune 500 company would be paying 50 bucks a premium
Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 04:44 am Post Subject: explain things to your ward!
It is more important for you to explain a few little things to your child while you're getting her insured. Don't get them bugged too much with the information carried in those tuff clauses, but what you can do is to let them digest some of the statewise guidelines from time to time. This would certainly make them too much responsible. Thanks! ColoradoBizzbody
Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 04:57 am Post Subject:
Though there seems to be no direct relation between goods grades and responsible driving, but most of the insurers offer low rates for good students, known as good grades discount.
Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 09:36 am Post Subject: I think the correlation between good grades and lower rates
Is the fact that a young person who is able to maintain a higher GPA is demonstrating the ability to be responsible. I know that school work comes easier to some than others but I think for any teenager to maintain a high grade point average does take effort and dedication and this I think is the underlying factor in this discount by insurance companies.
Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 10:59 am Post Subject:
I don't really see how high grades results in more responsible drivers. If every genius was a safe driver, then everyone who owned a fortune 500 company would be paying 50 bucks a premium
:D :lol: Ah Quenlin, spoken like a 'c' student that could've EASILY been an 'A' student! :roll: :D :lol:I think the 'assumption' is two fold, clearly most 'a' or honor roll students, stay 'on task', and have maybe more maturity, and are more responsible...Also I think it may have a little to do with a 'perk' for doing same...
In my area the drivers ed classes (when my kids turned 16 which was 11 and 13 years ago! damn it I'm old)...cost about 300 bucks! I remember doing the math and what I saved on their premiums didn't overcome that cost for too many years....course in hind sight (with the daughter anyway) would've saved my nerves having someone else teach her! ha ha
The best for us (savings wise) was to buy the kids each a safe 'beater' that they could carry liabililty only on (they had to pay their own insurance), this also allowed them to drive our vehicles if need be (they have to be rated on one vehicle in the household so the cheapest vehicle is the best bet!)...
Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 09:00 pm Post Subject: Good Grades, Cheaper Car Insurance Rates
I took this from an insurance blog where the authors attempts to explain why the parents of students with "good grades" get a discount on their insurance premium. Sort of along the lines I was trying to say but the below quotes explains it better.
You probably remember the commercial that was running a couple of years ago in which a scruffy looking kid informed his dad that he could save on his car insurance thanks to a good grades discount. If you were like me, you probably thought that the good grades discount was more of a public relations overture than a solid business decision - kind of like how the local video store gives a free rental for each A on a kid's report card. But while the video store is trying to build its ties with the community, car insurance companies that offer good grades discounts do so for reasons that are strictly business.
It's a Numbers Game
Car insurance companies have teams of number crunchers, known as actuaries. These people have developed formulas that calculate a tremendous amount of data to determine how much of a risk you pose to insurers. The less risk you present, the lower your car insurance rates will be.
Some of the obvious factors that actuaries take into account are your age, gender (women get in fewer accidents than men), and driving history, but some other, not-so-obvious data is also compiled. For example, did you know that having bad credit can negatively impact your car insurance rates? The reason is that the actuaries' numbers tell them that people with bad credit present a greater risk to insurers than people with better credit. If you're in high school, you probably haven't gotten your first credit card offer yet, but when you do, be sure to use them responsibly! Paying more for your car insurance is probably one of the least nasty things that people with bad credit are forced to do.
The same can be said of students with better grades. Having good grades shows that you're more responsible than your slacker peers, and lack of responsibility is one of the leading causes of teenage car accidents. So keep your grades up and you could be saving yourself (or your mom and dad) some serious money. And hey, even if Mom or Dad pockets the savings, you will score major points with them, right?
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