My teen is starting to drive and I would like to know if there is any way to keep her car insurance rates low here in Michigan.

Jenny

Detroit MI

Auto insurance can be a major part of each family year’s budget. Decreasing insurance premiums can be one of the best ways for families to improve their budget. Families should focus on factors they have control over in order to decrease auto insurance premiums.

Driving record is the most important factor. A teen driver’s short driving history can affect the affordability of car insurance for teens. If a teen’s driving record has tickets or claims, his auto insurance rates can increase drastically. As such, parents should set example to their children that by doing defensive driving actually saves money. The teens look up to their parents even the way they drive and their habits when driving. As such, this affects how a teen will actually drive come future time.

One great activity the family can participate in that can also earn a discount is to take a safe driving course as a family. Most insurance companies offer discounts to drivers that take an approved safe driving course.

As a parent, what can you do to help your teens be more responsible on the road and with their insurance premium?

Michelle

Seattle WA

Teenagers’ having their own license is the manner of screaming their independence on the road. Along with this, parents become more apprehensive whether their young driver will be responsible enough to take care of their premium. A lot of teenagers don’t know and don’t even think about how much their policy premium cost and the all the factors influencing this.

As parents of young drivers, they tend to be more secure if teenagers understand the relevance of safe driving. In line with this, agents of insurance companies encourage teenagers who will be having their first car insurance to be involved in discussing the cost and complexities of car insurance to their parents. Agents will serve as a lead in educating and giving these new drivers a concrete perceptive of traffic tickets, collisions and will also facilitate in rousing teenagers to be further responsible when driving.

When car insurance agents work with parents in educating their young drivers in addition to all the questions they have in mind, a good relationship will be formed. This rapport will provide a positive outlook for teenagers to be more careful to their first time on the road on its own. Teenagers who follow the regulations of the road and gain knowledge on the value of responsible driving will be more expected to drive defensively as well as maintaining their insurance premiums low.

I recently moved here in Massachusetts, but I’m from Texas originally. I’m planning to buy a car here, but I have an unpaid traffic tickets in Texas. Will this affect my car insurance rates?

Linda

Cambridge, MA

You can get car insurance coverage in the State of Massachusetts even if you have traffic tickets that you have not paid yet in the State of Texas provided that your Texas driver’s license was not suspended because of this. In most states, and Massachusetts is included, if you fail to pay your traffic tickets, penalties ranging from driver’s license suspension to vehicle registration suspension may be ordered against you. If this happens, then you would need to take care of both paying the traffic ticket and having your driver’s license and vehicle’s registration be reinstated for you to legally drive again. Also, car insurance companies will not grant you any coverage if you are not able to provide them with a full valid license and vehicle registration.

In the State of Massachusetts, a single parking ticket can prevent you from renewing your driver’s license and/or vehicle’s registration. To keep your license from being suspended, it is best that traffic tickets be taken care of as soon as possible. You can either pay the fine or choose to fight it in court. If a conviction is issued against you, try to have a settlement with the court. Most states, including Massachusetts, will allow you to take traffic school so as to have the points against your driving record be reduced. Keep in mind that tickets received from outside the State of Massachusetts will be reported anyway and will be put against your Massachusetts driving record and will be treated as if the violation took place in this state. Although Massachusetts is not a member of the Drivers License Compact (DLC), this state has arranged to share criminal violation and driving record violation with other states, and Texas is one of those states.

I bought my teenage son his first car here in Utah. Is there a way that I can save on his car insurance, who has cheap rates these days?

Roger

Salt Lake City, UT

The occurrence of car insurance claims for accidents involving teenage drivers are usually higher, which means that getting your teenage son car insurance will be expensive for you. However, if your son can maintain a clean driving record, his car insurance rates will most likely be reduced with age. Try to educate your teenage son about being a good and responsible driver.

And along with responsibility comes the significance of having car insurance. Try explaining to him the functions and relevance of car insurance and why a teenage driver like him needs to have one. Don’t forget to remind him as well about the expenses and costs of car insurance premiums, so that he’ll have a better understanding of how to save up for it.

Why don’t you let your son share with you some of the costs for his car insurance premiums? That way, his mind can focus on driving safely because he knows that if he damages the car, his insurance rates might go up. Also, tell him about the effect of traffic violation tickets on car insurance rates. The more tickets you get, the higher premiums you pay.

If you want to get cheaper rates, there are insurance companies in Utah that give discounts on their policies. Just make sure that your son has a good record without traffic violations or insurance claims.

There are also discounts for good driving students especially if you’re adding your teenage son to your car insurance policy. Try surfing the web for free online quotes or call your local agent to find more about how you can save up on your son’s car insurance rates.

Ask for discounts, you never know what you might be able to get and how much you can save by asking. Some popular discounts can be given for:

1. Military personnel

2. Good grade students

3. Union membership and bank member affiliations

4. Safe drivers with no claims in last 7 years

5. Defensive driving school attendance

6. Clean credit history – used by many carriers to determine payment risk

I live in Ann Arbor, Michigan and I would like to know if I have to name my sixteen year old son as a driver on my car insurance policy? I have been told that if I have auto insurance then anyone I permit to drive my car is covered.

Jerome

Ann Arbor, MI

Most insurance carriers in Ann Arbor, Michigan require you to list all licensed household members on your car insurance policy since they are a risk factor the insurance carrier is allowed to take into account when determining your car insurance rates. According to the MI insurance regulator, the Office of Financial and Insurance Services, in their insurance consumer information sheet that your insurance carrier will ask about all licensed drivers in your household and look up their driving history as part of the rating process.

While automobile insurance normally covers those that the vehicle owner gives permission to operate it, the insurance carrier also has the right to require as part of your car insurance policy that you tell them of all licensed household members so they can pull their driving history and rate you accordingly. Friends that may borrow your vehicle from time to time are not the same type of risk for an insurance companies and that is why friends and neighbors are not required to be listed on your auto insurance policy while household members are. Household members obviously have access to the automobile that those living outside of your residence do not.

If your son is just starting the Michigan graduated driver licensing (GDL) process and only has his learner’s license you should inform your insurance carrier. It may be that they will permit you to wait until he is fully licensed before requiring him to be added or will want him added now at this stage.

You can contact your insurance carrier to determine what they require of you regarding listing your sixteen year old son on the car insurance policy. If you have specific MI insurance law questions you can contact the Michigan insurance regulator.

How much will auto insurance go up if a teenager, 17 years old gets an MIP in Michigan?

Bill

Dearborn, MI

If you are a 17 year old that is cited for being a Minor in Possession (MIP) in Michigan it will likely your increase your car insurance rates. How much the auto insurance rate will go up depends on the factors your insurance provider uses. Auto insurance for drivers under the age of 25 or teenagers are already consider inexperience and therefore a higher risk. With a MIP offense the risk factor is likely to go up.

There is no specific insurance rate increase that can be generalized or stated for all insurance carriers. Each insurance carrier is required to file their car insurance rates and rules with your state regulatory body. So the best way to determine how much your auto insurance rates may rise is to talk to someone at your insurance carrier or contact the insurance regulator of your state to see what rates are filed with them for your insurance provider.

I am just wondering why my teenagers auto insurance rates are so high in Georgia?

Samuel

Albany, GA

Auto insurance rates in Georgia are based on statistics. According to statistics show that teens have more incident of crashes. Young drivers have very high rates of both nonfatal and fatal crashes compared with drivers of other ages.

There are newer approaches now such as Canada’s graduated driver licensing that are being enacted to try to reduce teenage crashes and the injuries and deaths they cause.

Teens have more crashes in vehicles whether the rates are based on the total number of teenagers, on miles driven or on the number with licenses. Both miles driven per license holder and license rates are lower among 16-19 year-olds than among drivers age twenty and older (as a group), so when crash involvement is based on the number of licensed motorists instead of total population, the fatality rate of young drivers is even more extreme compared with mature drivers.

How much does your auto insurance rate go up when adding on a new teenage motorist in Chicago ? Can I get a range.

Elizabeth

Chicago, Illinois (IL)

Since teenagers that are newly licensed have such high rates of accidents that is why they cost more to insure than an experienced motorist who is more prone to avoid an accident than cause it.

The costs of adding a teenager in Chicago IL will depend upon your your geographical location, your current car insurance rates and your teen to name a few. For example if you reside in a congested area where your teen is more likely to be involved in an accident compared to a more suburban or rural area the insurance rate to insure your teenager will likely be higher.

Basically if you add a young driver in Chicago IL, it may cost $1200 to even $2500 a year. A 16 year old, on the average, can expect to pay 2.52 times the base rate for their car insurance. So if you as a parent of a teenager now pay $500 for a year of auto insurance, then adding a 16 year old newly licensed teen driver onto your policy could raise your insurance rates to (again on average) $1260 for a year of auto insurance.