I am from Nevada and am thinking of adding my 16-year-old daughter who has no driver’s license yet under my car insurance policy. Would it be a smart move, or would it just raise my car insurance premiums?

Belinda

Reno, NV

The State of Nevada mandates that the minimum age to apply for a full driver’s license is sixteen. With this in mind, your daughter needs to have a driver’s license first before she can be listed under your insurance policy. You must remember that young drivers are expected to meet 50 hours of behind-the-wheel experience, with 10 hours completed in darkness.

Nevada laws also require a licensed driver who is 21 years old or older and has been a driver’s license holder for at least a year seated next to the young driver at all times. If driver education is not available within your area, and you do not have internet access to have your daughter take an online driver education course, your daughter is required to complete 100 hours of supervised driving, with 10 hours of that completed in darkness.

About your insurance premiums, always bear in mind that car insurers generally charge the highest premiums for drivers under the age of 25. A number of factors can affect the cost of having your teen under your policy. These may include your daughter’s performance in school, how often she is accompanied in the car by an adult, or the type of vehicle she drives. Sporty or large cars generally cause more serious damage and will cost more to insure.

If you would really like to save money on your insurance rates, have your daughter take the certified driver’s education course since most car insurance providers give discounts to teens that have successfully completed the course.

Is it possible for me to get my own car insurance policy in  Minnesota? I am a 18 year old beginner driver, and I finally got my own car…..yahoo!!

Richard

Minnetonka, MN

You should be able to get your own car insurance policy at age of 20 if you are a fully licensed driver. Your vehicle insurance rates will probably be expensive as a young driver. However you would be able to place auto insurance on your car if you are fully licensed.

If you do not have your own car, then you may obtain a non-owners vehicle insurance policy. Basically this is a liability coverages that could be used when renting a vehicle.

If you are still residing at home with your parents normally it will be cheaper to stay on their auto insurance coverage until you move out. Some parents though would want their children to have their own car insurance policy once the child has bought a vehicle which they do not want to place on their car insurance policy.

At the age 20, as an adult, you can have your own auto insurance policy. Normally you would have to have a parent or legal guardian sign on your insurance document if you are under eighteen years old since teens cannot enter into contracts.

My daughter is so excited about getting her license as she can get behind the wheel of her own car that we will buy for her. I know that the best thing that I can do is to look into the cost of car insurance that covers a teen driver here in Florida. Will I ever get affordable teen auto insurance?  Seems the insurance rates are as much as the car payments each month!

Anne

Miami, FL

There’s no question that teen drivers are known as “high risk drivers” by any insurance company, especially in Florida. Not much to your surprise, that means more money to fork out. Also not to keep your hopes up but, you could still be able to get the cost down of your daughter’s car insurance and even give you some extra freedom.

There are simple ways to help you keep your daughter’s car insurance as low as possible. You can add her to your insurance plan. This may seem strange but when she is signed on your insurance plan, it lowers the cost for her even if you are paying for it. If you live a hundred miles away from your daughter’s school, you can ask her to leave her car at home and also allow your insurance company to know about this. It could also reduce the cost of her policy if you can get her ride with you on occasion to reduce the number of miles she goes.

Make sure also that you daughter has good grades as majority of insurance companies will offer “good grades” discount on teen car insurance. The idea behind this is that good students are also good drivers. Believe it or not, but getting a straight B or better is enough to get good grades discount. So I advise you to encourage your daughter to do well in school as she will benefit from it as well.