Sitting at the DMV with your newly licensed child can be a scary place. Your child is likely elated that they finally passed their driving test. Meanwhile, you feel conflicted between worrying if they’re ready for the responsibility and panicking about how this will impact your insurance premiums.
Youthful drivers are drivers under the age of 25 years old. Insurance companies use actuarial tables and statistics to try and measure “risk” to the insurance company that this age group is likely to be involved in an insurance “loss.”
The CDC determined that “Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, accounting for more than one in three deaths in this age group.1 In 2008, nine teens ages 16 to 19 died every day from motor vehicle injuries. Per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash.” Another statistic shows that 16 year old drivers are 2x more 
likely to be in a fatal car crash with multiple youthful passengers or while being distracted by a cell phone than a person driving alcohol-impaired!
There have also been additional medical studies to support findings that they are simple more likely to underestimate dangerous and hazardous situations. Studies of the frontal cortex of the brain, where cognitive thinking takes place, reveal that there are significant differences in that area of the brain in that age group versus scans of a more mature brain.
As a result of these statistics and studies youthful drivers under 25 will have the greatest impact on the liability and collision portion of your insurance. That being said, there are things you can do…
Require your child to take a driver safety course. These courses can be offered through schools and private driving instruction classes. Some insurance companies offer their own programs that your child can participate in to receive additional discounts. Talk with your agent for more information.
Choose the vehicle they drive wisely! In a previous article we discussed the impact the car you drive has on price. In this case try to choose a vehicle that is older that won’t require collision coverage. It will be less costly if you purchase a 3rd car with liability only than trying to rate for them on your vehicle requiring collision coverage.
It is also important to point out that this is not a good time to reduce the price by decreasing your liability coverage. In fact, you may want to increase that coverage to protect your assets particularly if you own a home. You can also purchase a Liability Umbrella Policy for additional protection.
Good Student Discounts. Most companies will offer a discount if your child is enrolled in school, including college courses, full time with a G.P.A. of 3.0 or higher.
This is huge milestone in your child’s life! As parents it is our job to support them and keep them safe. Talk you children about the dangers of talking on the phone and texting while driving. Insurance premiums are going to go up, but a distracted youthful drivers could result in immeasurable cost to our lives.
To find out more about auto insurance rates, please call our office or fill out a free Philadelphia Auto Insurance Quote online.
By talking and driving you are putting others lives on the line, that text message is not that important! This is especially dangerous for teenage drivers as their entire lives revolve around text messaging. According to the American Life Project, one quarter of teens say that they text while driving.