Why Adding Your Child To Your Car Insurance Is A Good Idea

Susan Kelly Updated on Nov 11, 2022

How To Add Your Child to Your Car Insurance? Feeling anxious about your teen turning eighteen and becoming a licensed driver is customary. Teenage drivers must have auto insurance coverage despite having a learner's permit. Whether to include your teen driver on your existing auto insurance policy or purchase them their own coverage becomes an issue once they reach the age of majority and are eligible to get a driver's license. While it's true that adding a youngster to your vehicle coverage can raise your premium, many providers provide discounts to assist offset the cost. Talk to your adolescent about the costs of having a car, the price like an insurance policy, and how their driving habits might affect your rates before giving them the keys to the family vehicle. When a kid receives a learner's permit, it does not necessarily require parents to put them on the family auto insurance policy.

Is Insurance Required For Teen Drivers?

While each state sets its minimum age for obtaining a learner's permit, current standards suggest awarding tickets at 16 and intermediate license at 17. Depending on state law and the insurer's standards, a kid with a learner's access may be covered under their parents' vehicle insurance policy. Teenage drivers should have insurance coverage. Adolescent drivers are four times more likely to get in an accident than drivers throughout their twenties, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). 1 Driver mistakes, distractions from passengers, inability to maintain speed control, driving during the night, and speeding are the primary causes of adolescent car accidents.

Adding A Driver To Your Insurance Plan

Parents should check without expressing personal insurance agents to see whether they need to add their adolescent driver to the policy before or after the kid earns a driver's license since state regulations and insurer standards differ. Before a kid turns 18, policyholders in several states are not required to include them as additional drivers on their policy. Adding another driver to insurance is usually simple and uncomplicated. According to Mathenia, "we just enter them onto our database but instead add them to the insurance" after receiving a driver's license number instead of demographic information. Your adolescent must pass a driving exam when applying for their license. Most states need insurance and registration documentation if your teen is taking the exam in your vehicle.

How Much Will It Cost To Add Your Teen To Your Car Insurance?

Statistics show that both males and young drivers had a greater risk of being involved in a fatal crash, as reported by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Nearly 1,900 boys between the ages of 16 and 19 were killed in car accidents in 2020, with just slightly more than 600 girls of the same age dying in similar circumstances. During the same year, 891 men between the ages of 45 and 49 were killed in traffic accidents, whereas only 442 women in the same age range lost their lives in vehicle collisions. When introducing a teen driver to your vehicle insurance policy, you may anticipate an increase in prices due to the increased risk the driver poses to the insurance company. The sample premium search tool from the California Insurance Commissioner's Office was used by The Balance to estimate the amount that a policy's premiums may rise due to the addition of a young driver.

Conclusion

Your insurance company typically requires it, but it'll cost you extra to include your kid on your policy. Every licensed driver throughout your household, including your children, should be included or excluded under your auto insurance policy. The good news is that in most cases, you won't need to add your kid to your auto insurance unless they have their own driver's license. In most states, a teen with a learner's permit is already insured by their family's insurance while they gain experience behind the wheel; adding them to your coverage at this time will not increase your premiums until they obtain their full license. Adding your newly-licensed youngster onto your car insurance policy is mandatory to ensure that they are insured in the event of an accident while driving your vehicle. If your kid is in college and still lives at home, they should be covered under your auto insurance policy.