Did you know?
Q. What is Insurance?
A. Insurance is an important part of personal finances. When you buy insurance, you are buying protection against the possible financial costs of unexpected events. Insurance requires the insurance company to pay some or all of the costs you may be responsible for if you have an accident or file a claim. If you do not have insurance and cause an accident, you will be responsible for the full costs owed to the other person, including their property damage and personal injuries. When shopping for insurance, you should look for a policy that provides you with the coverage you need and is affordable.
If you are shopping for car insurance as a high school student, there are some important things to consider:
You should plan to be added to your parents' insurance policy as soon as you get your license. In some cases, you might need to be added to the family’s car insurance policy when you get a learner's permit.
How will your driving record, accidents and tickets, affect your cost? As a new inexperienced driver, your insurance costs will increase the amount of premium charged by the insurance company. Your inexperience and a teen driver’s perceived tendency to take risks behind the wheel will cause insurers to view you as high-risk, and therefore more costly to insure.
STRAIGHT FACTS!
Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported:
- Motor vehicle crashes are higher among teens ages 16–19 than among any other age group. Teen drivers have a fatal crash rate almost three times as high as drivers aged 20 and older per mile driven.
- In 2019, of U.S. high school students who drove, 39% texted or e-mailed while driving at least once during the prior 30 days.
- In 2020, 35% of male drivers and 18% of female driver’s aged 15–20 years who were involved in fatal crashes were speeding at the time of the crash.
- 29% of drivers aged 15–20 years who were killed in motor vehicle crashes had been drinking1.
Tips to Help Save Money on your Auto Insurance:
Many insurance companies offer discounts for teen drivers who are added to their parents’ policies. These discounts may include:
- Good student discount: If you maintain a GPA of 3.0 (B average) or better, you could be eligible for this discount. Insurance companies see teen drivers with good grades as less likely to take risks while driving. Insurance companies usually require that proof, such as a transcript, be provided every six months in order to qualify for a good student discount.
- Defensive driver discount: This discount requires the driver to complete an insurance company-approved course on defensive driving. Ask your parents’ insurance company or insurance producer (agent or broker) to confirm the availability of the discount before taking such a course.
- Telematics: Telematics is a technology that analyzes your driving habits and reports them back to your insurer. This technology provides data that insurance companies use to determine your rates and possible discounts if the data shows that you are a safe driver. Telematics can be obtained using a smartphone app or a plug-in device that monitors behaviors like your speed and hard braking as well as your overall mileage.
- Shop around: The best way to find a good price is to compare car insurance quotes from several insurance companies. For more information, use the Interactive Auto Insurance Rate Guide.
Think You Are Ready to Drive?
Most teens can’t wait to earn the privilege to drive alone and away from their parents’ protective eyes. But allowing your teen to drive alone can bring with it risks. Statistics show that teenagers are at the highest risk of a crash or injury during their first two years of driving. Lack of experience and driver error caused by distractions, such as talking on a cell phone, sending or reading text messages, conversing with passengers, smoking, eating or listening to music, are two major causes of crashes involving teens. Purchasing insurance can help protect you and your teen financially.
Q. Did you know that lack of experience, combined with any driving violations, can greatly affect your family’s auto insurance premiums?
A. Parents may add their teen driver to their policy by listing them as a driver, or if the parents’ name(s) are listed on the title of the teen’s vehicle, by adding the vehicle to their policy. Either way, the bottom line is this the parents’ rates will increase.
#DYK Teen Drivers with passengers are 3.6x more likely to be involved in a fatal crash?
What Affects Auto Insurance Cost?
Rating factors are characteristics that place you within a group of drivers with similar risk-related characteristics. Insurers set rates for each group based on the claims paid for the policyholders in that group. Some common rating factors include:
- Driving record
- Age (As young drivers haven’t yet had the time to accumulate a safe driving record, their insurance rates, as well as their parents,’ will be affected by both age and driving record.)
- Gender (Young males up to age 26 generally pay higher rates than same-aged females.)
- Address or zip code where the vehicle is primarily garaged
- Vehicle. The make, model, year and value of your vehicle can affect the premium. Generally, sports and high performance cars cost more to insure.
Tips for Reducing Auto Insurance Premiums
Here are some tips to help teens maintain lower rates:
- Keep a clean driving record.
- Carefully choose the vehicle you drive.
- Drive a vehicle with safety features.
- Maintain a good credit history.
- Keep your grades up.
Information about the Benefit to Drive
- If you have a provisional license and are under 18 years of age, state law prohibits you from:
- using a wireless communication device while driving,
- driving between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. unless: you are driving to, from or during work, a school sponsored event, an athletic event or training session, or an organized volunteer activity; or are accompanied by licensed driver who is at least 21 years’ old that has driven for three or more years and is seated beside you; or having a passenger under the age of 18 unless you are accompanied by a licensed driver who is at least 21 years old, has driven for three or more years, and is seated beside you.
- If you are 18 years of age or older and have a learner’s instructional permit or a provisional driver’s license, you may not use a handheld telephone while operating a motor vehicle.
- To be eligible for a full driver’s license, a driver cannot have a conviction for a moving violation in the past 18 months while on a provisional license.
- If you are under 18 in Maryland, a parent, guardian or other qualifying adult must cosign your driver’s license application to allow you to drive. Remember, a cosigner can write a letter and withdraw his/her consent, allowing the MVA to suspend your license.
- Police officers are authorized to stop and detain anyone if they reasonably believe the individual is, or has been, driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol (blood alcohol concentration of between 0.04 or 0.08), drugs, controlled dangerous substances or driving while intoxicated (blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher).
