Budget related question about teens getting their license and car insurance.

[eeyoresmom]

DD is probably getting her driver's license Monday. Our older kids had jobs and saved money and had bought cars right after getting their licenses but this DD will not get a car until at least springtime. I do not want to put her on my insuranse policy and allow her to drive my car because it is new and will probably be the only new car I ever have. We live in Massachusetts. Should I suggest she hold off on getting her license so she can at least continue to drive with me with a lerner's permit through the winter? Anyone else have this issue???

 

[disneymomto5]

My understanding (and I may be wrong), but once you get your license you have to be insured somewhere. So if you don't want to put her on your insurance I would hold off until she gets her own car.

 

[ceecee]

I was told DD would have to be put on our insurance to protect our cars. It is relatively inexpensive, but once she has her own car it will go up quite a bit. They fiqure if she's driving our car (3 drivers/2cars) she won't be driving as much as if she had her own car and would be driving all the time.

 

[Debbie7452]

Each insurance company might handle this differently, so I would call you agent with your scenario. However, MY insurance company covers all drivers for all cars. We're not allowed to exclude a driver on the policy by saying they aren't going to be driving a certain vehicle.

 

[swilshire]

Both DSs waited until their 18th birthday to get a driver's license. They could use a learners permit and our insurance company did not require them to be added to the policy. By waiting until age 18, they did not have to get a graduated (restricted) license. It was a bit of a pain to drive them around for two extra years, but worth it for what we saved in insurance.

We also insured our oldest son on one vehicle only and only with liability insurance. That was a big savings. He was only allowed to drive any of our other cars in "an emergency". Once when his car broke down, they allowed him to use one of the others for two weeks with no problem.

Sheila

 

[eeyoresmom]

Both DSs waited until their 18th birthday to get a driver's license. They could use a learners permit and our insurance company did not require them to be added to the policy. By waiting until age 18, they did not have to get a graduated (restricted) license. It was a bit of a pain to drive them around for two extra years, but worth it for what we saved in insurance.

We also insured our oldest son on one vehicle only and only with liability insurance. That was a big savings. He was only allowed to drive any of our other cars in "an emergency". Once when his car broke down, they allowed him to use one of the others for two weeks with no problem.

Sheila

This is what I want her to do until next spring, but I just spoke to her and she wants to go ahead and get her license Monday. Ironically, once she gets her license she won't be able to drive!

 

[dfchelbay]

Just an FYI, when our kids got their license, our auto insurance rates went up immediately. Also, our homeowners insurance went up, as did our Umbrella policy. We were told that it was due to a high risk driver being in the home...i.e. newly licensed teenager.

 

[pyrxtc]

It's got to be exciting to be old enough to be able to get your license and I'm sure she is over the moon. If she doesn't have enough to get her car yet then let her know that you will let her practice until then but she can't with a license. Make sure she knows she will not be able to take your car anywhere and maybe that will put her off a bit but probably not.

 

[ancestry]

I'm with State Farm in Maine and we are required to list all licensed drivers living in the household on our policy. I wanted to do what you are suggesting with my oldest and was told that State Farm would drop us if they found out. We even get a questionnaire from time to time verifying who in the house has their license.

Our agent told us to not allow our teenagers to get their licenses if we didn't want to put them on our policy.

 

[swilshire]

This is what I want her to do until next spring, but I just spoke to her and she wants to go ahead and get her license Monday. Ironically, once she gets her license she won't be able to drive!

That's where the NO word comes in. Our boys didn't really like it, but they had insufficient income from their part-time jobs to pay the insurance, so it was still my call.

As mentioned above, as soon as you notify the insurance that she has her license (which you MUST do), your premiums will go up. It doesn't matter if she never drives.

Sheila

 

[torinsmom]

To get a drivers' license in NC, you must get a form from your insurance showing the child is going to be covered on the policy. The insurance agent WILL follow up with you to see if the child got their license.

My son waited until he was 17 and got a used car. I don't see the need to a license if a child is not going to be driving on their own.

 

[rcraw45425]

Our older DD turned 16 in June. I drive a '09 Mercedes ML350, DH has a '04 Ford F150. In May we paid cash for a '04 Nissan Xterra. We have State Farm and live in GA. All three cars have full coverage, her deductible is $500. She is receiving a Good Student Discount and ouryearly premium is $783/6 months. My Mercedes with $250 deductible is $587/6 months and DHs F150 with $250 deductible is $470 for 6 months. Our Personal Umbrella Policy did not increase. One thing our agent told us was a wise decision was purchasing the vehicle before she became a licensed driver. This way we already had it as an "extra car" in their eyes. Each state may be different though.

 

[behappy]

Your post gives the impression you don't want your daughter driving alone. Am I mis-reading. If/when she gets her license, why couldn't you just require she continue to drive only with you in the car?

The downside I see of her not having a license (though I understand you might not see it this way), is if she doesn't have her license, she absolutely cannot drive without you in the, even if you wanted her to (e.g. you're sick in bed and would like for DD to be able to run to the pharmacy for you).

Question is, how much is that potential 'convenience' worth vs the cost of insurance. When our DD got her license, the increase in the bill was modest, until she had a car and she was the primary driver (3 drivers, 3 cars)....then there was a substantial bump in spite of 'her' car being a10+ year old Volvo.

 

[cndij]

Definitely get a quote from your insurance company BEFORE she gets her license. Because after she has the license, there is no turning back the clock. For our 16 year old niece to get her license, our insurance (she lives with us) would increase $100 a month. My rule is when she has saved up half the increase for 6 months, and has a plan to pay for the next 6 months, she can get her license. She has to decide if the convenience of having a license and not a car to call her own, is worth $50 a month of her spending money. So far it hasn't been. When they have to cover at least part of it from their own funds, you quickly find out how important it is.

 

[zurgswife]

This is what I want her to do until next spring, but I just spoke to her and she wants to go ahead and get her license Monday. Ironically, once she gets her license she won't be able to drive!

I would make sure I know my states rule with regards to car insurance. In PA you are required to have car insurance if you are a fully licensed driver.

 

[minushka72]

I work for an insurance carrier in MA however I am not a licensed agent. Contact your agent for specifics but all licensed household members must be listed as a driver on all policies within the household. You can however sign an exclusion form (your DD also has to sign it) which excludes her from driving the vehicle listed on the form. You could exclude her from your car but leave her as a driver on your DH's car or exclude her from all the cars. However, this means that she could not even back the car out of the driveway for you. She is excluded from coverage as a driver and as such is not charged an additional premium. (if she is allowed to drive one of the household vehicles, that is where her additional premium (if any) would be charged.)

ETA: you can always remove the exclusion when you are ready to allow her to drive and then your premium would be adjusted. Again check with your agent for specifics.

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

I am a licensed agent in MA and your daughter must be added to the policy once she has her license. The only time she can be excluded from the policy is if she is listed on another policy (at that time she can be deferred) or if she is going to be going away to a school at least a 100 miles from your home and at that time she can be excluded from your policy.

One thing to keep in mind in MA is that it would benefit her to get her license now. You are considered a new driver here until you have had your license for 6 years. It would be good for her to get the clock ticking. It also would benefit her to be on your policy to show prior insurance with good bodily injury limits (at least 100/300). When it is time for her to get her own policy it will significantly decrease it to have prior insurance with good limits.

Good luck! My son is 13 and I know before long I will be adding him to my policy and not looking forward to the increased payments.

 

[LisaNJ25]

That's where the NO word comes in. Our boys didn't really like it, but they had insufficient income from their part-time jobs to pay the insurance, so it was still my call.

As mentioned above, as soon as you notify the insurance that she has her license (which you MUST do), your premiums will go up. It doesn't matter if she never drives.

Sheila

Same here.. my son got his at 18.

After DS got his license he got a car.. my insurance doubled.. he got ride of that car and it was approx 2 months until he got another one.. during that time it dropped maybe 400. I do make him pay for his insurance and he couldn't understand why he had to pay if he had no car

 

[a1tinkfans]

when you have your permit (in ny) you are supposed to notify your carrier to add the child.
When they have a license they are added to the policy automatically upon notification. It is not something you want to avoid.
In our case, I added our ds and added him to a vehicle, the oldest one...it went up almost 1K, I was floored....even with the good student discount...when I took him OFF, the policy reverted to adding him automatically...I called and they asked several q's. like how often and when does he drive....since he is not a regular driver of any vehicle, they just added him to the policy as a possible driver, went up under 200. and Im good with that. Meanwhile, was told that if he takes the safe driver course when he is 18, they will further reduce it... which we intend to do. We also have h/o and umbrella, which was increased when he started driving....Umbrella went up 200. as well, still worth the price.......

Good Luck and most important SAFE driving!!

 

[roadtripper]

We live in MA, too--our premiums doubled when DD got her license last spring. My agent told me they automatically insure the new driver on the more expensive vehicle, so you may not be able to get rid of that. Good student discount saved about 10%. Good luck!