Just added DD16 to car insurance and it more than doubled

[mermaidwannabe]

I still remember the day I turned 18, my mother took me to get my cars switched over in my name and said have fun paying your own insurance.

Ha ha what a "welcome to adulthood" thing to do. I wish I could have her pay for some of it, but part of me doesn't want her to get a job since she spends so much time with school, clubs and sports. Don't want her giving any of those up.

 

[mermaidwannabe]

Jedana - I've heard about insurance companies just adding them onto policies like that - crazy!

Southernmiss - Yeah, much easier when they were younger and much less stress. My stomach pings a little every time she pulls out of the driveway, and we don't even live in a big city (@ 45,000 people).

Mrs. Pete - Great idea on the contract. Wish I would have done that before she got her license. Need to still sit down with her to talk about gas money and insurance, but we are just learning all of this along the way.

 

[hsmamato2]

when we put our teen ds on ours it doubled too..... Of course he pays for it, but still....

 

[Kimmumum]

We have State Farm. Our insurance "only" went up $400/year when DS got his license. He had a B average and he took the 1/2 hour good driver course they offer. I didn't think that was too bad

We paid our sons insurance with the agreement that he stayed on the honor roll and we got the discount. If he lost the discount, he had to pay his insurance. He was too involved in school (which we loved) to get a job so we were fine paying the $400.

 

[Colleen27]

Ok - how about this. We switched from Geico to Progressive and while DH was giving them our information they entered my DDs info in and our insurance went up. DD was 17 at that time and did not have a permit or a license - she is 20 now and still doesn't want to get her permit - but we have to pay insurance on her "in case" she does get her permit/license. I laughed, because I did not learn to drive until I turned 40....so I know my daughter is in no rush to get hers. Our insurance went up a bit - not double/triple like some of you, but it did increase

We left Progressive because of that. Our rate went up $500/year just because my non-driving son lives and breathes in our home. They ask for information on all members of the household 15+, not just licensed drivers, and set the rate accordingly... regardless if those teens are or plan to be driving any time soon. So far they're the only company we've encountered that does this, though, and since the jump in price more than negated the savings we got from switching to them in the first place we're back to State Farm now.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

One fallacy that's been mentioned here: Girls are not cheaper to insure than boys. That used to be true in the past, but it was discriminatory, so the insurance companies raised the girls' rates to match that of the boys.

Definitely not true up here in Canada. We just added our 17 year old son to our insurance when he passed his "G2". We have graduated licensing here in Ontario, so there is no additional cost for insurance when a person has their "G1" or learners permit as they cannot drive alone at that stage, but when they achieve their G2 allowing them to drive alone with some minor restrictions, you get hit with the increase.

Taking a ministry approved drivers education course (at a cost to the parents of between $700 and $1200, depending on the coures provider) significantly reduces the overall insurance cost for Canadians as it bumps the initial driver rating from a 5 (the worst classification) to a 3. Even WITH the drivers ed discount, his insurance is $1000 per year as an occasional driver.

As a primary driver, it would have been $3K.

And our broker specifically said to me when I called to make the change to our coverage "now, had he been a GIRL, you would have only been paying half that". Then he went on to quote rates that would have fallen within the $450 - $600 range for females of the same age, just to rub it in. So gender most certainly makes a difference here.

When he passes the final stage in the graduated licensing (to a full "G" license), his premiums will increase yet again . But his G2 is valid for 5 years, so he can delay that for a while as long as he doesn't mind adhering to 100% abstinance from alcohol consumption (which we have drilled into him anyway) and being restricted on the number of passengers he can have with him in the car between midnight and 5 am.

 

[averysmom]

We have "public" insurance, so we insure the car, not the person. You do get discounts to insure your car depending on the amount of merits on your licence. I have max merits, so I get the max discount, which I think is 30%, but when my kids drive it won't cost us anymore because the car is already insured ( and any driver with a valid Manitoba licence can then drive it insured).

 

[a742246]

We found that the least costly option was to list our teen as the primary driver of one car. Of course, that meant buying them a car but we had planned to anyway.

We get a good student discount for DD17 which saves a little as well.

This is exactly what we did too!

 

[mermaidwannabe]

This is exactly what we did too!

Now if some grandparent could just buy them an older car, we would be set!

 

[6packmama]

We also bought my 17 yr old son a late model car (paid $500 for it). It is cheaper to insure 3 vehicles with him as primary on his old beater car than it was to have him listed as an occasional driver on our policy when it only had 2 cars.

 

[Debbie7452]

Just check around and get some quotes. I found that not all insurance companies treat a new driver the same. Some considered the teenager primary no matter if they were or not. Nationwide was cheaper for our family when we faced this situation. Shop around.

 

[mermaidwannabe]

Just check around and get some quotes. I found that not all insurance companies treat a new driver the same. Some considered the teenager primary no matter if they were or not. Nationwide was cheaper for our family when we faced this situation. Shop around.

I've only checked 21st, geico and progressive, so I'll look into Nationwide. I'd love to get a 3rd car but that will be in the future.

Thanks!

 

[verleniahall]

normally if your student takes drivers ed and you send a copy of your student's transcript to your insurance, they will give you a student driving discount

 

[mermaidwannabe]

normally if your student takes drivers ed and you send a copy of your student's transcript to your insurance, they will give you a student driving discount

Thank you, I did. That price is with that discount plus with her good grades. Crazy!

 

[FINFAN]

I look forward to every birthday DS has for that smidge of a reduced rate, lol. His record is spotless so it kinda stinks that after 3 years the rate doesn't reduce more than it does when you have proven to be a safe driver. He turned 19 last week..25 will be the BIG rate dropper for him. We cover his insurance since he is in school, but that payment is going to be a graduation present from me to him.

 

[verleniahall]

Thank you, I did. That price is with that discount plus with her good grades. Crazy!

WOW!!!!! Thats crazy!!!!! No, that's INSANE!!!!!

 

[mermaidwannabe]

WOW!!!!! Thats crazy!!!!! No, that's INSANE!!!!!

I know! So exhausting talking to agents too. Taking a few weeks break but will call some more again soon...probably when my monthly payment posts.

 

[LovinPooh]

Now add in the cost of drivers ed lol.
$860 here...ughhhh!

 

[Mom2apirate&princess]

We are in the same boat. DS will be 16 in 2 months and has his permit. We actually switched from USAA to Geico because they offered a better rate for DS. Dh & I pay $80 a month for our 2 cars (12 Ford Focus & 07 Freestar) & when we add DS to it our monthly payment will double to $160. I was told that after he is on the policy they will do the good student discount. It's not as bad as I thought it was.

I remember when I married dh (he was 19 at the time) my car insurance tripled! It stayed high until he hit around 25.

DS plans to get a part time job and will pay for some of the insurance while saving for his own car.

 

[AllesonWonderland]

Wow, I knew this was on the horizon, but never gave it much thought. After seeing this thread, I called our insurance company to see what would happen to our rate. Extra thousand bucks a year to add my daughter to my 2004 Trailblazer. Ouch! There is a $250 per year good student discount that she would get. Didn't ask what the difference would be if she had her own old beater car. Here's where I can be pleased that she's shown very little interest in driving! We'll go ahead and put that license off as long as possible.