Sticker Shock-kids On Car Insurance

[HOGFAN]

WOW What an eye opener!! Just added 16 year old daughter to car insurance. IT DOUBLED!!!! Is this normal, should I look elsewhere? When will it go back down? I am very worried about this and wondering where I will cut back to pay for it.

 

[poohbears5]

Yep its unreal.

 

[Soccer Princess]

It's ridiculous I know! I pay $470 every three months (and that's with the good student discount!) Car insurance usually does not go down until age 21.

 

[Towncrier]

We just went through the same eye opening experience last week. Our insurance agent ran through the numbers with us and here is the breakdown:

$200 when it was just 2 adult drivers with 2 cars
$500 when adding part-time 16yo male driver with good grades
$635 if said 16yo male driver's GPA drops below 3.5

If we purchase another car (let's say a 10yo Saturn), DS will have to get his own policy. In that case, his policy alone would cost $720 (assuming good grades). That would be in addition to the $200 that we were paying before he started to drive.

These numbers are for 6 months of insurance on a 1yo Dodge minivan and a 9yo Saturn.

Welcome to the real world!!!

 

[CajunDixie]

My parents got a rude awakening last week. My nephew who turned 21 Monday lives with them but has his own car and insurance. But since he's a young driver living in their house they are charging my parents more for the coverage on their vehicles. They have been with this company for 30 years and now all of a sudden they are charging them this riduculous fee just because he lives there. Any insurance agents out there ever hear of this?

As for adding a 16 year old......I'm sooooooo not looking forward to that in 3 years.

 

[jsmith]

Yeah I hear you-I have one 18 and another that will get his learners permit in May-Owie, Owie, Owie

 

[ez]

this is when we lose our child tax credit ..right when we are getting them cars, insurance and almost college. Go figure!

 

[Snowysmom]

Car insurance for teens is through the roof! I know what you mean about the child tax credit. You can use it more when they are older-for college and car insurance! Kids get more expensive the older they get!

 

[bsnyder]

I've got two of them....18 and 19 year old boys!

And I hate to tell you what happens when they get a ticket, or have an accident.

 

[KimRaye]

Originally posted by Towncrier
These numbers are for 6 months of insurance on a 1yo Dodge minivan and a 9yo Saturn.

Oh No, John! OUCH! DS turned 16 on 12/31 but, has not taken the course yet.....thank goodness!!! We have an almost 2yo Dodge minivan and a 6yo Saturn. Thanks for the numbers... I think.

 

[KarenC]

We have an 18 y/o daughter and a 15 y/o son. We have a 2003 Town and Country, 2001 Volkswagen Cabrio and a 2001 Honda CR-V. The Honda is worth the least amount of money yet its the most expensive to insure, because its the "kids car". We just bought it this year because we had a 1996 Dodge Neon and it got recategorized by the insurance company last year and was even more expensive to insure than the much newer (and safer) Honda. I figured if they wanted so much money to insure the darn thing, it wasn't providing enough protection in case the unthinkable happened. Before buying a new kids car, we checked the insurance company's web site to see how they rated each model.

Our insurance company has a safe driver program that provides additional discounts. You have the kid watch a video and fill out a driving log. For our DD, the savings was an additional $150/year on top of the good student discount. Her insurance also dropped when she turned 17. The best news was when she went to college more than 100 miles away--it dropped $360 per 6-months. We've been real lucky that she hasn't had any accidents or tickets. I credit the year of driving practice she got before getting her license.

I'm worried about DS. His grades are awfully close to that good student discount break point. At least he won't have to be the primary driver on the CR-V. Even though DD is at school she can still be the primary driver on that car. They'll probably rate him on the mini van to get us the cheapest rates.

 

[bumcat]

I pay 380.00 per MONTH for two teens, myself and my husband (he has one minor wreck on record that comes off next month) and the teen cars is liability only! I have been thinking about shopping around...

 

[Tigger1]

I have 3 teenage drivers. One just has a permit, she is 17 but just never has taken the test. I pay about $300 each per 6 months. One was in a accident that was partly not his blame. This was the first time for any of them. The insurance was going to drop him but the agent was going to put him on a different company for twice as much. He would not be allowed to drive any of are other cars since he would be with a different company and I would have to exclude him from my policy. I felt this was unfair. The accident was about $2000 in damages. No tickets or other previouse accidents. I was about to switch insurance companys, to include my house insurance. The insurance company then decided that it would be much better to keep us and kept him in the same insurance policy.

By the way, all of are cars are liability only. Imagine what full coverage could cost.

Tigger

 

[peg2001]

My kids are still young but a couple of my co-workers have been complaining about their car insurance doubling or tripling when they add teenage children. I gently remind them that there is no law that kids have to start driving at 16. Mine won't.

Peggy

 

[CRB#33]

A little tip (that used to work in some states...check)

Many times it is cheaper to get a junker car in your child's name and put him/her as the primary driver with no comprehensive or collision coverage than it is to have him/her as a part time driver on a newer car with full coverage.

It may pay to look into that.

 

[KarenC]

Originally posted by peg2001
My kids are still young but a couple of my co-workers have been complaining about their car insurance doubling or tripling when they add teenage children. I gently remind them that there is no law that kids have to start driving at 16. Mine won't.

Peggy

I'd be interested to check back with you when you're kids are 16. As they get to high school they get involved in so many activities. As a working mother I found the logistics of getting them where they needed to go overwhelming. It was a relief when my daughter started to drive and I'm actually looking forward to my son being able to get his own self to guitar lessons, jazz band, etc. I'm not looking forward to the cost of insurance but we will be in line at the DMV when they open the morning of his 16th birthday.

 

[Tess]

I didn't see your post and I created a nearly identical one! Here's what mine said:

Our son will soon be a fully licensed driver and we have begun the process of seeking a new vehicle for my husband. His old '95 with well over 100,000 miles will be come the "kid mobile" (daughter will be driving in a couple years, too). We won't be purchasing a "new" vehicle, rather a good used one.

After locating a potential purchase, we contacted our insurance carrier and were absolutely to find that our insurance was going to DOUBLE. The to be purchased vehicle is only a 2000 model and we will drop to limited coverage on the '95. Our son's coverage accounts for fully 1/2 of the annual premium. Further, adding the 3rd vehicle wasn't the issue--it's adding the teen driver--oh yeah, he gets a discount for being a 4.0 student--not much of a discount, but it helps.

How did my parent (divorced mother of 4 at the time) afford to have 3 of us driving at home? We are in far better financial shape than she was at the time. I'm cringing at the thought of paying $2,400 per year for coverage on a 2001 (van), 2000 (truck), and 1995 (4 dr sedan)!

So, what is everyone else paying, who is your carrier, and do your kids have a "kid mobile" or share yours? We're planning to do some shopping, but not sure if we can better this rate!"

I guess the DOUBLE rate is fairly common! I understand the risk to the carrier with an inexperienced driver, but c'mon--given the amount we've paid over 22 years! Geez. . .

 

[Katie]

Our 17 yr old son(good grades discount) pays 840.00 every six months for a 1999 GMC 4x4 Jimmy, full coverage with 500.00 deductables!!!

Before that, he paid 500.00 every six months for a liability only on a 1995 Lumina( the transmission finally gave out 200,000+miles).

He wanted a nice vehicle, so he has to pay his own insurance. He just got a job at MCDonalds and works part time at a farmers farm. As long as his grades stay in the a/b range..i am fine with that!!!

It will be interesting to see how he handles work, grades, and running track in the spring. Track is a huge committment at our school! Time will tell

 

[BrerMom]

KarenC, what Peg2001 is proposing is what several families here have chosen. The family I am specifically thinking of had five kids and said, "We can help you with college or insurance, but not both." Four of the five have waited until they were 18 to drive - and pay their own insurance. The youngest is 9th grade, I think, and I haven't heard her decision.

I think it may be easier if the kids live in town. Kids here have the option of riding the school bus, the city bus, or walking.

We'll bite the bullet and pay the insurance, I think. I'd rather have them practicing while they're still at home. I just don't want their friends riding with them or them riding with their friends.

DD is only 12; I hadn't heard about the good driver discount. I wonder how many kids don't take a more challenging class (or are pressured into easier classes - I know it happens for sports eligibility) worrying that they might not get the grade they need for the discount?

 

[FOJMO]

Originally posted by peg2001
My kids are still young but a couple of my co-workers have been complaining about their car insurance doubling or tripling when they add teenage children. I gently remind them that there is no law that kids have to start driving at 16. Mine won't.

Peggy

You're right that there's no law. However, if they're going to have a job or do volunteer hours (required by some high schools), they will have to have transportation and if you're not able to take them, good luck! I don't know if you'll be as quick to say "mine won't" when the time comes...