Why Car Insurance is so expensive for Teenagers

If you have a young driver in your home, you've probably asked yourself why car insurance is so expensive for teenagers. While the vast majority of teens turn out to be cautious and responsible drivers, most insurance companies view drivers under twenty years old as a large risk. This article will explain the reasoning behind higher car insurance rates for teens, and attempt to provide you with the information you will need to negotiate for the lowest rate possible.

There's a saying that "numbers don't lie", and there's no exception here. By the statistics, teens are exponentially worse drivers than those who have reached adulthood. Every year, teens are responsible for numerous crashes, even though adult drivers outnumber those under twenty years old. Insurance companies take a careful look at the statistics concerning teen drivers, and they know that teens are about ten times more likely than adults to be involved in an auto accident. One can attribute this statistic to either teenage carelessness or insufficient experience behind the wheel, but the truth is, teens are statistically poor drivers.

In most cases, teen drivers can be added to their parent's policy. Parents of new drivers can expand their policy to cover their teen as a driver. The risk here lies totally with the parents, because any accident will bring up insurance premiums for everyone listed on the policy. For teens that cannot get their own policy for whatever reason, discounts for good grades and passing driver's education courses are available from some companies, and these discounts are becoming more common. Before choosing a particular insurance company, ask if they offer these discounts.

Most car insurance companies don't trust teen drivers all that much. Teens have a track record of mishaps at the wheel, and insurers are fed up with having to pick up the tab. It is possible for a teen driver in Maine to get a lower monthly insurance bill by being a responsible driver for a couple of years, or by being added to their parent's policy and assigning the risk to them. If teens were more responsible as a whole, the insurance companies would see them as less of a risk and consequently assign lower premiums.