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Driving for the first time is scary and exciting for both teenagers and parents. But the question of when to get auto insurance for your new teen driver is an important one, that we all must ask ourselves when the time comes. For too many people put off getting insurance for their teenager. New drivers are highly prone to get in a car accident within their first couple years of driving for obvious reasons. This is why it is so important for a new teenage driver to be insured.

Unfortunately, this high tendency of getting into car accidents, whether fender bender or full blown accident, has led to a steep incline in auto insurance rates for this age group. This generally leads to procrastination. The fact is, as an inexperienced driver, it is essential that your teen be insured from the day they get their license.

Auto insurance rates are based on the amount of risk a company has to take on my insuring the car and its driver in question. Most insurance companies will be pretty uneasy about offering discounts to fresh teen drivers, but as always, shopping around will typically provide you with some satisfying results.

If you read our article about auto insurance discounts, you will see many similarities with the tips below. A majority of the discounts available to adults are also available to teens in one way or another. They are simple ways to reduce risk and build trust with your insurance company, in turn, reducing your premiums.

Add Them To Your Policy
This is an easy and cost effective way to get the large amounts of coverage you may believe your teen needs. Not only will adding them to your current policy reduce paper work and time, but will also allow them to get a much higher level of coverage than they would be able to get with a policy of their own.

Driver Improvement
Many states and counties require driver improvement classes to begin with. But if you can get them enrolled in a driver improvement class, you can take a lot of stress off the insurance company, resulting in lower rates; not to mention the stress it will lift off your shoulders.

3.0+ GPA
This may be more difficult for some, but getting a solid GPA of 3.0 or more can earn you some great discounts. Talk to your teen about this, it may encourage them to improve their grades, especially if they are paying for a portion of their coverage. This is assuming your teen is a full time student.

Its a popular trend these days for auto insurance companies to offer “accident forgiveness,” essentially relieving you of a rate hike if you happen to get into an auto accident within their set time frame. This is great, but still a majority of auto insurance companies have not jumped on board with this concept. And many of those that have will charge a higher premium for this service, or will really increase your rate on the second accident.

The amount of money at which your premium will increase varies from case to case based on a number of factors. The cost to the insurance company is a major contributing factor to this figure. The frequency of accidents and claims play an even bigger role in a car insurance increase. As you’re required to make claims, the auto insurance company will begin to see you and your car as risky and costly to the company, in turn shooting your rates through the roof.

If you’ve recently been involved in an expensive accident, your auto insurance is likely going to retry to recoup their costs. Both property and bodily damage are taken into account. In these scenarios, expect to see a 25-45% increase in your rate when its time to pay your premium again. Again, more expensive policies, may reduce the effects of a bad accident on your premium.

These rate increases can remain with you for quite some time of you do nothing about it. A simple way to get these reduced is to threaten to move to a different auto insurance company, but if you are considered a great risk to the company, they may let you go as a customer. Another alternative is to prove you plan on improving your driving and safety.

Driver improvement classes are a great way to get the increases reversed. However, if its not your driving that’s the problem, rather theft, vandalism, and safety that are requiring claims to be filed; you may consider installing an alarm system, parking in a private garage, or install modern safety devices within the vehicle.

If you haven’t quite caught on to the trend here, the concept is that with each accident and claim you are costing them money and proving yourself to be accident prone. As the risk involved with insuring you and your car increases so do the premiums you have to pay.

The bottom line is this: you will have to pay more if you are in an accident. On the other hand, there are many steps you can take to once again reduce your premium and reduce financial risk to the insurance company that holds your policy.

When shopping for a new auto insurance policy, or your first auto insurance policy for that matter, it is in your best interest to take advantage of all the discounts you can. You already have the fact that the auto insurance companies are fighting for your business working for you. But there is much more one can do to get the appropriate coverage at a low discounted rate.

The most obvious way to save on your auto insurance is to get just enough coverage. Many people are paying ridiculous premiums to insure cars that are worth far less what their policy covers. By only paying for what you need, you can get a low rate without any special tricks, just responsible budgeting.

Our choice of cars and lifestyles can have a great effect on what we have to pay for auto insurance. The most straight forward way to get discounts on your auto insurance is to drive safely. There may be auto insurance companies that claim to overlook your driving record. This may get you a slight discount, but the people with clean driving records are getting the best rate out there. Having a safe vehicle doesn’t hurt either.

You can also get some great discounts on your auto insurance by reducing the amount of driving you do. Additionally, carpooling and shorter commutes can greatly reduce your rate, because your chances of being in an accident are also greatly reduced. Public transportation is also a viable option for cutting down on the time you spend in the car.

If you are under the age of 25, and looking for car insurance, I’ll warn you now; You’re probably going to be paying more than almost any other age group, especially if you’re male. Luckily, many people in this age group still have the time to attend school. Simply attending school can get you discounts, and getting good greats will only multiply the savings.

A permanent residence of multiple years, having a spouse, and being in the military will also provide you with some auto insurance savings.

Consolidating all your insurance needs to one company is not just a way to save on your auto and other types of insurance, but it will also make your life a whole lot easier when it comes time to pay the bills. Doing so will allow you to make one easy payment, instead of sending out checks to each individual company. Getting your insurance from a single provider will get you a bulk discount of sorts. Insuring multiple cars can help you save on your auto insurance as well.

As you can see, there are many auto insurance discounts available to us. They just require a little extra attention, smart lifestyle choices, and some time spent shopping around for a deal.

There are 3 critically important things you need to look at when comparing auto insurance quotes; your type of coverage, limits and fine print of your policy, and of course the price. These 3 things alone, will help you choose the appropriate company and policy for your needs, and within your budget.

Types of Coverage
There are many different types of auto insurance. Most policies will include a variety of coverage plans, but make sure you see what you’re getting before agreeing to anything. Liability, medical, collision, and comprehensive just to name a few. From time to time you will see significant changes in price. But if you look at the types of coverage included, you’ll often times see that the cheap policy may only cover collisions, or may not include medical coverage.

Limits of Coverage
This is arguably the most important aspect of choosing your auto insurance. You could have some of the best coverage in the world for an extremely low price, but if you don’t have appropriate limits on your coverage, it could mean nothing.

The three main limits are maximum payable for bodily injury per person, max payable to all those involved, and maximum payable for property damage (vehicle and other property included). Together, these 3 figures determine the absolute worth of your policy.

Compare these 3 numbers and think about how they fit in with your needs and priorities. Remember that your state may require you have a particular level of coverage. Make sure whatever policy you choose fits in with your states laws.

Price
The price is an obvious first place to look when you get your auto insurance quote, however it shouldn’t by any means be the only thing you look at when choosing an auto insurance policy. You may be looking for auto insurance quotes to cut down on your current costs, but don’t take auto insurance coverage for granted.

Before you get wowed by the low price found on a quote, make sure that you are getting the coverage you need. Far too often people jump into binding agreements that don’t provide the coverage required, even if you are getting it at a low price.

A good way to start comparing auto insurance quotes is to look through the offers, and select the policies that have your bare coverage needs. Once these are selected you can choose between them based on what you can afford. Remember, don’t sell yourself short. That is the most common regret people seem to encounter after choosing auto insurance.

Comparing auto insurance quotes should not be taken lightly. Do your homework, don’t jump to conclusions, and you should be just fine.