Insurance premiums are soaring! It seems like it takes a whole month before any of my insurance companies increases its premiums even a little. My health insurance company sent me a letter at the end 2009 stating that these are difficult times and that we must all band together to pull through this recession. I’m going to have to pay more for this particular type of health insurance to accomplish that.
However, auto insurance for kids is one type of insurance that has been historically more costly than it should be. It is easy to see how insurance companies can make the case that kids are involved in many car accidents. They are stupid, they do stupid stuff, they drive stupidly and don’t pay much attention. This leads to more car accidents. Insurance companies must pay more money if there are more auto accidents. This is not something any insurance company wants to do. Therefore, insurance companies will charge higher rates for children’s auto insurance.
This is especially true if you have multiple children who need car insurance. There is a silver lining to this situation. There are many ways to lower your premiums so that your children can be insured.
First and foremost, make sure your children have completed driver’s education. Although most states require driver’s education to be able to issue valid drivers’ licenses, there are some states that don’t. If your state is one of these, make sure that your child has taken and passed the driver’s education class. You can sometimes expect a drop in your insurance premium of 10% to 15% if they do. You must pass the class to be eligible for insurance. It’s not enough that they attended.
Most people are familiar with the “good student discount”. This basically means that your child must maintain a minimum B average in order to receive a discount. Your discount will increase the more your child grades are… but most people don’t know that. It’s not surprising that sometimes a student who is good at school can reduce your insurance premiums by up to a fourth. That’s a lot of money, if you really think about it.
Another tip is to insure cars your children own. Your policy should cover your child’s car, not their name. Nearly all insurance companies offer a multicar discount. This discount can be anywhere from 10% to 30%, depending on which company you choose. This will allow you to enjoy a substantial discount each month.
If your child is located more than 100 miles from campus and does not have a car, you may be eligible for a student discount. This ranges from 10% to 15% and sometimes even 20%. It may seem strange that you would need to insure your children’s cars while they are away on college trips. But they do come home, don’t they? You can have your kids on spring break, fall break and summer break. And what is the first thing they want? The keys! There you have it.
There are many proven ways to reduce your children’s insurance premiums.