Expensive Car Insurance Follows Teen Drivers
Motorists who are 25 years and younger are generally considered high-risk drivers by insurance companies, and for good reason. Teenagers have continually demonstrated the greatest level of high-risk driving behavior of any age group. In 2009, over 350,000 teens were treated in emergency departments for car-accident-related injuries, and automobile crashes continue to be the leading cause of death in the U.S. for teenagers. Studies have shown when comparing drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 with older drivers, the younger group is four times more likely to be involved in an accident per mile driven. The generally negative perception of teen drivers worsen when insurance companies take into account that over 10 percent of motorists in high school have admitted to rarely or never wearing seat belts in the car. Furthermore, teens seem drawn to drinking and driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that roughly 25 percent of teenage drivers who died in crashes in 2008 had BAC levels that were 0.08 or higher. Coverage providers look at this information when rating car insurance for teenagers and offer higher prices to compensate for the risk of insuring someone with a higher accident risk. Usually, people with poor driving records and extensive claim histories are charged more for their policy, but when it comes to younger motorists, the lack of an established driving history and the wealth of negative statistics are enough to drive up prices. GDL Programs Could Help Lower Crash Rate, Insurance Costs Although teens by nature lack extensive experience behind the wheel, there have been statewide initiatives across the country to better prepare the youngest drivers for what they might encounter on the road. And if those efforts prove successful in the long run, it could help bring teen coverage costs down a bit. In 1996, Florida became the first state to institute a graduated drivers licensing (GDL) program, which required beginning drivers to get more driving experience and led to a 9 percent reduction in fatal crashes among teenagers the following year. These programs are designed to safely ease young people into the world of driving by providing helpful instruction and requiring them to slowly build up experience behind the wheel before becoming fully licensed. Since Florida introduced its GDL program, many other states have followed suit. Virtually all states have such programs, though they differ in levels of strictness. One state that had enormous success was Delaware. According to a University of Delaware study , that state saw a 60 percent decline in the accident rate for 16-year-olds in the nine years following the implementation of its GDL law. GDL-related gains in teen-driver safety, though, will take time to translate into lower insurance premiums for younger drivers. In the short term, parents and teens have options that could help them save money on premiums. For example, many parents and guardians are able to save on auto insurance by adding their teenager to their own policy. Although this increases the premium for every car on the policy, it is still may be a cheaper option than purchasing a separate policy for a younger driver. Luckily, if newly licensed motorists can maintain a clean driving record for over three years, there is a good chance that their rates will be significantly reduced. Source: http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/teenagers/
Motorists who are 25 years and younger are generally considered high-risk drivers by insurance companies, and for good reason. Teenagers have continually demonstrated the greatest level of high-risk driving behavior of any age group. In 2009, over 350,000 teens were treated in emergency departments for car-accident-related injuries, and automobile crashes continue to be the leading cause of death in the U.S. for teenagers.
Studies have shown when comparing drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 with older drivers, the younger group is four times more likely to be involved in an accident per mile driven. The generally negative perception of teen drivers worsen when insurance companies take into account that over 10 percent of motorists in high school have admitted to rarely or never wearing seat belts in the car. Furthermore, teens seem drawn to drinking and driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that roughly 25 percent of teenage drivers who died in crashes in 2008 had BAC levels that were 0.08 or higher.
Coverage providers look at this information when rating car insurance for teenagers and offer higher prices to compensate for the risk of insuring someone with a higher accident risk. Usually, people with poor driving records and extensive claim histories are charged more for their policy, but when it comes to younger motorists, the lack of an established driving history and the wealth of negative statistics are enough to drive up prices.
GDL Programs Could Help Lower Crash Rate, Insurance Costs
Although teens by nature lack extensive experience behind the wheel, there have been statewide initiatives across the country to better prepare the youngest drivers for what they might encounter on the road. And if those efforts prove successful in the long run, it could help bring teen coverage costs down a bit.
In 1996, Florida became the first state to institute a graduated drivers licensing (GDL) program, which required beginning drivers to get more driving experience and led to a 9 percent reduction in fatal crashes among teenagers the following year. These programs are designed to safely ease young people into the world of driving by providing helpful instruction and requiring them to slowly build up experience behind the wheel before becoming fully licensed.
Since Florida introduced its GDL program, many other states have followed suit. Virtually all states have such programs, though they differ in levels of strictness. One state that had enormous success was Delaware. According to a University of Delaware study, that state saw a 60 percent decline in the accident rate for 16-year-olds in the nine years following the implementation of its GDL law.
GDL-related gains in teen-driver safety, though, will take time to translate into lower insurance premiums for younger drivers.
In the short term, parents and teens have options that could help them save money on premiums. For example, many parents and guardians are able to save on auto insurance by adding their teenager to their own policy. Although this increases the premium for every car on the policy, it is still may be a cheaper option than purchasing a separate policy for a younger driver. Luckily, if newly licensed motorists can maintain a clean driving record for over three years, there is a good chance that their rates will be significantly reduced.







Before becoming officially licensed motorists, most teenagers are already considered high risk drivers. Policy prices are largely based on the possibility that someone will be involved in an accident or file a claim, and younger drivers continue to demonstrate riskier behavior while behind the wheel. For example, the North Dakota Department of Transportation found that between 2001 and 2007, adolescents represented only 11 percent of driving residents, but were involved in 25.9 percent of all crashes statewide.












