(865) 435-7470
Windrock Insurance
  • Main
  • Contact / find
  • About
  • Companies
  • Quote
  • Vehicles
    • What we cover
    • Auto
    • Teen drivers
    • Cycle/ATV
    • SR-22
  • Home
    • Home inventory
  • Life
  • Business +
    • About business liability insurance
    • Nonprofit organization insurance
    • Professional liability
  • Blog
  • Health
    • Medicare solutions
  • Drip detective
  • Flood
  • Home quiz
  • Insurance for nonprofit organizations of all types
  • OFF-ROAD QUOTE FORM

Why  auto insurance costs so much for teen drivers...and why you need more liability for them

11/14/2012

1 Comment

 
Picture
There are good reasons that auto insurance for teens is so expensive. Consider these chilling facts from the Centers for Disease Control:

  • "Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens.1 In 2010, seven teens ages 16 to 19 died every day from motor vehicle injuries. Per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are three times more likely than drivers aged 20 and older to be in a fatal crash"
  • "Young people ages 15-24 represent only 14% of the U.S. population. However, they account for 30% ($19 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among males and 28% ($7 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among females."
  • "The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16- to 19-year-olds than among any other age group. In fact, per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are three times more likely than drivers aged 20 and older to be in a fatal crash."

So, it's easy enough to see why auto insurance rates usually double (give or take, depends on many factors) when a teen driver is added -- they are simply far more likely than any other class of drivers to have serious accidents.

This is also the reason that parents need increased liability limits if they have teen drivers. Lower limits are just not enough when you consider that teens often have multiple passengers. And parents may be sued for damages caused by their teens (or early-20 somethings) as long as they live at home or even when they live away, provided they are financially-dependent on the parents. This includes college students in most cases.

We recommend high limits ($500,000) for anyone with teen drivers plus $1 Million or more in umbrella coverage. A parent's question may be "Can we afford it?". Our question is -- given the dangers -- "Can you afford not to carry higher limits?".

We can recommend strategies both for reducing your teen auto insurance costs and for reducing the risk. Reach out to us today; we'd love to help. We'll work hard balance affordability and coverage for your family and assets.

Here are some excellent teen driving resources for parents and teen drivers:

Teensurance safety & tracking program -- from one our favorite companies, Safeco.
Teen-parent driver contract from Travelers -- an excellent idea that sets parameters and expectations.
Stop texts/stop wrecks -- texting is a huge risk factor for teen drivers.

1 Comment
Brad
11/14/2012 01:10:56 am

I know of a man who sent his son off to college. The son joined a fraternity and his insurance agent wisely suggested increasing his umbrella coverage ABOVE $1 million! Why, because younger frat members often serve as designated drivers for older members. "Imagine,", said his agent, "if your son wrecks with two pre-med students and a future engineer. What do think a jury might do in that case."

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Owner/agent Brad Isbell is a strange person -- he actually likes to talk and blog about insurance, safety, and saving money.

    Windrock Insurance
    Oliver Springs, TN

    Contact
    Start quote

    Archives

    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012

    RSS Feed


Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.