quote:

Originally posted by mrvmax:
When my daughter was that age, my agent told me my insurance went up by her age, whether she had a drivers license or not and whether I added her or not (basically they added her and increased mu premium). I guess liability increases when children have the ability to drive.

Exactly my experience in the same town at the same kid's age. Don't ask, don't tell policy of some insurers.

Bastards!!

RMD

I was an independent agent in Texas for 50 years before retiring 3-4 years ago. The rules in each state vary. Call your agent and visit with him/her. If they are worth their salt, they will direct you in the right direction before you do anything.

I’m in Texas, I called to add Tommy to our policy when he got his learners permit. The rate didn’t go up until he got the actual DL. It was $900 more every 6mo. Texas Farm Bureau. He was driving a 2014 Altima till someone hit it parked in front of my house. He’s got a 2019 VW Jetta now and it’s the same rate.

Mom used to work for Allstate and years ago we had Matt on ours when he moved in with us at 18yo. She told us it’ll go down when he turns 25. He moved out at 19 and got his own insurance then, before 25- so I have no idea if the rate went down.

We shop our rates annually, so it wasn’t cheaper anywhere else.

Florida here with Geico. I added my daughter to our insurance when she turned 15. My bill didn't change at all. When she turned 18 and finally decided to get her driver license, then my bill went up. Then we bought her a Mazda 3x and our bill went down. My agent said buying her a car with a squirrel on a wheel as an engine lowered the cost. Good luck!

quote:

My agent said buying her a car with a squirrel on a wheel as an engine lowered the cost

When I was 16 I started a business that owned a few limousines.

I was insured on those cars for a much lower rate than one would expect. My agent explained that a good portion of your rates were tied to the vehicle statisics. Is your car stolen a lot? Is it wrecked a lot? If so, who's wrecking them?

Come to find out not many limousines are wrecked due to 16 year olds.

If that still holds true today, and you're shopping for a low insurance cost, look at cars that only "old people" drive: Buicks, Lincolns, Cadillacs.

While you don't need to add them until they are licensed, there are reasons to call and inquire.

First and foremost, each company have their different discounts and program for youthful operator. It's best to learn them ahead of time so that you can capitalize on any and all discount possible. For example, in my state, kids that have go through a certain driving course can get a bigger discount than without. It's knowing that difference that will pay dividend in the long run. So, call and say that you are going to be adding a new driver soon and need to know what all the discounts that you may be potentially be eligible for. Yes, an agent is good for this.

Second, there are some carriers that are literally considering non-licensed drivers that live in the household as drivers that should be listed. I know...it is confusing as all get out. But there is a lady in either Maryland or Ohio that her carrier is denying a claim because she didn't list her 13 year old non-licensed daughter on the policy. So, you may want to check your insurance company and see if they are in this group.

YMMV as always.

I stand corrected. It was a 12 year old daughter and it was in Michigan.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news...XRhpcDCrL06cI4Kb9m-B

Thank you all for your input. I’m waiting to hear back from the agent I mentioned earlier..

quote:

Originally posted by Outnumbered:

Yes, it’s all on their dime. They start working at 14, and save save save. They can only work 10 or 15 hours a week during the school year, and more hours over the summer. And they only buy $3k-$5k used Toyotas/Hondas. I help them/teach them to do maintenance/repairs on their own. Our 17 year old son just got his annual renewal at $1,250/yr for liability only, but again, on his own policy that doesn’t affect ours. This is down a couple hundred from last year when he was 16, new driver. Our now 19 year old daughter has her liability policy down to $780/yr. Neither has had a ticket or a claim, because they know their rates will skyrocket and it will be their wallets that get hurt.

To be fair and clear, we would likely help out some if we could, but it’s just not in our family economy. I’m the sole earner, with a decent/honest salary, but not a high earner by any means. My wife is an at-home mom who homeschools our kiddos, so this is one of the tradeoffs.

Wow. That is very impressive.

quote:

Originally posted by gjgalligan:
Way back in the last century when my kids got their driver license is was cheaper to buy an old junker and list them as the primary driver of that vehicle. Didn't matter if the junker even ran, as long as it was plated you could do that.

I also live in Michigan, did the same thing when my daughter turned 16. The insurance company just wanted a VIN and a picture of the car. Dumb part: she could drive my car and it didn't effect my rates. It was a clean looking VW beetle. I never plated the car and never got around to rebuilding the engine.