What to do When Your Teenager Starts to Drive

When your teenager starts driving it can be a scary yet liberating experience for both of you. You need to make sure your teen is safe behind the wheel and understand your expectations. In addition, you need to protect yourself and your teen by making sure you have sufficient car insurance.

When your teenager gets his or her driver’s license, you must immediately add them to your auto insurance policy. Most Texas personal auto insurance policies extend liability coverage to anyone driving one of your covered vehicles with your permission. However, some policies exclude from coverage family members who you have not reported to the insurance company.

Therefore, you must report your new teen driver to your insurance company. In fact, Simply call us, and we can handle it for you! If you don’t report the new driver in your family, you seriously risk your financial future. First, your claim may be denied if your unreported teen driver gets into an accident. And in fact, some insurance companies consider your failure to report a new driver in your household to be a form of insurance fraud. In order to charge an appropriate premium, insurance companies must have an accurate picture of who drives the vehicles in your household. Every driver is charged a premium based on his or her driver classification. In the case of young drivers, the premium will depend on whether he or she is the principal operator of a vehicle, or simply a part-time driver.

Having a new teen driver in your household will undoubtedly increase your premium, but it is a small price to pay for appropriate insurance protection. the alternative of no coverage can be dangerous.  In addition, be sure to discuss with your teen the following safe driving tips:

• Stay off the phone while driving.
• Don’t text and drive.
• Turn on your headlights.
• Slow down and obey the speed limit.
• Limit distractions such as eating, drinking and playing with the radio.
• Limit passengers in the vehicle with you.
• Always use defensive driving techniques.
• Wear your seatbelt at all times.
• Don’t drink and drive.
• Keep night driving to a minimum.
• Be aware of potential inclement weather.

Do you have a new teen driver in your household? We can help you assess your auto insurance needs and make sure you have the right coverage for all of the drivers in your home. You might also be eligible for additional premium discounts when you add a new driver. Teen drivers can be eligible for safe driver discounts, multi-vehicle discounts, good student discounts and more.

Source: Independent Insurance Agents of Texas article “When Your Teenager Starts to Drive”