You don't have to be an auto insurance expert to know that teens are among the most high-risk drivers as far as your insurer sees it. Fortunately, your insurance rates aren't going to go up just because your teen has their license now. Your rates will go up when you add them to your policy, typically to the tune of up to sixty percent. Your rates don't go up simply because of another licensed person living in the house.

Should I Add My Teen to The Policy?

If your teen is going to be driving your car, add them to your car insurance policy.

If you think your teen might be driving the car, perhaps "borrowing" it sometime, perhaps with or without asking, add them to your car insurance policy.

If your teen is behind the wheel and they are involved in an accident, having them on the policy will ensure that the accident is, in most reasonable instances, covered by your insurer. Leaving them off the policy for any reason means that the damages are likely to come out-of-pocket.

Can I Get A Deal on My Teen's Coverage?

A teenage driver is automatically going to be more expensive to insure than an adult driver. There's no getting around that.

But everything you can do to lower your rates applies here as it does anywhere.

A teenage driver with a clean record is cheaper to insure than one who's had a few accidents. A teenage driver who's attended a defensive driving course is going to be cheaper to insure. In many cases, a teenage driver with good grades is going to be cheaper to insure.

And of course, having your teen pay their share of the insurance premiums if they want to use the family car is never a bad idea if you want to teach them a little something about responsibility.

If you don't want to pay higher rates, you can just keep your teen off your insurance policy. But, if that's your plan, make sure that they don't drive. Your insurer may make exceptions for the occasional uninsured family member, but if they're going to be driving the car on a regular basis, get them on the plan.