Ways of Reducing Auto Insurance Cost with a Young Driver in the Family

Is a teenager in your family learning to drive or gaining driving experience under a Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) system? Many states including Oregon have introduced GDL systems, aimed at reducing the number of car accidents caused by inexperienced drivers. Having an inexperienced driver in the family is likely to significantly increase the cost of car insurance Eugene parents are likely to pay.

Adding an inexperienced teen driver to your auto policy can increase insurance premiums substantially. Parents of teen drivers in Eugene who wish to minimize auto insurance costs may benefit from consulting a local insurance agency. When you talk to your insurance agency representative:

• Ask when higher premiums kick in. Although you must inform the insurance provider when your teenager obtains a driving permit, some policies don’t increase premium charges until a teenager has a full license. You might want to consider encouraging your teen to retain permit status and delay full license status.
• Ask whether buying a separate policy might be cheaper than adding a child to your policy. An agency can obtain a variety of auto insurance quotes from different insurers so that you can compare costs and value.
• Ask whether there is any advantage in adding your teen to your own policy as an occasional driver.
• Ask about assigning your teen to the least expensive of the cars listed on your policy.

Oregon’s policy of requiring new drivers to gain experience before they earn full driver license status and driving privileges aims to help new drivers to learn safe, responsible driving habits. The future outcome of this policy may be a reduction in the cost of car insurance Eugene motorists pay and, more importantly, an improvement in road safety in the state.