Don’t be too disheartened though, there ways to get discounts if you know what to do.

Insuring your teenager to drive could lead to your insurance rates doubling or even tripling, for the simple fact that they are more likely to be involved in an accident at that age. Statistics show us that a young person under 20 years old is three times more likely to be involved in an accident that someone over the age of 20. Our insurance rates are reduced when we reach 25 for a good reason; we are more mature then, and we are more aware of the risks involved with driving, which makes us safer drivers.

Teenagers just starting out make a lot of mistakes, and as the amount you pay for your insurance is directly related to the level of risk you pose, so they end up paying very high insurance rates. There are ways you can reduce the amount you have to pay; if your teenager attends an accredited drivers school or drivers education class, they can get a 10% to 20% discount with their pass certificate.

In the United States, insurance companies will also look at giving a discount to good students, if you have a ‘B’ average or better, you should be able to get another 20% discount on your policy. Keeping a clean drivers license will also help your teenager find even lower rates.

Taking some time to explain to your son or daughter exactly why car insurance rates for teenagers are so high might just save you some money, but more importantly, it might just keep them safer on the road.

Historically young drivers (particularly males) have paid big premiums to drive even the smallest cars, and many would argue that this situation is fair as this age group of drivers is statistically the worst, and present much higher levels of risk that the motor insurance companies have to carry. However, there a voices in the government who think it is unfair that the insurance companies automatically dump everyone under the age of 21 in to this group of ‘risky drivers’, despite the fact that under 21 year olds account for almost 20% of motoring convictions and are responsible for over 30% of dangerous driving offences.

The proposed bill is not aimed directly at the car insurance industry, but is designed to root out inequality in whichever industry it is found. There’s no doubt though that car insurance for teenagers is one area where it could potentially have a huge impact.

At the moment these are just proposals, but if they become law I foresee one of two possible outcomes:

1. Car insurance companies – such as Albany Car Insurance – will stop offering insurance to certain sectors of society which could actually make the situation worse for today’s young drivers. It might be expensive to get auto insurance at the moment, but at least it is available and young people can drive legally. If the companies clamp down, how will a young person ever establish themselves as a safe driver for insurance purposes? Unless of course the government force companies to accept young drivers as customers………

2. …….In which case we will probably all lose out. Insurance companies look solely at risk, but if they are prevented in some way from charging an appropriate amount for that level of risk from one group of customers, the cost of that risk will have to be met some other way. You guessed it; we will all end up paying more – I can assure you that it won’t be the insurance companies that lose out!

If this bill becomes law and is adopted by other governments, we will certainly see a big shake up in the teenage drivers insurance market, whether it will be for the better or not only time will tell.