How to Protect Your Assets With a Teenage Driver on Your Insurance
According to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, teenage drivers are the riskiest drivers on the road. Regardless of their training, young drivers tend to be more aggressive and more accident-prone than other age groups due to their inexperience. As a result, parents are going to worry about their teenage drivers when they are on the road. But coupled with that worry is the concern over what would happen if your teen killed or seriously injured someone while driving. While your finances may be the least of your worries if something like that happened, you can do some things now to protect your assets with a teenage driver on your insurance.
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Instructions
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Max out the liability insurance coverage. The most effective way to protect your assets when your teen is on your auto insurance is to purchase as much liability coverage as you can. Liability coverage is what pays for the damages and medical expenses of the other parties involved in an accident, if your teen is found to be at fault. If you have enough liability insurance to cover the expenses, the other parties cannot come after you and your assets because the insurance company takes care of the bill.
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Keep up the payments on your insurance. According to Insure.com, auto insurance companies have been known to cancel a person's policy if they are a day late with the payment premium. If your insurance has lapsed and your teen gets into a bad auto accident, the other parties could sue you for any expenses, if your teen is at fault. Medical bills and other damages can reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars and you could be personally responsible.
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Carry a high deductible on your auto insurance. Higher deductibles reduce the temptation to make claims for smaller accidents like "fender benders." By reducing the claims you make on your insurance, the better chance you have of keeping your policy. Too many accidents and claims can result in the cancellation of your policy, which means you and your teen would be uninsured until you found another company willing to insure you. This is more difficult, however, once another company has cancelled your policy.
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Teach your teen about the dangers of distracted driving. One of the reasons teen drivers are more likely to get into an accident that is their fault is because they do not take the privilege of driving seriously. They end up talking on their cell phones or changing radio stations when they are behind the wheel. Have serious talks with your teen about safe driving skills to prepare them for road safety. Also, set some ground rules for driving, including curfews and having a limited number of passengers (if any) in the car. If you find that they have violated these rules, take away their driving privileges to teach them a lesson.
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Tips & Warnings
Auto insurance is a great way to protect your assets. However, insurance cannot fix everything. Be proactive about preventing accidents to help avoid any life-changing injuries or damages.
Be consistent with your punishments if your teen violates the ground rules you set for driving. Otherwise, your teen may not take your rules seriously and end up causing a major accident.
