If you’re under 25 years of age as a driver (or you’re the parent of an under-25 driver), you probably know that you can have some definite sticker shock when it comes to insuring your young person behind the wheel. Young person insurance rates, especially for males, can literally triple the family car insurance bill. This is especially true if the driver is added to the insurance of a new car with comprehensive coverage and not just liability coverage. Why? Because demographically speaking, young people, and especially males under the age of 25, have the most accidents overall (and the most fatal and serious accidents) of any age group. Therefore, this means that that group’s insurance rates go up, regardless of how responsible the individual driver is.

Doesn’t sound fair, does it? But that’s the way the insurance industry works. However, there are some things you can do as a parent (or that you can do as an under-25-year-old driver) to help lower your insurance bill. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

Be a student with good grades

If you’re still in school, get good grades. You don’t have a driving record yet (and your insurance rates aren’t going to take a decent drop on their own until you’re 25, assuming you stay a good driver), but insurance companies like responsible young people; to that end, they like giving them a break on their insurance, too. And you look responsible when you get good grades. Usually, if you get a B or better average, your insurance company will be happy to give you a discount for being a good student.

Take an accredited driver safety course

Okay, so you might think you’re Joe (or Jane) Cool behind the wheel; you passed your driver’s test, right? Nobody can tell you what to do. However, if you want a break on your car insurance, be willing to hunker down and take an accredited driver safety class. They’re proven to reduce accidents, and many insurance companies will give you a discount if you can prove you’ve taken one. Check with your current insurance company; if it doesn’t offer you a “safe driver class” discount, look for one that does.

Shop around

That brings us to our third point. No matter how long you’ve been with your current insurance company, if it’s not going to give you a good rate, shop around. The Internet makes it easy to do, and you might be able to get a better rate at another company. At the very least, you can find another company that’s willing to give you the better rate and then bring that back to your current company and ask them if they’ll match the offer. Chances are, they will.

Do you have more than one policy with the same company? Ask for a multi-policy discount

This is a given. Most companies will give you a discount on your policy premiums if you have your home insurance, car insurance and student driver insurance, etc., all with the same company. If they haven’t given you discount, they should. So be sure to ask.

Consider driving a “beater”

No, I’m not talking about a broken down jalopy that’s not going to get you from point A to point B. However, I am talking about a safe car that’s not new and that you can simply put liability insurance on instead of comprehensive. This alone is going to get you better rates, because you’re not covering as much. However, combined with the other tips, you might just find you’re not paying all that much insurance, after all.

Give these tips a try (and use more than one if you can)!

Even if you are not a spend thrift like myself, who watches where every penny goes, surely you would save money if it wouldn’t take you very long to do!   Car insurance rates vary widely, and knowing what factors affect these rates will help you find the company that is right for you.  Often, knowing which questions to ask will help your agent get you the best rate.

TYPE OF VEHICLE

So, maybe you aren’t in the market for a new car right now, but keep this in mind the next time around.  If you are shopping for a new vehicle, make sure you factor insurance rates into the cost of the vehicle.  Certain cars are considered “good” for insurance companies.  This is what you want.  “Bad” cars (which are the most appealing to buy) are sports cars, high horsepower, or ones that are expensive to repair.  Larger vehicles, such as SUV’s, are more expensive to insure also, because they cause more damage in an accident.  Insurance companies want low risk when insuring you and the higher the risk for a benefit being paid out, the higher the rates will be.  Insurance companies use statistics to determine the risk factor for crashes, breakdowns, etc.  So, if you can afford that little convertible’s loan, just make sure you can keep it insured before you take it home.

DRIVING RECORD

This seems like a no-brainer, but so many people drive too fast or carelessly without giving a second thought to the insurance rate.  In addition to a pricey ticket, your driving habits can eventually cost a lot of money to your pocketbook.  Not just in tickets and insurance rates, but also in damages you may be responsible for.  Traffic offenses stay on your driving record, and your insurance company may come back and pull it at anytime.  Make sure to drive safe for all the right reasons.

WHICH COMPANY

Rates vary widely between companies.  Some may offer discounts for programs you are in, such as military or student discounts.  Others will benefit you if you are a senior driver, or have multi-car insurance or if you hold other policies with that company.  This is a factor in which you have control.  Ask what kind of discounts you qualify for.  Shop around.  Being online makes it easy to get quotes for many companies, and you can select your car insurance from one simple stop on a website.

While this is not an exhaustive list, these are major factors for what determines your car insurance, and are all things you can control.  Other factors, such as age, gender, and where you park, are not things you can change to get rates lower, but by taking time to research different rates and companies, you can save a lot of money.  Often you can save several hundred dollars a year!  Now, with that in mind, start shopping.  It only takes a little while to get your rates low.