When you are young, insurance does not matter to you. Not really. It is this thing your parents have, and that they pay for every month–often kicking and screaming. When you were a kid, you tended to hear your parents cursing their insurance agent over the premiums, not to his or her face, of course, but behind closed doors.
Your mom heard that Sara’s dad paid a much better price for their homeowners insurance than your parents did, and your mom was mad! Why couldn’t they get that deal? They argued about changing plans, changing agents, changing zip codes. Insurance sounded awful, and you had no idea what it really was. Home insurance, life insurance, health insurance, car insurance. Ah yes, car insurance. That’s where you started to pay attention, because one day you’d be driving that car.
And then one day you got your license and all hell broke loose. You remember that well, don’t you? Your parents complained about the price of their premiums doubling. You had no idea what that meant, and you didn’t really care, as long as you weren’t paying for it.
But then you moved out and had to start paying for car insurance on your own, and what an eye opening experience that was. Maybe you had to get a job, maybe you had to get a second job just to pay for your car, car insurance and gas. Whatever it was that you had to do, you remember that it definitely made you realize the value of that automobile! Perhaps you considered biking it or taking the bus, just so you could get rid of your car…but then you decided a car equaled freedom so you’d just have to keep going to work.
We all remember what that was like. The open road, your friends in tow…just heading to the mall, or nowhere. Maybe you grew up in a town ( and a time) where ‘cruising’ was a thing to do on the weekends…driving around aimlessly, just showing off the fact that you had a car?
And now, years later, you are the parent. You have the teenager that is about to go out and get his or her license. And you are dreading it, because now it has come full circle! You are your parents! Now it’s you that are about to put that ‘under 25’ driver on your auto insurance policy and you know what is going to happen to your premiums. You remember those arguments (discussions?) your parents had when they were putting you onto their insurance policy.
But don’t stress too much! It doesn’t have to eat you out of house and home anymore. If you shop around for the best rates, that will help. Also know that the type of car your son (or daughter? If you do have a daughter, lucky you! Lower rates!) drives reflects upon the premium. A pickup truck actually has lower premiums than a car, because less riders fit inside!
And if your child gets good grades in school, bonus! Many times you can get a discount based upon their grade point average! Score! There are options, there are solutions to the problem. Compare rates now and avoid ending up in tears each month.
