Newly licensed drivers are 96% likely to have an accident.  For most people it’s not a matter of if they will have an accident but when, and how bad will the accident be.

The summer of 2017 has been no exception here in central Indiana.  It seems like nearly every day this summer I have heard of a young driver that was in a serious accident.  Sadly there have been several teens and adults alike that have been killed this summer in automobile accidents. 

Because of these statistics and a national trends that indicates that many driver are texting and driving, adding a teenager to an auto policy can be expensive.  The higher premiums have caused some households to delay in adding their young drivers to their auto policies.  While this may seem like a way to help save on insurance premiums, it actually could cost that household in higher premiums and cause coverages to be withheld.

The short answer to the question of “When should I add my teenager to my auto policy” is “as soon as he/she gets their driver’s license.”  If you are thinking of delaying or withholding your young driver from your auto insurance policy, here are some things to think about.

When adding a driver to a policy the insurance company looks at the issue date of the drivers license.  If the driver’s license issue date indicates that it is a young driver that was never added to the policy the insurance company will normally backdate the adding on of the driver to the issue date of the license and charge the premium to the insured from the issue date.  This is especially true if the young driver has had an accident.

Because withholding young drivers information from household auto insurance policies has actually become a national trend, insurance companies are wising up and changing how they handle these situations.  Some carriers are now excluding coverage for young drivers that live in the same household if they have not been added to the policy.

So here is what all of the this means.  If you fail to add your teenage driver to your auto policy, lets say for 1 year, and they have an accident.  It is entirely possible that your insurance carriers will deny coverage because they were not added to the policy.  They could also choose to cover the claim but then add the young driver to the policy backdating the addition of that driver to the date they received their drivers license and charge the insured for 1 years of premium for that young driver.  That additional premium would be due immediately and the insured would likely be dropped.

The bottom line is that the best practice is to add your young drivers to the policy as soon as they get their license.  If you cannot afford the increased insurance premiums do not let them get their license.  Many parents make their children wait until they were older to get their driver’s license and they can afford the insurance premium payments.

Click Here for more information on how insurance works with Teen Drivers.