Teenagers car insurance

>Parents always say they never regret having their kids. It kind of goes with the territory. Love conquers all (eventually). But whilst you're living through it all, it seems like you're struggling from one crisis to the next. Like when they first learn to drive. Despite your better judgement, you let them drive the family car. Later you buy them something to run around in. But, when they're starting off, you add them to your own auto insurance policy (and say prayers).

Jack and Joan had two teenaged children who pestered them to drive the family car on special occasions. When that use grew to be expected, one car wasn't enough so the first cheap, fixer-upper that never got fixed joined the family car on the driveway. They talked over the problem with their agent. "He was kinda laid back about it all," Joan said with a smile. "He warned us that kids always have a run of accidents. Ours were no exception." Jack leaned over to interrupt. "It was a bad two or three years. Everytime they went out, we never knew whether they would come back in one piece." Margaret was nodding in agreement. "We found ourselves turning to Christ more often. We had the Pastor bless the cars when the kids weren't around and held prayer sessions on a regular basis. There were five small fender benders. Nothing too serious, and never a scratch on the kids."

"Praise the Lord!" Margaret's smile of relief said it all. "And every time the auto insurance came round for renewal we were expecting a hike. But the company held the line." "It was all down to the agent who showed us how to get the discounts to keep everything smooth until they could get policies of their own at good premium rates." Later, there were all the worries about dropping out of college, surprise pregnancies and marriages. But that's another story. This one says find a good auto insurance agent who can help you through the teenage years. Other than that, trust in the Lord to see you through.

Bad credit risk, bad driver?

This is a good year for drivers in California. Way back when in 1988, Proposition 103 received more than enough support from voters to pass. Basically, voters wanted car insurers to set rates based on the driver's record and the number of miles driven. Three years ago, the Commissioner for Insurance introduced new rules prohibiting the use of ZIP codes as the primary factor for determining car insurance rates . These rules came into force July 14. This is one battle won for consumers' rights. The war goes on. Zip codes remain a dominant factor in other states. Similarly, insurers also check out your credit score. Almost every company seems to think that people with low credit score make bad drivers.

So what's going on? Well, it's all about how to define risk. All the factors go into the melting pot. How old you are, where you work, where you live, whether you own or rent your home, whether you own the car outright or have a car loan, what make and model of car, and so on. This personal information is included in your credit history. It gives the companies a snapshot of who you are. Is it fair to look at this information? Unfortunately, yes. Just as a loan company wants to know more about you before making the offer of a loan, car insurance companies want a better idea of whether you take care of your financial affairs before agreeing to pay out if you get in a traffic accident.

The first step in setting the auto insurance rate is whether you qualify for any discounts. For example, most companies offer discounts if you can pay an annual premium rather than by monthly or half-yearly installments. Then comes the math work. There are statistical methods to determine the risk of you getting in an accident. If you're a late payer who gets into trouble with liens and mortgages on your property, if you rent rather than own, you may not take as much care of your property as others. Add in lack of consistency in employment and multiple lines of credit getting close their the maximums, and you're considered a higher risk driver. It may not feel fair. It probably isn't completely fair. But that's the way insurance credit scoring works.

So, before you go online for your next car insurance quotes , check out your credit score and, if necessary, repair the score. The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to get free copies of your credit reports. Use that right and get your credit score into shape before getting quotes.