—
The last thing on your mind is probably car insurance when you are juggling the battles associated with a divorce and children. Divorce alone without children involved in the mix is already stressful and emotionally draining. So it is no surprise that many parents are not considering who is responsible for insuring their new teenage driver.
Deciding on car insurance for your child after a divorce is a unique situation. You do not want to turn the topic into another bickering match and risk spoiling this exciting milestone for your teen.
However, you also do not want to settle on a poor decision for the sake of keeping this moment magical for your kid. Insuring a teenage driver as a single parent while managing the financial responsibility of your ex can be daunting.
With a decent guide, you can figure out how to go about getting insurance for your teen and how to find the most savings on auto insurance.
How Car Insurance Works
Depending on the type of coverage you choose when setting up your insurance policy, it may only cover your car instead of the driver. There are usually two forms of automobile insurance protection, bodily injury liability, and property damage liability, that are offered at a minimum.
With those two types of insurance coverage, the policies insure a driver if they drive someone else’s car and protect their own vehicle if someone operates it with their permission.
Alternatively, comprehensive insurance coverage generally only protects the vehicle and is not transferable with different vehicles or drivers. Depending on the insurance company, comprehensive insurance may offer different versions of the coverage.
Reading your policy thoroughly will give you a better understanding of who can drive your car and whether you are covered while driving someone else’s car.
Understanding how your specific auto insurance works when insuring a teen driver after a divorce is important because your regular insurance policy may not cover other drivers. Therefore, you may need to add your teen as a driver or purchase their own policy for when they are driving your car while at your house.
This is where deciding on insurance after divorce gets tricky because you both will have to thoroughly analyze your current insurance policies to choose the best route. If your policies both cover your vehicle and other drivers, then you may not have to figure out who pays for a new policy altogether for your teen.
The Cost of Teen Car Insurance
Insuring a teenage driver results in a major rate increase for your policy. Teenagers can pay an average of $400 a month for an individual policy, and parents may end up paying an extra $200 a month if they add a teen to their insurance policy.
With the average monthly cost in mind, that means adding a teenager to your policy can increase your yearly premium by 168 percent compared to what it was without a teen. It would be ideal to avoid each parent from having to pay that much of an increase.
Since males of all ages are given higher rates than females, you can expect an even higher rate increase with a male teenager. There can be a 14 percent increase for teenage males compared to females.
Discounts for Teen Drivers
The rate increase for teenage drivers is inevitable, but parents can knock the price down by applying various discounts to their policy. Each insurance provider offers different discounts, so you should inquire with your insurance representative to learn about your insurer’s specific policy discounts.
Budgeting the cost of insuring your teen driver is a way to financially prepare for a divorce when children are involved. Discounts need to be considered when drafting that budget, so here is a list of common discounts offered to teen drivers:
- Defensive driving discount: Schools and local department of motor vehicles offices typically offer safe driving and defensive driving classes or can provide recommendations for private programs. These programs may cost a fee depending on who you go through, but they teach your child invaluable lifesaving driving skills.Keep in mind that most insurance providers give at least an 8 percent discount if you can prove that your child has attended this training type.
- Good student discount: Another discount offer that most insurers provide is a good student discount where they reward teens for getting good grades. The child is to maintain a B average and be enrolled full-time in high school or college.This discount can range between 7 percent and 25 percent, depending on the state and insurance provider.
- Safe driver discounts: Though this is not an insurance discount specifically for teenage drivers, the safe driver discount is one that many insurers offer. This discount option gives personalized rates based on how good of a driver you are.Your driving is monitored by a device stored in your car or through an app on your phone. The safer you drive means the more you can save. Drivers can save up to 50 percent off their monthly premium if they are excellent drivers.
Who is responsible for paying the insurance?
Divorced couples have their own insurance policy, so who insures the teen driver is a decision left between the parents and the insurance company. Some companies may require the parent with custody to add the teenager to their policy, but others may not have specific guidelines for situations like this.
Divorced parents should reach out to their individual insurance companies to verify the specifics that revolve around teenage insurance policies. Assuming all insurance providers are the same can have drastic legal consequences that can hinder your inexperienced driver.
Difference Between Primary Custody and Joint Custody
In a divorce, a judge usually divides custody by one parent having primary custody or both parents having joint custody. Primary custody involves one child spending the majority of their time at one parent’s home and regularly using a vehicle registered under that parent’s name.
Joint custody is when a child spends equal time at both parents’ homes and uses both cars equally. Understanding each terminology is significant because you need to be able to thoroughly explain your situation to your insurance representative when inquiring about how to add your child to your policies.
Unfortunately, you and your ex may not see eye to eye throughout the process of divorcing. This is why allowing someone else to make decisions about certain things is a good way to deal with the stress caused by divorce.
Leaving the fate of who covers insurance for your teen driver in the hands of the insurance company’s guidelines is a stressless way to prevent conflict between the two of you.
—
Imani Francies writes and researches for the car insurance comparison site, CarInsuranceComparison.com. She earned a bachelor of arts in film and media and specializes in various forms of media marketing.
This content is brought to you by Anne Davis.
Photo: Shutterstock
