Car Insurance For Divorced Parents Of Teen Drivers

From juggling carpool schedules to keeping chase of belongings and homework, many of life ’ randomness details require extra coordination when kids go back and forth between two households .
If your kids drive, getting the right car policy coverage is one job you don ’ triiodothyronine want to get lost in the shuffle. hera ’ s what you need to know as a disassociate parent about car policy for teens.

Putting the teen driver on one or both policies
once you ’ re divorced, you and your ex-husband will need your own cable car indemnity policies. The rules for whether kids should be listed on one or both parents ’ policies are slippery because they vary by site and by policy ship’s company. In general, some guidelines apply — but the only way to know for certain whether your child is by rights covered is for both you and your antique to check with your indemnity companies or agents .
If you have primary custody: The adolescent drivers should be listed on your policy if they spend most of their prison term at your house. You ’ ll need to check with your insurance company about whether the kids will be covered when driving your x ’ randomness cable car .

If you share joint custody: You and your ex-spouse both will probably need to add the youthful drivers to your car insurance policies if the kids have even entree to cars at both homes .
If your ex has primary custody: The adolescent drivers should be listed on your ex-spouse ’ south policy. Ask your insurance company whether you need to list them on your policy if they drive a car at your house .
If your teen driver has a car: Your adolescent will save money by getting coverage under a parent ’ randomness car insurance design rather than getting a separate policy. NerdWallet research shows teens and their families, on average, can save $ 3,053 a class by getting coverage under a single policy. Talk to your insurance company about which parent ’ s policy should cover the car, and check whether the adolescent should be listed as a driver on the other rear ’ mho insurance equally well .

Don ’ t try to hide a adolescent driver from the policy company in an feat to save money. The truth will come back to bite you if your kid causes a barge in and you end up on the bait for the price .
Take advantage of car insurance discounts
Adding a adolescent driver to your policy will increase your rates because teenagers are at higher risk for accidents than more-experienced drivers. The fatal crash rate per sea mile for 16- to 19-year-old drivers is about three times higher than for motorists 20 or older, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

A NerdWallet analysis of car policy quotes countrywide found that, on average, it costs $ 1,570 a year to add a adolescent to a class policy covering two cars .
To reduce the fiscal trouble, take advantage of discounts for young drivers. Most indemnity companies offer discounts for students who :

• Complete a driver-training course .
• Earn at least a boron average in senior high school school or college .
• Attend college at least 100 miles aside from home plate without a car .

It ’ south besides a beneficial mind to shop around for prices at refilling fourth dimension. Car indemnity premiums vary wide by company .
Maintain consistent driving rules at both homes
Studies by The Children ’ s Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm testify that parents can cut their teens ’ crash risk in half by setting clear rules about drive and by paying attention to where their kids are going and with whom. Another crucial step is for parents to require their kids to ask for permission to use the car. Controlling access to the car samara, at least for the beginning six to 12 months after a adolescent gets a license, is one of the best things parents can do to keep their kids safe, the researchers say .
How you set rules matters, excessively. Researchers say making it net to kids that the rules are in position for their safety — not just to control them — will make it more probably that the teens will contribution what ’ s going on in their lives .
One way to set rules is for parents and teens to work together to create a written parent-teen tug agreement. sample agreements from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the american Academy of Pediatrics are available on the TeenDriverSource.org web site .
Of course, your beginning precedence is to keep your kids dependable. But preventing tickets and crashes will besides help keep your car policy rates down. If you think insuring a adolescent driver is expensive, try insuring one with a speeding ticket or an at-fault accident on his record .
Coordinating car indemnity for adolescent drivers can be a little more complicate when you ’ re divorced. But the extra care you take to make indisputable your kids have the correct coverage and the parental documentation and guidance they need to drive safely is worth it.

Barbara Marquand is a staff writer at NerdWallet , a personal finance website.