To explain why I am in a horrible predicament....I recently had to replace my 1997, 172,xxx mile minivan because it was "totaled out" with hail damage....broken windows...everything...great, right? No, I didn't have full coverage...not on van that old & that many miles. I didn't want a new vehicle but used were way to high for the mileage they had on them & my payments were going to be the same. Could I theoretically afford a new car or any car NOPE!!!
So, my 17 yr old son, bless him has a 2000 Camaro that he has worked and paid for himself...pays the insurance & has full coverage, gas everything! Well, with this new car, which is a Nissan Sentra 4 door...nothing elaborate, and a teenager...they want to rate him on MY car & my insurance is going to be higher than my car payment!!! So in 5 years I will have paid for my car twice...at that rate I don't need their freaking insurance...just a good savings plan so I can pay cash for the next car...LOL Yes, I know if I am in a bad accident they will have paid more than that out...just saying though...No we don't have any tickets or accidents...KNOCK ON WOOD!!
They have offered to put him on his own policy but then I am just passig the cost to him, which I WON'T do..he does enough taking care of his own responsibilities.
So, my question is...Do you have a company or know a company that doesn't ream you that bad for having a teenager? Previously we were paying $975 every 6 month...$600 for full coverage on the Camaro, which his in his name & $375 for liability on the minivan. Now we are paying approximately $2200 every 6 month...I new it would go up but I didn't expect my insurance to be as much as or more than the car payemnt..it just doesn't seem right!!! They want to rate him on MY car.
Thanks in advance...I don't want to get a 2nd job to pay car insurance...ugghh
I am still looking around. I have found one company that can get us down to approx. 1500 every 6 months. As I had previously stated HE DOES pay his own insurance but just as I am on a budget, so is he. If I put him on his own policy, his goes up to $300 per MONTH, if I keep him on mine, mine goes up to $300 per MONTH. Neither one us can afford that kind of hit & I am not going to say I can't afford it ,son you have to go on your own policy you have to pay it. His car is broke down right now, so we can't even sell it, if anyone is thinking that. I am still checking with Farmers & State Farm as two people had suggested & I will check with a broker/agent, as someone else had suggested. I do appreciate the help & if anyone else has more info...I will take it...thanks! :)
Would the total be less if you put him on his own policy? If so, I'd do that but then pay his payment, too.
J., I'm an insurance agent in AZ. AZ is second highest in auto insurance premium after NY! Yikes! Ok, first of all, DO NOT take the advice of listing his address under someone else. The first time he's pulled over or in an accident, the insurance company will be notified and theres a chance, the claim could be denied since he's fraudulently listing an address on a policy that is not truly his. That is called insurance fraud and frankly is the reason why WE all have to pay so much. Its people who try to get away with not paying what they should, large claims are paid out, and we all get charged for it because someone has to pay it.
Ok, now, you said he already pays his insurance so he and his car are already insured. The reason they want to list him on YOUR policy is because he's in your household and has access to drive your car. So you said he's "working" on the Camaro, so if he borrows your car to go out with friends, and is in an accident, then that's why they need to know who has ACCESS to your car and rate appropriately for it. Most companies will still list him as a driver, but not CHARGE for him, IF you can provide proof of insurance on him and his car. Find a local INDEPENDENT insurance agent that can shop around for you and give you good advice that will not get you in more hot water if something were to happen. Agents like Farmers, State Farm, Allstate can't quote any other company but their own. Agents such as myself are contracted with many companies, quote the same coverage's and let you know what company has the lowest rates. Really, there is no other way around it. Just shop it around. Good luck!
J., whatever you do, don't pay attention to advice that is not legal. You must go by the law. Some people give you advice that is OPINION and not true. Don't screw yourself by listening to it. Check everything out first with a real insurance licensed agent. MzKitty is right about getting an independent insurance agent. That person will help you save money.
Honestly, I don't know why people tell you stuff they really know very little about. It's not helpful and it can hurt you...
Dawn
We have a 17 yr old, good driver. We are with Farmers.
One thing that helps is that we have our house, cars, umbrella, jewelry ALL with the same guy for about 20 yrs. This gives us discount. Also, daughter gets a 10% discount due to her GPA, and she got a 5% reduction for going to the Farmers Office and watching a 10 minutes video.
Before daughter, we paid about $900 every 6 months on our 2 Mercedes. After daughter, they rated her on hubby's car (E350) vs her car (CLK 350) and we got a lower rate because the CLK is classified more as sporty. Then I got my car (SL 550) which is the high end Mercedes sport convertible (She does not drive my car at all).
So now, with all 3 of us, including discounts, no tickets, etc our bill is pay $2000 per 6 months.
Also, Farmers has a deal where if you pay in full you get another discount. I'm all for saving money so when I opted to pay the car insurance in full, I paid $1940 instead of $2000 for 6 months.
Talk to your agent and see how they can help. They are there to help you, not scam you. Just make sure you get good quality coverage in the event that you need it someday.
Good luck.
Not sure if I am following but I have Liberty Mutual. They are wonderful.
if u can prove he pays his own insurance, they are not allowed to rate ur insurance....if he doesnt have his own insurance it is cheaper if u say he can only drive ur car not every car under the sun.
Why does he have to be on the policy for your car? I guess I don't understand... he should keep the policy for himself and his car, and you can have a policy for yourself and yours. Right?
This is the main reason why my 18-year old still doesn't have a full-blown license. It will cost us an extra $2K-3K in southern Florida (high insurance area).
I detest the insurance industry with a passion. They are scum and leeches of society.
The minute we pay off our house I'm canceling all coverage except for liability. Through 3 major hurricanes we have never made a claim, and have a HUGE deductible for what amounts to catastrophic coverage.
Same for health insurance.
We haven't made auto claims either, but our rates keep going up! They always get their money!
I would have him get his own policy and do not add him to yours. I always had my own when I lived with my parents. I was not allowed to drive their cars at all because I wasn't on their insurance and that forced me to make sure I had the money to buy, maintain and insure my own car at all times. If I couldn't do that, I couldn't drive at all.
And 17 is certainly old enough for a responsibility shift. He chose to have an expensive car to insure and seems like a mature person. He may appreciate having this new ownership and trust. If you are really concerned that he won't be able to afford his own for some reason (and it sounds as if he already could/does) then you could offer to cover the difference. But really, let him be a man and take care of it. Then you be a mom and take care of you. He shouldn't have to worry about his mom.
You may lose a multi-line discount this way but it shouldn't equal what your new rate would skyrocket to.
I would say you need to shop around and call every listed insurance company in the phone book.
I am 53 and my hubby is 57. 10 years ago we both had new (program cars) that were under full coverage as required by the loan office at the credit union. We were paying over $700 per month in car payments and $1100 every 6 months for full coverage on a 2000 Mercury Sable and a 1998 Ford Taurus.
We are neither one teenagers nor had any other drivers on our insurance. The cost of replacing a car is high.
I am a bit confused though. He is already paying the insurance on his car???? Then why is his payment going up??? What is it now that he is already paying??? Go with that company.
I always made my kids get their own policy. Worked well. Oh an they were
responsible for paying their own insurance.
We live in MO & use State Farm. I shop around for quotes occasionally, but with 30+ years behind us ....those multi-line discounts can't be beat!
When our son turned 16, our agent recommended having him insured under his own name. The reason was twofold: one to secure a credit record under his name....but to also prevent any liability issues from backlashing onto us. When he was under our policy, we were paying <$200/6 months. His personal policy jumped to almost $500/6 months. Totally sucked. & then he had 2 accidents & we were very thankful that we didn't lose our status as a result of his accidents! & yes, his insurance went up considerably both times.
As for the totalling of your vehicle, this happened twice to my DH's truck. Our premiums didn't really change...maybe <$100/6 months. & ironically, our son was at fault on both events.
Hope all of this helps!
Maybe see about excluding him from your policy and putting him and his car on a separate policy with a different company will work to your benefit. You will have to fill out a form formally "excluding" him so if he does drive your car, he will not be covered and if he gets in an accident, they won't pay and may cancel the policy. That's the only way I can think that you might get a better deal.
There are a couple of ways around this.
1) provide a differant address for him. Use dads address, grammas, whatever to show he is not a member of your household and no need to rate for him.
2) Insure him on a seperate policy - with a differant company if necessary.
3) If you two are on the same policy now and it's affordable, you can keep that one, and move your car to a differant company all by itself with no mention of him. If the other company runs an undisclosed driver report and asks, all you have to do is show his current declarations page and you wont have to add him to your policy.
@Angela - ouch! I'm scum of the State Farm variety! When torandoes ripped through here last month - we were boots on the ground in the affected areas. We wrote people $5,000 checks on the spot to get a place to stay, buy a toothbrush, a hot meal, whatever they needed. We have had 100% gratitude and satisfaction from those affected. My desk is covered with thank you cards and flowers from grateful policyholders.
