California Auto Insurance Claim Denied Because of Teen Driver?
Reader question:
I heard that you can get a claim denied if your teenager is on your California auto insurance policy. Is that true?
Phillip
Thank you for your question, Phillip.
I’m not sure where you heard that, Phillip, but it’s definitely not true that your California auto insurance company will deny your claim just because you have a teenager on your policy. Heck, you’ll probably get your claim denied if you decide not to add your teenager to your insurance policy, because if you don’t provide such important information, then your auto insurance company is unable to adjust your car insurance premium to fit the amount of risk you pose to the company.
One thing that I think you might be thinking about is the recent report done on parents whose claims were denied because they had claimed themselves to be the main drivers on vehicles of which their high risk teenagers were actually the main drivers. I think this might be the result of a bit of miscommunication.
Many people who deal out auto insurance advice, myself included, have urged parents to make sure that car insurance companies don’t automatically add the teenagers to the most expensive and costly to insure vehicle on their policy. This is definitely something that you should worry about, since car insurance companies tend to, if not told otherwise, put the highest risk driver with the highest risk car, even if the driver in question never touches the car.
However, making sure that your teenager’s name isn’t added to a car that they don’t drive isn’t the same as deliberately putting your teenager’s name on a car that they don’t drive. This is called fronting, and is considered fraud, so I advise every parent thinking about doing this on their California auto insurance policy to think again. The truth is that most parents who do this don’t even know they’re committing fraud, at least according to sixty percent of the parents in the report.
Make sure that you give accurate information and that your insurance company follows it when rating your policy, but giving inaccurate information yourself could land you in trouble.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarram.
How To Get Cheaper Car Insurance For Your Teenager
Car insurance premiums aren’t cheap, and even less when you add your new driver teenager to your policy. This is why you need to make the most of this new addition, pay attention to discounts, and encourage responsible behavior so that you can avoid future accidents. Car accidents are the number one cause of death among teenagers, and they often involve alcohol in the mix. Here are a few steps to follow to keep your teen safe on the road and, as a result, keep your car insurance premium cheaper.
- Pick the right car.
Every teen wants a sports car, a convertible, a big truck, whatever, but that doesn’t mean they should get one. I’m saying this even if you’re rich and have the money, and even if your teen has a job and can pay the monthly car note. When I was working my first job, one of my co workers was 16 and had just started buying a car from his dad. It was a big truck, and a new one, but all of his check went to it, almost. Guess what happened the first night he drove that car?
He crashed it. Yep, and then they had to file an insurance claim. I want you to think about the fact that kids are more likely to wreck cars, so you don’t want to spend too much money on them. Also, flashy cars are more encouraging of irresponsible behavior. On top of all that, the more expensive and dangerous the car, the higher your insurance premium will be.
- Share the burden.
Your kid is the one that’s making your insurance premium so high, so why shouldn’t they contribute? You can get them to do this by requiring them to pay part of the premium with proceeds from their job, or by having them do extra chores around the house. Whatever works for you.
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