# You want HOW MUCH to put my kids on my car insurance!? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 24, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590 "2013-04-24T14:26:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590/21 "2013-04-24T17:32:26Z")
> [@Running\_with\_Scissors](#): > > We actually have an old car set aside (and the potential to get another cheap from a family member) for them but haven’t bothered insuring it yet because of the above costs. I don’t think you can just add them to a single car on the policy, it’s all or nothing (someone feel free to correct me if this is wrong). > > This is with GEICO, a company that prides itself on low rates. If you list them as the primary driver of one car, they’ll have _less_ of an effect on the rates for the other cars. And you may do better if they get their own policy from someone other than GEICO (which would also mean the rates for your cars arent’t affected at all)- one of the reasons GEICO has a reputation for low rates is that they are choosy about who they insure. It wouldn’t surprise me if they quoted high rates to scare you away. Get quotes from other companies on the old car, liability only. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590/22 "2013-04-24T17:48:13Z")
Check for better rates, and consider whether it’s necessary for them to have driver’s licenses at this point. Sure, it’s nice, but if it’s not necessary it might be a good time for a life lesson as to cost vs rewards; let them pick up the tab. 😉 Edit to add: I didn’t get my license until I was 26, 'cause that was when I got my first car. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590/23 "2013-04-24T17:53:10Z")
Flip a coin, and put ONE of the twins on insurance. Whenever the other twin needs to go somewhere, swap wallets. How much trouble could all of you get in? ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590/24 "2013-04-24T17:54:33Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Flip a coin, and put ONE of the twins on insurance. Whenever the other twin needs to go somewhere, swap wallets. :smack: Why didn’t I think of that? You gave me a laugh, though for the record they look nothing alike. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590/25 "2013-04-24T18:15:48Z")
> [@Running\_with\_Scissors](#): > > Since then we haven’t been able to let them drive, since to put them on our insurance would cost $5400 :eek: EACH, per year, and (here’s the kicker) they’d have to stay on our policy the entire time they’re in college. By “have to” do you mean that you would be doing this or did Geico actually say that? > [@Running\_with\_Scissors](#): > > Getting them their own policy would cost even more, $6400 each (that would be in “assigned risk”). What did this policy include? Full Comp and Coll or was it just liability and PIP? There are a lot, I mean a LOT, of variables to insuring them. Let me go through some of them (which may seem repetitive of previous posters). Different insurance companies have different rates and what may work for you, might not work for them, or someone in a different state…etc. But here are some ways to bring the premium down. 1. Increase your Comp and Collision (PD) deductibles. 2. Get rid of all PD coverage and go for liability and PIP (mandatory in NY State) 3. Buy them their own car and insure it separately with liability and PIP only. 4. Make sure that they are getting the good grade discount. 5. Defensive driving courses will help. 6. ABSOLUTELY no moving violations or accidents 7. Find out what type of coverage you have on the vehicles now (if you got in an accident, are you made whole for your damages or do you get a new replacement?) 8. Shop around and around and around. You’ll get tired of this, but it really doesn’t hurt. 9. If you can, get USAA insurance. I’m an insurance underwriter\* for a different company and have worked there for the last 14 years. I buy my insurance from USAA. Yes, they’re that good and they’re that cheap. 10. City/State/Zip code all have effects on coverage and prices. Keep that in mind if they will be garaging a vehicle away from your residence. I’m sure there are some more I’m not thinking of (\*I’m in business insurance and don’t deal much with auto much less personal auto-IOW, I won’t write teenagers). ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590/26 "2013-04-24T18:46:10Z")
> [@Taomist](#): > > Check for better rates, and consider whether it’s necessary for them to have driver’s licenses at this point. Sure, it’s nice, but if it’s not necessary it might be a good time for a life lesson as to cost vs rewards; let them pick up the tab. 😉 My car insurance went up a little bit when my daughter turned 16. The agent explained that the increase was tied to her age, not her license or lack of one. Keep in mind that insurance varies by state. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590/27 "2013-04-24T18:47:52Z")
Crafter - Most of my friends have college-age children, and I don’t know anyone who would purposefully send their children to a lesser school, or deny their child the best they could possibly afford. I do know one family in which a child declared independence in order to get higher grants/loans, and I see nothing wrong with that. But to not help if you can?!? To the OP, a lot of people don’t realize how much credit rating affects our Insurance rates. You may wish to get each son a credit card in his name, and have them put any monthly expenses you’d normally cover on it. You take charge of paying it and making sure it’s kept up to date, carrying $100 or so in balance. You won’t believe how money this simple step can save you and your children over a lifetime! And no, this is not spam from a credit card salesperson. It’s wisdom from a 40-odd-year-old who was taught to avoid using credit at any cost. Big. mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590/28 "2013-04-24T19:05:50Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > To the OP, a lot of people don’t realize how much credit rating affects our Insurance rates. You may wish to get each son a credit card in his name, and have them put any monthly expenses you’d normally cover on it. You take charge of paying it and making sure it’s kept up to date, carrying $100 or so in balance. > > You won’t believe how money this simple step can save you and your children over a lifetime! > > And no, this is not spam from a credit card salesperson. It’s wisdom from a 40-odd-year-old who was taught to avoid using credit at any cost. Big. mistake. My wife and I both have excellent credit, are huge users of credit cards (especially reward cards), we never carry a balance, and we have already given our kids credit cards to use in lieu of a weekly allowance (although we of course restrict how much they can spend). Not sure how this will help insurance rates, though. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590/29 "2013-04-24T19:09:52Z")
Up here in the Great White North, you must be insured on at least one of the vehicles in the household but only need to be insured on one. Back when my parents put me on their insurance (20 years ago) it was 20 bucks a month (I had to pay it). Mind you, I am a girl and it was an 8 year old sedan. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590/30 "2013-04-24T19:11:36Z")
> [@Running\_with\_Scissors](#): > > My wife and I both have excellent credit, are huge users of credit cards (especially reward cards), we never carry a balance, and we have already given our kids credit cards to use in lieu of a weekly allowance (although we of course restrict how much they can spend). Not sure how this will help insurance rates, though. Already covered then. They do take this into account, and bad or no credit greatly increases premiums. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590/31 "2013-04-24T19:44:53Z")
Holy crap. My wife and I pay $1260 per year for the both of us on our two cars (both 2008 Nissans), for full coverage (collision, liability, comprehensive), with a $300 deductible on collision and a $50 deductible on comprehensive. I think I’d crap a brick if someone told me to pay $5K a year for insurance. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590/32 "2013-04-24T19:56:11Z")
> [@Jman](#): > > Holy crap. My wife and I pay $1260 per year for the both of us on our two cars (both 2008 Nissans), for full coverage (collision, liability, comprehensive), with a $300 deductible on collision and a $50 deductible on comprehensive. > > I think I’d crap a brick if someone told me to pay $5K a year for insurance. Dang, what State are you in? 'Cause I want to move there! ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590/33 "2013-04-24T20:09:57Z")
Ohio, with USAA. I’m sure USAA’s prices are a little lower than what most insurance companies would be, but it’s always been low for me. I paid almost the same when we were living in Germany. Of course, I’ve never had an accident in 19 years of driving, nor a moving violation, and my wife’s only had one minor rear-ending incident, which was $2500 to repair (we paid the $300 deductible). Though our rates didn’t change after my wife’s little accident. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590/34 "2013-04-24T20:11:11Z")
> [@Running\_with\_Scissors](#): > > I possibly exaggerated there a bit, we can afford to send them to the colleges they’ve chosen without having to modify our day-to-day living expenses, but it doesn’t leave us much in the way of extra cash flow (our retirement accounts are still being funded, no worries there). Having put two kids through good colleges, I assure you that you are doing the right thing. I’d say more but that would be bragging. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590/35 "2013-04-24T20:26:19Z")
> [@Running\_with\_Scissors](#): > > We actually have an old car set aside (and the potential to get another cheap from a family member) for them but haven’t bothered insuring it yet because of the above costs. I don’t think you can just add them to a single car on the policy, it’s all or nothing (someone feel free to correct me if this is wrong). > > This is with GEICO, a company that prides itself on low rates. When I was in P&C insurance the company I worked with had each driver assigned to a “primary” vehicle. If your son is driving an old beater to and from school every day that is his primary car and he would be priced accordingly, even if you had a 67 Corvette in your garage. Not every company will do it this way but there are some out there that do so it is worth you checking with multiple companies for prices. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590/36 "2013-04-24T23:15:33Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > For just a little bit more you could purchase and maintain a coupla horses. For the kids, or instead of the kids? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590/37 "2013-04-24T23:23:44Z")
Check out the Auto Club for their membership rates and insurance rates. I think they have a reputation for being very competitively priced, and also fairly customer-friendly when you have a claim. Don’t know how uniformly that may be so in all states, though. Every state has its own AAA-affiliated club, and their own policies. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590/38 "2013-04-24T23:27:25Z")
Don’t shop around for insurance companies. Go to an insurance broker and let them shop your insurance needs to any/all insurance companies. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590/39 "2013-04-24T23:49:57Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Crafter - Most of my friends have college-age children, and I don’t know anyone who would purposefully send their children to a lesser school, or deny their child the best they could possibly afford. I do know one family in which a child declared independence in order to get higher grants/loans, and I see nothing wrong with that. But to not help if you can?!? My parents didn’t send any of their children to college. Their (adult) children sent themselves. I think it is wonderful that parents nowadays help their kids succeed way past the age of majority. But it is no great travesty for parents to let college financing be the their kid’s first task of adulthood. Especially if the parents are also expected to pick up other expenses. There is also nothing wrong with selecting a less pricier school if it makes for a less precarious existence. In fact, it is a wise decision given how burdensome school loans are and how iffy the job market is. My father let out a hurricane-sized sigh of relief when my twin and I chose a public university where we had a full ride versus the expensive Ivy we had set up as our “dream” school. We may have been able to pull it off there, through a combination of loans, savings, and small scholarships, but it would have been quite stressful for all of us. Nothing says “Welcome to adulthood” better than making do with the most practical options. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590/40 "2013-04-25T13:01:18Z")
$5400 each seems pretty high. I pay about $3000 a year for my youngest son (23). He drives an old car, we have a high deductable and all kinds of discounts for multiple policies, good grades, no accidents. I think the insurance companies assume, perhaps correctly, that every male child will demolish a car at some point before he reaches 25. Between the ages of 16 and 25 (when the rates go down) we will have spent something like $30,000 for insurance for each of my sons. Basically the price of a very nice car. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-how-much-to-put-my-kids-on-my-car-insurance/656590.md?page=3)