Does car insurance for permit drivers exist? This is a question that troubles many people. We’ve got the answer.
If you’re a driver, you know and understand that car insurance is a legal requirement and a mandatory expense. How do you handle the unique situation where you or your loved one, such as your teen child, is a driver who isn’t fully licensed yet?
Getting car insurance without a valid driver’s license can be challenging, but there are some options. One option is car insurance for permit drivers.
What Is Car Insurance For Permit Drivers?
Having a recognized, valid driver’s license is an essential step toward obtaining car insurance. With your driver’s license, insurance companies can access and assess your details, including your driving record, to predict your risk levels and insurance premium rates. What if you don’t have a driver’s license? This is where a driver’s permit comes in.
A driver’s permit or a learner’s permit is a restricted license. It is held by a person who is learning to drive but who has not yet satisfied the essential prerequisites to obtain a valid driver’s license.
Permit drivers also need insurance. Insurance for permit drivers is dependent on the car they’re driving. Because, in most cases, permit drivers are teens living with their parents and driving their parents’ cars. Their parents’ insurance policy ordinarily covers them. This means they don’t need to purchase their own insurance policy.
However, most insurance providers will take a different approach to permit drivers. Some insurers have provisions within the parent’s policy to cover permit drivers. Other providers require anyone who has reached the driving age (including permit drivers or those without a driver’s license) to be added to the insurance policy as an included or excluded.
Usually, the insurance companies that accept permit drivers extend the parents’ policies to include the children with driving permits. This allows parents to extend their policies to include insurance for permit drivers without buying a new policy for their children with a permit driver’s license.
Note: It is essential to contact your insurance agent and notify them that someone on your policy has a permit driver’s license and will be driving your car. This will allow you to understand how the provider handles car insurance for permit drivers. Failing to notify the provider or properly listing drivers as your provider requires, may lead you to pay out of pocket in the event of damage after an accident.
Does Adding A Permit Driver Affect Your Car Insurance Rates?
Adding another driver almost always increases your car insurance premium rates. Adding a permit driver on your policy will see a significant increase in your rates.
There is also a difference between adding a teen boy and a teen girl. Most insurers add more rates when you include a teen boy than a teen girl. However, the size of the increase often varies by insurance provider and state.
It is important to shop around and compare premium rates before committing to one. Also note that insurers often offer discounts under different conditions, including:
- Bundling insurance
- Safe driving
- Having cars deemed safe, e.g., cars with trackers
- Adding other cars to your insurance plan, etc.
While you may access dozens of discounts, you may be exposed to a plan without discounts if you add a permit driver. To access discounts when your policy has a permit driver, here are some ways to lower your rates include:
- Show proof that your permit driver has good grades at school, e.g., a 3.0 or higher college GPA. Insurance companies often reward good grades.
- Driving classes: Enrolling the permit driver in driver safety classes is an excess of minimum requirements. This kind of discount often depends on state law.
- Equip your car with anti-theft or tracking devices and share it with insurance companies. This is proof that you’re a safe driver, and your vehicle is safe and worthy of a lower rate.
Is there A Special Insurance For Permit Drivers
There is no legally recognized special insurance for permit drivers. Insurance for permit drivers is usually an arrangement between the insurance agent or company and the policyholder.
The issuer will discuss with you what to expect if you include a permit driver on your policy. They will also tell you if there are any possible discounts once the permit driver gets a driver’s license and becomes eligible as a licensed driver with a car insurance policy.
Because drivers under 25 years of age face higher premiums, adding your teenage permit driver to the family car policy will help you (and them) save money. This is because the provider may grant you access to insurance on the terms of multi-driver discounts.
Can One Buy Insurance For Permit Drivers Alone?
The common way to permit drivers to get insurance is to add them to a family policy. But this isn’t the only approach. It is possible to purchase a stand alone insurance for permit drivers.
However, to buy insurance for permit drivers, you will need a special arrangement with your insurance provider. The advantage is that once you obtain the insurance policy for permit drivers, most states allow you to use it to also purchase and register a car — even if you’re 16 years old.
However, this apparent good deal comes at a cost. Most insurance companies charge higher premium rates for teen drivers, and this cost increases when the insurance is for permit drivers.
This is why the best thing to do to lower insurance expenses as a permit driver is to stay on the parents’ policy.
What If You Are Not Living With Your Parents?
Insurers understand that not all permit drivers drive their parents’ cars or live with their parents. Many people learn how to drive later in life and are not eligible to be added to their parent’s policy.
In this case, the permit driver’s options are to get insurance for permit drivers under permit drivers living with a spouse or significant other. But this kind of plan also has certain important points that you need to note:
- Married couples can get better deals than unmarried couples.
- Unmarried couples receive higher rates when they add a permit driver to the policy.
Before obtaining this kind of policy, ensure you reach out to your insurance agent or company and understand the available options.
If you completely live alone and you’re a permit driver, there may be challenges in finding an insurance provider that will cover you. You may not even get coverage under insurance for permit drivers until you get a license.
Most large insurance companies do not offer insurance for permit drivers. This leaves you with an option to contact small local insurance providers. You can talk to an insurance agent and explain your situation. The agent may help you get an insurer to cover you, but you’ll likely pay more.
Wrapping Up
Permit drivers are always excited to get behind the wheel. However, it is important first to consider obtaining car insurance coverage. As a policyholder, you need first to consider insurance for permit drivers as an addition to your current policy. But before making any purchase, your need to first talk to your insurance agent or provider to understand their options and eligibility criteria.