Many parents in Tennessee suffer rate shock when they try to add a teenage child to their automobile insurance policy. The average policy price increase is 84 percent when an individual attempts to add a teenager to their insurance, which translates into an additional $2,000 a year. This drastic rate hike is due to the fact that teenagers are some of the riskiest drivers to insure because they are so liable to be involved in a car accident.
Teenagers obviously do not have the experience behind the wheel that comes from years of driving, and they can be easily distracted. Even if a teenager is a contentious driver, they may not have the skills necessary to avoid an accident. One of the reasons that insurance companies charge so much when teenagers are added to a policy is because, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number one cause of death in 2010 for those between the ages of 15 and 25 was automobile crashes.
Fatalities for young adults are so frequent that they account for almost as many deaths as the next two most common causes of death combined. The rate of automobile death for young people has been declining steadily for the last several decades due to stricter vehicle safety regulations and improved drivers’ ed courses, but teenagers are still often the most dangerous drivers on the road.
Car crashes can lead to major injuries, extensive damage to vehicles and sometimes even death. If someone has been harmed in a car accident caused by a careless driver, they may be owed compensation. A lawyer could explain a victim’s options for legal recourse.
Source: Market Watch, “Yet one more reason not to let your teenager get behind the wheel of the family car: It will cost you a trunkload.“, Jennifer Waters, July 11, 2013