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There's a reason your auto insurance rates went flying up after your teenager got their license. Studies show that teens are (statistically speaking) more than 60% more likely to be in an accident than their parents. Since your auto insurance company is going to be the one to pick up the repair costs after they've wiped out the family Volkswagon it makes sense that they'd start thinking about increasing your rates to cover the cost of your claims-just like it makes sense that you'd be thinking about how to convince them not to!
It's important to understand that while your auto insurance company absolutely, positively wants to do what's best for you in terms of your insurance coverage, they also have to worry about little things like staying in business! If they're paying out more in claims than they're bringing in in premiums they're not going to be able to stay in business very long. That means that drivers who are more likely to need to file auto insurance claims are going to end up paying more for their coverage.
But you have a teenage driver in the house, so you already knew that.
What you might not have known is that if you have a good driving record you may be eligible for accident forgiveness-and, by default, your teenager. See, it's entirely possible for a driver to maintain a flawless driving record for thirty years or more and just find themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time. Perfectly understandable, right?
The problem is, even if you've been carrying that flawless driving record studies show that auto insurance companies will, on average, still raise your auto insurance rates by up to 40%. 40%! That's almost half again what you're paying right now, which probably already feels like it's too much (but that's another story altogether). When you add that on to what you're already paying to insure your teen it's easy to see why the number of uninsured drivers on the highways is slowly but surely reaching a record high.
Accident forgiveness is among the new(er) gimmicks being used by auto insurance companies to drum up business, and what it basically says is that since just about anyone can have an accident for just about any reason, they're going to give you a second chance. You'll either see absolutely no change whatsoever in your auto insurance rates (which is common if you have a company that charges you for accident forgiveness protection) or they'll still raise your rates, but only by a little bit. Either one is much, much better than watching your insurance rates continue to climb.
Some companies will extend accident forgiveness to your teen based on your driving record, since you share the same policy. If you have a five year good driving record and don't know whether or not your teen qualifies for accident forgiveness, pick up the phone and dial your insurance agent. You've got nothing to lose, and absolutely everything to gain.