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Slideshare - UNinsure Your Teen Driver - A Parent's Survival Guide

2 minute Slideshare on why not to insure your (insane) teen driver.

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Notes: How do you survive teen driving (Hint: Bankruptcy is a final option).

Teens are insanely risky drivers. I was one once. I even had a really fast motorcycle, a Yamaha VMax. Nearly killed myself a handful of times. Real jackass stuff.

Anyway, there are many reasons to UN-insure your teen driver. Say they start driving at 16 and you place them on your car insurance policy. Your policy can be canceled if your teen has a DUI, multiple tickets, or serious accidents (death or injury). Those claims could follow you around for between 3-10 years or longer if you end up having judgements renewed against you. Bad things happen to good peeps.

I know reckless driving and drinking is against the rules. Most parents would like to think their innocent baby / teen would never do that, but the fact is teens don't think, esp. about the ramifications to others. Like pets, teens are very much in the now (only).

In fact, the risk of crash per mile driven is 300% higher with a 17 year old versus a 65 year old. And legal expenses and fines are outta control. Say your teen crashes, and causes serious injuries. Depending on the circumstances, there could be a civil AND a criminal trial. Just the legal on two separate trials could be gynormous. And the civil side could have multiple plaintiffs, even multiple trials. Real scary stuff.

In California, you're financially responsible for your teen until they turn 18, unless they are still in school (then 19).

Emancipation, not just for Lincoln

Emancipation is a great way to eliminate financial responsibility for your outta control teen.

If you can get them into the military before age 18, they become property of the US government.

Marriage is another way to avoid wage garnishment, home seizure and emptying your retirement if your teen kills someone.

The teen could also petition the judge to be come emancipated, but they have to demonstrate a legal way of supporting themselves. And medical marijuana sales won't work.

And if there is any fraud discovered, a judge could make you legally financially responsible for the teen again.

Your insurer may request you sign a driver exclusion form for your teen, esp. if they get into an accident or acquire tickets. Sometimes the insurer will outright cancel the policy. They are that scared of teen drivers.

The longer you make teens wait, the better off for all parties. It sucks they will have to be bumming rides and using favors, but those couple years they don't drive will help them really appreciate the privilege. And they will build their relationships with peers bugging them to be picked up.

Do the math

If it cost your teen $3,000 per year for insurance, you wait until they're 18, you just saved them $6,000. And not even a thank you!

In my own life, I've had a lack of care over what others gave me. Yet when I bought something with cash, I treated it much better. Maybe that's just immature, since maturity is not an age. You know by now, hand a teen something and see how they treat it. Extreme irreverence.

If they are paying for their own car insurance, they MIGHT drive a little slower and slightly safer. In fact, the majority of teen accidents are caused by speed 30% and driver error. Inexperience. Surprisingly very few are caused by drugs and alcohol. Still, auto crashes are the #1 killer of teens. I'm not just trying to be a downer. Every year, 5,000 teens (16 to 20) die in car accidents.

Having a teen driver is like conducting a clinical trial, you cross our fingers and hope no one dies. Which leads me to accidental death insurance. Really cheap stuff. Your teen may have to be 18 to get it, depending on the company. But the death must be ruled an accident, a suicide or while committing a crime may not be covered. Pretty morbid stuff. Real reality.

There are California Car Insurance Alternatives:

• A cash deposit of $35,000 with the DMV
• A surety bond for $35,000 from a company licensed with California.
• A DMV issued self-insured certificate

No one really puts up a cash deposit or buys a surety bond for driving. Because they don't protect you if someone totals your car. Except for the self-insured certificate, which large corporations use for fleet vehicles.

Keep the death threats in your back pocket until the kids are ready to drive. It's worth saving cause the kids can't do that much damage to themselves or others until the climb into a 2 ton weapon.

Don't do the crime

I tell my kids if I ever EVER catch them doing drugs, I'm calling the police immediately. I refuse to enable that type of behavior. And I regularly search their rooms for contraband. No privacy here, damn straight. And if they do not like it, I refer them to the emancipation section. I love my kids, but cannot support irresponsibility.

Compare to teen drugs and speeding, everything else seems minor.

As far as California driving laws, I do agree with them, they are designed to save lives. And if your teen violates the new driver restrictions, they probably won't be getting their license until 18 anyway.

When teens go to price insurance, they will be shocked. Besides the car, insurance may be their largest expense. And if they start screwing up, it only goes up from there. That's why it's important to drive safe and shop around. Get rates from my site (zip code box at the top). I go into this more on my next presentation, Teen Car Insurance Strategies.

Written by Craig J. Casey

Financial Writer helping people with their insurance problems on the net since 1998.

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