The premium on my personal umbrella policy went through the roof in the halfway through my policy term. My insurance agent says it’s because we added a teen driver. This seems unfair seeing as how our daughter is a good student and is covered by our car policy.
Umbrella coverage works together with your home and car insurance. For example, if you are in a car accident and badly hurt or kill another person, you can certainly exhaust the bodily injury limits of your car policy. When that happens, your umbrella policy steps in and pays the extra expense you incur, up to the umbrella limit (often $1 million).
As a group, teenagers have the greatest accident rate of any driver, and car accidents are the most common cause of teen deaths. There are many causes for these grim numbers: teens are more inexperienced drivers, participate in riskier behaviors and are easily distracted by cell phones, mp3 players etc. There are certainly precautions you can take to keep your daughter safe in her car. If your state doesn’t restrict cell phone use and texting while driving or impose curfews and passenger limits for young drivers, you can set limits on those activities yourself.
With time and a good driving record, your teen’s car and umbrella insurance premiums will decrease. Meanwhile, you can get a cheaper inclusive rate for your family’s insurance by purchasing your home, car and umbrella coverage from the same insurance agency. Also ask about good student and other appropriate discounts. Increasing your home and/or car deductibles is another way to make insurance more affordable.
Make sure you’re covered with Chicago Auto Insurance from Oxford Auto Insurance today.
