Car Insurance Premiums Can Go Up and Down Throughout a Person's Life

There are several events that can occur during a person’s lifetime which will affect how much is paid for car insurance premiums. The first milestone is obtaining a driver’s license during the teenage years. The second is getting married, and the others are becoming widowed or divorced, and retirement.

Getting a Driver’s License

Most teenagers count the days until they are old enough to obtain a valid driver’s license. They beg their parents to teach them how to drive, they enviously watch their peers who already have driver’s licenses and cars, and they mark the days on a calendar... waiting for the big day to arrive. When it finally does, the parents of the teenagers must immediately call their insurance agent and add their teenager to their car insurance policy. Parents may be aware that their insurance rates will rise after a teenager is added to the policy, but many do not realize how high the rates will go with another driver in the home. Rates can go to their highest level if that teenager is given (or purchases) his or her own car. Unfortunately, there are only a few ways to help parents lower their car insurance rates when they have teenage drivers. One of those ways is to encourage the teenager to maintain a certain grade point average in school. Many car insurance companies will offer “good student” discounts.

Getting Married

The next milestone in a person’s life related to car insurance is when there is a marriage. Getting married can really lower car insurance rates.Because many insurance companies are willing to offer discounts to people who insure multiple cars under the same policy, getting married and combining policies can save money! Getting married usually means more expenses for the new couple… a honeymoon, possibly buying a home, furniture, and maybe a baby in the near future. While lots of money can be spent quickly when a couple is first married, it only makes sense to try and save a little bit on car insurance.

Getting Divorced or Becoming a Widow

When a couple gets divorced, or one of them passes away, it’s a traumatic experience. Unfortunately, once the trauma and tears have become easier to handle, a person must re-evaluate their entire financial situation. Car insurance is something that also must be examined. Modifications to the existing car insurance policy must be made. While discounts are given to married couples, they are not given to divorced people or widows because living alone means that there will only be one full-time driver living in the house. This can mean higher insurance rates.

Retirement

When a person finally reaches retirement age, there are many benefits! Not only is this a period of time in a person’s life that may be more relaxing, but there is also money to be saved on car insurance. Because retired people tend to drive less frequently, there can be a significant drop in the cost of insurance coverage. In addition, many retired people can obtain special rates or incentives through a number of non-profit organizations dedicated to serving those in the retirement age-range.