Auto insurance for inexperienced drivers

The good news for parents is that getting a license to drive at 16 is no longer the automatic rite of passage it used to be. If we go back to the 1980's, about half all sixteen-year olds applied for licenses on their birthdays. That reduced to less than 30% in 2010. Ignoring the cost problems, the popularity of the internet and hand-held technology means teens can get together virtually. There's not the same pressure to actually meet each other face to face. At a national level, there's also a significant reduction in the number of miles we drive. This is not a recent phenomenon arising from the recession. The vehicle miles traveled has been falling over the last ten years. That's a welcome relief for parents because the death and injury statistics for teens in vehicles is alarming. When you put beginners into situations where there's a high element of danger, it's hardly surprising they make mistakes and injure each other.

To calculate the auto insurance rates, every newly licensed driver is given inexperience points. Should they pick up a ticket or make a claim, there's an increasing chance they will be forced out of the voluntary and into the assigned risk market. This will almost certainly occur if they are caught drunk or affected by drugs. The only way to loose these points is to go through years without a claim.

When a teen has a driving license, the parents must decide whether to add the name to their family policy. If there's any chance the inexperienced driver may drive a family vehicle, failure to insure will be counted as a form of fraud and the policy will be cancelled. But if the teen buys a vehicle in his or her name, a separate policy can be issued. Naturally, it will be more expensive than adding the name to the family policy, but it does teach responsibility to a young driver when the auto insurance rates react so precisely to the way the vehicle is driven.

Cheap Car Rental on the Rise

More people are turning to cheap car rental to meet their transportation needs. Even local residents are using rentals instead of their own cars. Myriad reasons for this have resulted in an increase in car rentals. This trend is expected to continue for a while because of the following factors.

Sluggish Economy

When the economy becomes sluggish people look for cost-saving measures. And one way to achieve those is to give up driving person vehicles and use rentals instead. You can save on repair costs and general maintenance by going this route. Depending on the car, monthly car payments can equal the cost of rent. When you consider that most cars are not in use the majority of the time, this is an expensive proposition. Public transportation is not always an option because it is not available everywhere. However, you can get a rental car practically anywhere.

Fuel Prices

Gas prices continue to rise making it prohibitive for many drivers to use their vehicles beyond required driving. Carpooling is always an option but if everyone involved has larger vehicles or cars that are not fuel-efficient, this may not be a viable cost-saving option. However, if you carpool using a rental car, you have a great opportunity to save money. Everyone can pitch in with the gas and rental fees for savings all around.

Concern for Environment

There is a movement taking place in several countries where people are giving up their cars to protect the environment. The fewer cars on the road, the less carbon emissions will be expelled in the air. While they can walk or bike a certain distance, these individuals still need a vehicle at times to go further distances. Rental cars are ideal in this situation.

Car Enthusiasts

Rental companies that offer sports cars and high-end luxury vehicles offer the perfect solution for car enthusiasts who want to drive different vehicles on a regular basis. Leasing contracts require too much commitment whereas you can rent a car for the weekend. Cheap car rental has many benefits that more people are taking advantage of for a variety of reasons. As people look at different ways to use rental vehicles, it is anticipated that cheap car rental will continue to increase. It is an excellent chance for a rental company to grow its customer base as they meet this new demand for cheap car rental.

How to pay less for insurance: the insurance groups

The theory of buying a new car is always straightforward. You watch Top Gear, see something spectacular, toddle off to the nearest dealer's showroom, plonk down cash and drive away contented. Well, if that's your approach, you're either a company director who gets one of these eye-watering bonuses, or you've never tried to buy and insure a car before. Let's go back to Jeremy Clarkson and his happy band of cartoon-like presenters who often sacrifice intelligent comment for humour. Many of the cars shown are expensive to own and repair. Before you even begin dreaming of buying one of these often sleek speedsters, check which insurance group it belongs to. Remember, you're looking for cheap car insurance.

Until 2010, there were only 20 insurance groups. This reflected a general feeling that insurers could predict the costs of repair with enough accuracy to set premiums. However, following work done by Thatcham, the motor insurance repair research centre, the groupings were expanded to 50. This is now adopted as standard by the Association of British Insurers and Lloyds Market Association. For each group, there's now an estimate of the cost of parts and labour following a crash test at 15 mph. The other factor influenced by Thatcham is vehicle security. This takes account of the locks and any other security features fitted as standard. So the car you would like to buy may be allocated to Group 18 and have an A for an adequate level of security (E shows the security provided exceeds the group expectation, i.e. the car would be shown as a 17E). For obvious reasons, it's unwise to buy a vehicle which has a D or U security classification.

You can benefit from cheap car insurance when the car is in a low group, as a rule. The majority of newly manufactured cars intended for the mass market are within the range 1-20. But do not assume that small underpowered cars will belong to a low group. Some of the Fiat Bravo range are in Group 17, the HGT is in Group 29.