GEICO Offers Teens Tips on Lowering Auto Insurance

[igor@af]

WASHINGTON, July 10 -- You have to keep your eye on the big
things when a teenager starts to drive like making sure they drive safely.
But parents and teens also have to watch the little things to save money on
insurance premiums.
GEICO has some recommendations that could help the family budget.

* Discounts for driver training programs
A number of auto insurers provide discounts for students who
complete driver's training. Discounts vary, so comparison shop for
the best rate.

* Good student discounts
Good grades could add up to sizeable savings. Students with a B
average or academic honors may qualify for a 10-15 percent discount.
Traffic offenses will nullify a good student discount, so drive
safely.

Teens should start slow
* New drivers need to approach driving gradually and deliberately.
Limited use of the family vehicle is the best way to gain experience
and maintain or control costs. New drivers should not have unlimited
access to vehicles until they have become more experienced behind
the wheel.

* Consider the type of car
Young drivers are inexperienced and should never be allowed to drive
high performance cars. Keep in mind, too, that insurance costs are
less on more conventional vehicles.

* Get a quote before you buy
Insurance costs vary by age and type of vehicle. It's always good
advice to call for a quote or get one online at http://www.GEICO.com before
you buy any vehicle.

* Review your deductible
Increasing deductibles, which results in sharing a greater portion
of any comprehensive or collision loss, can favorably reduce auto
insurance premiums. Check to find out exactly how much is saved by
increasing the deductible from, say, $200 to $500 or even $1,000.

* Drop some coverage
Consider dropping collision and comprehensive coverage for an older
car. Because collision and comprehensive covers only the car's
replacement value, the older the car, the less valuable this
coverage may become to you.

* Safety. Safety. Safety.
The best way to cut teen auto insurance costs is to teach young
drivers to drive safely and become experienced gradually. Because
young drivers are the least experienced, more fatal accidents occur
in this driving group. Premiums reflect this overall driving
behavior.

GEICO offers these teen safe driving tips:

* Limit night driving. Many teen car crashes take place between
9 p.m. and 12 midnight. Beginning drivers should be restricted
to driving during daylight hours initially.

* Restrict passengers. Having more passengers in a car may
increase the chance of greater risk-taking, because of greater
peer pressure and because it leads to greater distractions.

* Keep it slow and safe for starters. Remember that teens need
to stay away from fast-moving, high volumes of traffic until
they feel comfortable in such situations.

* Be firm about safety belt use. Require that your teenagers
wear safety belts at all times -- no exceptions.

* Discuss realistic consequences of drug and alcohol use. Let
them hear it from you that alcohol and drug use is totally
unacceptable when driving.

GEICO offers a set of free teen safe driving materials under the name of
"Can I Borrow the Car?" For more information, please go to the GEICO Web
site: http://www.geico.com and open the link to the GEICO Information Center.



SOURCE GEICO
Web Site: http://www.geico.com