Drivers are getting a bit desperate.
In the face of auto insurance price hikes of over 50 percent in the last three years, it’s tempting to push boundaries when seeking lower annual premiums.
Last month, Jerry, a digital insurance broker, published survey results showing that 17 percent of respondents were more likely to give insurers false information now that insurance costs were so much higher. Seven percent had done so already in the last 12 months.
Parents of new drivers are fed up with annual bills that can top $20,000, as I chronicled last week. And some of them have written in to test two money-saving tactics.
The first suggestion was simply not to tell your insurance company about a newly licensed teenager, under the theory that in the event of an accident, the insurance company would cover the kid anyway.
The second was to put a car in the teenager’s name and have the new driver get a policy, which would presumably be cheaper.
So, what would happen if you tried these strategies?
Should you list your teenage driver on your insurance policy?
Yes, you should.
Reader confusion over this matter may come from the fact that you are allowed to lend your car out, and your coverage would generally follow the car (though the insurance of the driver you lent it to, if any, might also be in play in the event of an accident).
