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Teens and car insurance: Who should pay?

Results so far:

Teens
77% 306 votes Total: 396 votes
Parents
23% 90 votes

Young people are more carefree and rarely think of the consequences - either monetary, physical or emotional. They simply see something that attracts them and dive in. In a way it is an admirable, stress free way of looking at life. But as we get older, we tend to become more protective or ourselves and our loved ones and stand back before coming to a decision.
What's this got to do with teenage car insurance? you would be justified in asking. Well, quite a lot actually. A teenager will blindly go out and buy a car without thinking of the running costs, including the insurance premiums. If parents knew they had to pay the high premiums, they would be more inclined to sit their children down and talk to them about the dangers and pitfalls of driving. Granted, it would appear to go over their young charges' heads, but hopefully some seed would be sown. They could also thrash out some sort of agreement with their children - 'you have an accident that is your fault and the car goes'.
The reasons for higher insurance costs for young people are only too apparent. Young people are fearless and believe they are immortal, so they do not think they are going to have an accident because they drive too fast, egged on by their equally foolhardy mates - it never happens to you; as a direct results and because of lack of experience, the accident rate among teenagers, particularly boys, is disproportionately higher than any other age group; this results in horrific carnage and waste of life. Higher premiums are supposed to act as a discouragement, but they don't seem to work - all it means is the insurance companies have enough money to pay out the excessive claims from the teenage age group.

Learn more about this author, Phil Hill.
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