Empty Nester? It's Time to Review Your Auto Insurance

How does a new stage in life affect your insurance policies? Empty nesters have different needs than parents with young children at home - and this includes how they shop for auto insurance. If you haven't reviewed your car insurance, take a look at the questions you need to ask as your children become independent adults.

Did You Make Changes When Your Child Started Driving?

When your child turned 16 and got their driving license, you made an obvious auto insurance change. You added your child to your existing policy, increasing the coverage and costs. Along with adding your child to your insurance, it's likely that you made other changes to protect your teen, your family, and other drivers.

Common changes parents make when adding a new teen driver include:

• Raising the deductible. A higher deductible often equals lower premium prices. This change can offset the higher price of adding a teen driver.
• Lowering the deductible. The lower the deductible, the less you'll pay out-of-pocket in the event of an accident. Some parents would rather pay more for a premium and less in repair costs (if their teen has an auto incident or accident).
• Increasing liability insurance. This coverage protects your family if your teen is at fault for an accident.

Reviewing these changes with your insurance agent is the first step to making sure your current policy meets your needs and isn't costing you in unnecessary add-ons.

Does Your Child Need Insurance?

Teens who live at home fulltime or part of the year and use the family car need insurance. As your child moves into adulthood, their life and insurance needs change. There are several scenarios that make it possible, or necessary, to remove your child from your policy. These include:

• No longer driving. When your young adult child moves away, they may or may not drive. Moving to a busy city or starting off in a low-paying job may equal trading the car for the bus or subway.
• Buying their own insurance. Your now-adult child is taking on more responsibilities. They can now research, shop for, and buy their own auto insurance. If they pay their own premiums for their own policy, you don't need to continue paying for them on yours.
• Moving away permanently. There's a difference between your teen leaving for college and leaving for good. Whether your adult child moves across the street or across the country, they don't need your insurance if they're no longer driving your car.
• Not a dependent. If your child is no longer a dependent, they may not qualify to stay on your

Talk to your insurance agent and review these changes. If you're not sure whether your now-adult child should remain on your policy, the expert can provide the advice you need.

Is Your Child in College?

While your child has technically left home, if your college-bound kid isn't a full-time resident of their new town, they may still need to stay on your policy. But that doesn't mean you can't make changes to your insurance or save on premium prices.

The choice whether to insure your child or not is yours. If you want to save money, you can ask your college-aged child to pay for their own policy. But if your child isn't working or is paying their way through school, talk to your agent about ways to lower your premium while keeping the entire family on one policy.

It's possible that part-time residence status, your child's increasing age, a good driving record, or other factors may reduce your overall costs.

Do you need a new auto insurance policy? Contact Coastcomp Insurance Agency for more information.