I’ve saved and scrimped enough money to buy myself a beat-up, second hand car. It’s not the prettiest sight around, but it’ll get me around town when I need to. I expected the insurance to be cheaper, since I’m going to get a cheap car, but my agent offered me a premium that’s higher than what I expected. He said something about risks in car insurance for young drivers. What does that mean?

Mikey

Cheyenne, WY

Car insurance for young drivers has a higher premium exactly because the driver is young. Research concerning this has shows that there is a correlation between age and the risk of getting in an accident. Though the exact reasons why are not established by research, there is a relationship between age and risk.

All this techno-babble simply means that younger drivers tend to get into accidents more than older ones. Whether it’s inexperience in driving, aggressiveness in driving, or the simple horsing around that frat-boys love to do, younger drivers are more prone to accidents. That’s why car insurance for young drivers is a bit more expensive than car insurance for older drivers.

If you want solid proof about all this talk on research, then feel free to ask your insurance agent how exactly your insurance quote was computed. The researches that cover the topic of risk-assessment for young drivers are usually locked up in libraries or the private records of insurance companies, so you’ll have to dig a little deep to find them.