When your teenager gets his or her driver's license, you will need to add him or her to your auto insurance policy if the teen will be driving. Auto insurance coverage for teens can be expensive, simply because teens are considered inexperienced drivers, and this causes insurance companies to classify them as high-risk drivers. Here are several tips to help you save some money when you add your teen to your policy.

Don't Buy the Teen a Car

One of the best ways to save money on auto insurance is by not purchasing a car for the teen. When you buy another car, your insurance will automatically increase, simply because you are insuring one more vehicle. Instead of doing this, you may want to consider letting the teen use your car for a while. While you will still have to add the teen to your insurance policy, your rates shouldn't increase a lot because you are not adding another vehicle to your policy.

If You Buy a Car, Buy a Cheap One

If you do not have an extra car for the teen to drive, you might decide to buy him or her a car to use. If you do this, you should avoid buying an expensive car. Insurance rates cost more for cars that are worth more money, and rates are also higher if you need full-coverage insurance. If you can pay cash for a used, cheap car, you could get by with carrying liability-only coverage on the car, and this will cost a lot less than full-coverage insurance.

Correlate Driving Privileges With Grades

Many insurance companies will give teen drivers a discount on their policies they have good grades, and they will require turning in report cards to prove this. Students who do well in school tend to be less risky when driving, and this is why insurance companies give discounts.

As a parent, you can set up rules for your teen's driving privileges, and one great place to start with this is with his or her grades. You could tell your teen that he or she will only be allowed to drive if he or she does well in school. You could set particular standards if you want, such as he or she must get all A's and B's. By doing this, your teen may work harder on school work to earn driving privileges, and you would pay less for insurance.

If you would like a quote to add your teen to your insurance policy, contact an auto insurance company today.