About now you are probably regretting that decision you made, sixteen or so years ago, to have children. It is hard to remember all those great reasons that lead you to the parenting experience as you sit and look at how your auto insurance premium has suddenly mushroomed. There is nothing in any of the popular parenting handbooks to help you handle this new reality. It is bad enough that you have to scramble to get a car on the weekend but now you may actually have to get a second job!

How do you survive having a teenage driver in the house? Don’t look to your insurance company for a rational solution because they would prefer that your teen driver not drive at all! After all, they have the statistics to back them up. As with anything else, there are many options to this dilemma, none of them very good.

The obvious “solution” is to acquire another vehicle. This can be a great excuse to get that snappy little roadster you have had your eye on since you were junior’s age. You will get a pretty good insurance rate on the new car, since you are older and have a clean driving record. This leaves the much older family fliver available for your teen’s exclusive use. That is where they get you! By having one car available for your teen at all times he or she can no longer be classified as a “part-time” driver. Now you not only have a “Teen” driver, you have a ”full-time teen” driver with a much higher rate! Even if you forget about the new car and buy junior a clunker you are in the same boat.

If you happen to have a daughter rather than a son, you can get a bit of a break. Girls, generally, are considered by most auto insurance companies a better risk. The savings won’t be much so don’t start thinking about that sports car again. There is really not much to be done here especially if you think your boy would object to standing in line at the Driver’s License Bureau wearing a dress.

It may be possible to lower your teen’s insurance premium over time with a demonstrated good driving record. This is a risky approach to take (remember those insurance company statistics) if you are looking to maximize your savings. You will have to be proactive to successfully pull this off. A creative parent will always be able to counter a teen’s request to use the car with a compelling reason why the parent needs the car more urgently. This may require said parent to make a vast number of unnecessary trips out in the car but the potential savings on insurance rates may make up for the inconvenience. Less creative parents will be forced to employ more extreme measures like hiding the car and claiming that it has been stolen or tying the child to his bed.

Even the old car insurance tricks like increasing your collision deductible and dropping comprehensive coverage can backfire on you in this situation. After all, you are dealing with an inexperienced teen driver. Once again, those auto insurance company statistics come charging back to rain on your parade! If you don’t pay the insurance man, you’ll pay Al at the body shop!

All you are left with are your hopes and wishes. You can hope your teen obeys the rules of the road, pays attention, and comes home safely. You can wish that on that one cold night many years ago when you and your spouse snuggled into bed that you’d watched Letterman instead!