My folks say adding me to theirs is cheaper, but a friend mentioned having your own policy early on builds your insurance history better...idk if that's true tho. Anyone have experience with either option? Curious what worked out better for you guys in the long run.
I was in your shoes a few years back and ended up joining my parents' policy initially because it was significantly cheaper. Honestly, building your own insurance history early does have some merit, but from my experience, the savings from being on a family plan outweighed that benefit. Once I had a stable job and a few years of driving under my belt, switching to my own policy wasn't too costly. Either way, you're thinking about the right things—good luck with whatever you decide!
"Honestly, building your own insurance history early does have some merit, but from my experience, the savings from being on a family plan outweighed that benefit."
Yeah, agreed. I went solo right away because I thought it'd help me build credit or something... didn't really make much difference in the end. One thing though—does anyone know if being on your parents' policy affects their rates significantly if you have an accident? That's something I'd probably consider before deciding.
From what I've seen, yeah, your parents' rates can definitely jump if you're on their policy and have an accident—especially if you're at fault. Happened to my cousin last year, and his folks weren't thrilled. But it depends on the insurer and their accident forgiveness policies. Might wanna check with your parents' insurance directly to see exactly how they'd handle it... better safe than sorry. Has anyone here actually used accident forgiveness before? Curious how well that works in practice.
Yeah, accident forgiveness sounds good on paper, but I've heard mixed things about how it actually plays out. My older brother had it through our parents' policy, and when he got into a minor fender bender, they technically didn't raise the rates right away—but when renewal time came around, the premium still went up noticeably. Insurance companies always find a way to get their money back somehow, lol.
Personally, I'm leaning towards getting my own policy. Sure, it'll probably cost more upfront, but at least if I mess up, it's on me and not dragging my parents' rates down too. Plus, building my own insurance history early might help in the long run—at least that's what I've been told. Still gotta crunch the numbers though... insurance is confusing af.
