kevintri99
New member
Hey there fellow redditors. Not gonna lie kinda surprised there’s a reddit page for this stuff but here we go.
(WARNING LONG ASS STORY)
So in November of 2017 I was in the trunk of my brothers car going to our local high school bc I wanted to skip my 2nd period. As a senior my brother was granted his mornings off, whereas I had afternoons off. However the security guard is aware of our alternating schedules. I had skipped my 2nd period but had to show up to my fourth period bc there was a food party (who wouldn’t show am I right?) thus I only wanted to skip my morning period. About 25 minutes before 4th period starts my brother was gonna take off. In order to avoid the security guard from seeing me I elected to just chill out in the trunk of my brother car (quite roomy for a 2008 Honda Accord) and just get out of the trunk when the clase was clear at school. He’s driving to school while I’m in the trunk in Snapchat and everything’s alright. Seven minutes in the drive I hear a loud crash/banging noise. I assumed my brother hit a stop sign but unsure as my brother (was at least til then) a super cautious teen driver. I kick the trunk open and voila, he t boned a car at a stop sign and a pedestrian freaking out because he just witnessed a car accident and a teenager getting out of the trunk. The guy that we hit took the impact directly as he was on the side the car got hit on so we made sure he was ok and what not. His wife was completely unharmed but his arm seemed like it was gonna bruise quite badly. To skip the unnecessary details of the accident, me and my twin brother were left unscathed and he mans wife was ok and the man we hit didn’t need any immediate medical attention. Here’s where the plot thickens. Turns out the guy in the car had actually seen me get out of the trunk. The guys like 50 years old lecturing me about never doing something so reckless ever again and how bad things could’ve turned out. He then yelled at my bother claiming he was speeding like 70 on a 40mph residential. Although I was in the trunk I could vouch for my brother saying he wasn’t past 45 whenever I did drive with him as he is still incredibly cautious. Turns out it rained at 5 am and thus when we left at 8:20 the rain wasn’t detectable but the roads were still moist thus assuming the cars brakes were in a good need to be replaced at the time, bad brakes + wet roads is a recipe for disaster. He then exposed me and my brother to my father who came after I called 911 and then him. The guy said he wouldn’t tell the police as my brother is already screwed. Turns out the guy had an expired license in Washington D.C. which was (get this) 10 YEARS PAST the expiration date. Thus the state of Florida sued him but the settlement money he had gotten from out insurance company I guess covered all of that. So the guy came out financially unscathed. Unlucky for my family my mom had already gotten into an accident about 3 months prior to my brothers. She was NOT at fault as stated in the police report and insurance claims but as Florida is a “No fault state” that doesn’t really help her situation anyways. This accident and my brothers accident had risen my brothers rate but other than that we were fine. Then by my mothers lucky stars (rather the lack their of) she gets t boned in an intersection but some idiot teen driver texting who ran a red light. The cherry on top was the fact that the kid was uninsured as well. Thus my mom not trying to ruin the kids life didn’t sue him or his family for medical expenses as State Farm did enough of that. That last accident was in March of 2018. Now the court case had recently settled with the guy from my brothers accident and it turns out our insurance company had to dish out THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS of medical expenses. The man we hit had claimed many health problems following the accident (which I don’t blame him) but his wife as well claimed that her right leg had a limp, (despite her being in the passenger side when my brothers car hit the drivers side (left of car) her right leg is facing the right of the car at the right passenger door. Anyways State Farm decides to give them a settlement of around $80,000 or so and last week they had sent my mom a letter informing her that they would no longer cover her past October 31st. My mom has been scrambling to find insurance and the only one that would possibly cover her was progressive. However it’s like the other companies completely overlooked the fact that she had a SPOTLESS driving record in the 20 years she has been with State Farm on top of her excellent credit. I’m assuming it because my brother is in their policy as he is a high risk driver who costed State Farm $80,000. Here comes the issue, I’m a bit concerned as I’m 18 years old and am now soon (like end of September) going to get my drivers license (my parents had refused to teach me how to drive since my twin brothers insurance was so high they didn’t even bother helping me learn how to drive. I had to get help from kind strangers on Craigslist, coworker who I had bad blood with, my brother late at night so I wouldn’t get caught, and my grandfather as my parents are adamant that I don’t learn how to drive unless I can pay for my own insurance or at least half. After plenty of sneaking around and doing it on my own, I’d say I’m a quite confident driver. I can easily drive from my house to work, to the mall and what not around town. My issue is my confidence and parking. I still get nervous driving as I only drive maybe once a week at best. (Albeit long sessions) If you’re still reading then thanks for tagging along the ride. Now here’s where I ask for help. ********************************************My question is mainly insurance for me. As an 18 year old brand new male driver, is there ANY way I can get a low insurance rate. I’m trying full coverage. I tried three insurance companies and my lowest quote was about $490. I thought it was ridiculous, however I do understand as they saw my household and my family’s policy with State Farm. Essentially from my understanding, due to my mothers two accidents and my brothers at fault accident, my rate is MORE THAN DOUBLE what an average teen driver would pay. As much as I’m incredibly angry about my situation I try not to talk to my parents about it. As every time I mention my license or car insurance my parents immediately tell me to forget about it. It’s a huge pain in the ass waking my brother up early so he can drop me off to my job and then typically pick me up. It’s fucked seeing 16 year olds at my job driving home after work or going to get food at Taco Bell or something in their breaks because they have that privilege. They have the freedom to go out whenever they want. My brother also has that freedom yet never once has he had to pay for his gas NOR his insurance before or after the accident. Although I can 100% EASILY drive to work and back by myself (as it is only an 8 minute drive) my parents would KILL ME if they found out I drove the car let alone without insurance. It’s become a big issue as my brother is sick of taking me to work and back like a soccer mom and I’m tired of having to pay for gas when he doesn’t pay a dime for anything. Sorry this turned into a story/rant however my main questions are,
*How can I reduce my insurance rate on my own?
*Would an insurance company charge me more to cover a newer car (2006+) or an older car?(before 2006)
*Does my families driving record follow me throughout my adult years?
*Is there like a safe driving class that can give discounts?
*Is there anything else I should know just in general about car insurance?
Sorry as these may seem like stupid questions but I have ABSOLUTELY no idea how car insurance works since my parents have never explained any of this to me nor are they interested. I just really needed help as it’s incredibly stressful doing this in my own and I feel like I’ll need extra help with my situation due to my families driving history. Due to JUST turning 18 like 2 weeks ago I really don’t know what I’m doing. Adulting sucks.
(WARNING LONG ASS STORY)
So in November of 2017 I was in the trunk of my brothers car going to our local high school bc I wanted to skip my 2nd period. As a senior my brother was granted his mornings off, whereas I had afternoons off. However the security guard is aware of our alternating schedules. I had skipped my 2nd period but had to show up to my fourth period bc there was a food party (who wouldn’t show am I right?) thus I only wanted to skip my morning period. About 25 minutes before 4th period starts my brother was gonna take off. In order to avoid the security guard from seeing me I elected to just chill out in the trunk of my brother car (quite roomy for a 2008 Honda Accord) and just get out of the trunk when the clase was clear at school. He’s driving to school while I’m in the trunk in Snapchat and everything’s alright. Seven minutes in the drive I hear a loud crash/banging noise. I assumed my brother hit a stop sign but unsure as my brother (was at least til then) a super cautious teen driver. I kick the trunk open and voila, he t boned a car at a stop sign and a pedestrian freaking out because he just witnessed a car accident and a teenager getting out of the trunk. The guy that we hit took the impact directly as he was on the side the car got hit on so we made sure he was ok and what not. His wife was completely unharmed but his arm seemed like it was gonna bruise quite badly. To skip the unnecessary details of the accident, me and my twin brother were left unscathed and he mans wife was ok and the man we hit didn’t need any immediate medical attention. Here’s where the plot thickens. Turns out the guy in the car had actually seen me get out of the trunk. The guys like 50 years old lecturing me about never doing something so reckless ever again and how bad things could’ve turned out. He then yelled at my bother claiming he was speeding like 70 on a 40mph residential. Although I was in the trunk I could vouch for my brother saying he wasn’t past 45 whenever I did drive with him as he is still incredibly cautious. Turns out it rained at 5 am and thus when we left at 8:20 the rain wasn’t detectable but the roads were still moist thus assuming the cars brakes were in a good need to be replaced at the time, bad brakes + wet roads is a recipe for disaster. He then exposed me and my brother to my father who came after I called 911 and then him. The guy said he wouldn’t tell the police as my brother is already screwed. Turns out the guy had an expired license in Washington D.C. which was (get this) 10 YEARS PAST the expiration date. Thus the state of Florida sued him but the settlement money he had gotten from out insurance company I guess covered all of that. So the guy came out financially unscathed. Unlucky for my family my mom had already gotten into an accident about 3 months prior to my brothers. She was NOT at fault as stated in the police report and insurance claims but as Florida is a “No fault state” that doesn’t really help her situation anyways. This accident and my brothers accident had risen my brothers rate but other than that we were fine. Then by my mothers lucky stars (rather the lack their of) she gets t boned in an intersection but some idiot teen driver texting who ran a red light. The cherry on top was the fact that the kid was uninsured as well. Thus my mom not trying to ruin the kids life didn’t sue him or his family for medical expenses as State Farm did enough of that. That last accident was in March of 2018. Now the court case had recently settled with the guy from my brothers accident and it turns out our insurance company had to dish out THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS of medical expenses. The man we hit had claimed many health problems following the accident (which I don’t blame him) but his wife as well claimed that her right leg had a limp, (despite her being in the passenger side when my brothers car hit the drivers side (left of car) her right leg is facing the right of the car at the right passenger door. Anyways State Farm decides to give them a settlement of around $80,000 or so and last week they had sent my mom a letter informing her that they would no longer cover her past October 31st. My mom has been scrambling to find insurance and the only one that would possibly cover her was progressive. However it’s like the other companies completely overlooked the fact that she had a SPOTLESS driving record in the 20 years she has been with State Farm on top of her excellent credit. I’m assuming it because my brother is in their policy as he is a high risk driver who costed State Farm $80,000. Here comes the issue, I’m a bit concerned as I’m 18 years old and am now soon (like end of September) going to get my drivers license (my parents had refused to teach me how to drive since my twin brothers insurance was so high they didn’t even bother helping me learn how to drive. I had to get help from kind strangers on Craigslist, coworker who I had bad blood with, my brother late at night so I wouldn’t get caught, and my grandfather as my parents are adamant that I don’t learn how to drive unless I can pay for my own insurance or at least half. After plenty of sneaking around and doing it on my own, I’d say I’m a quite confident driver. I can easily drive from my house to work, to the mall and what not around town. My issue is my confidence and parking. I still get nervous driving as I only drive maybe once a week at best. (Albeit long sessions) If you’re still reading then thanks for tagging along the ride. Now here’s where I ask for help. ********************************************My question is mainly insurance for me. As an 18 year old brand new male driver, is there ANY way I can get a low insurance rate. I’m trying full coverage. I tried three insurance companies and my lowest quote was about $490. I thought it was ridiculous, however I do understand as they saw my household and my family’s policy with State Farm. Essentially from my understanding, due to my mothers two accidents and my brothers at fault accident, my rate is MORE THAN DOUBLE what an average teen driver would pay. As much as I’m incredibly angry about my situation I try not to talk to my parents about it. As every time I mention my license or car insurance my parents immediately tell me to forget about it. It’s a huge pain in the ass waking my brother up early so he can drop me off to my job and then typically pick me up. It’s fucked seeing 16 year olds at my job driving home after work or going to get food at Taco Bell or something in their breaks because they have that privilege. They have the freedom to go out whenever they want. My brother also has that freedom yet never once has he had to pay for his gas NOR his insurance before or after the accident. Although I can 100% EASILY drive to work and back by myself (as it is only an 8 minute drive) my parents would KILL ME if they found out I drove the car let alone without insurance. It’s become a big issue as my brother is sick of taking me to work and back like a soccer mom and I’m tired of having to pay for gas when he doesn’t pay a dime for anything. Sorry this turned into a story/rant however my main questions are,
*How can I reduce my insurance rate on my own?
*Would an insurance company charge me more to cover a newer car (2006+) or an older car?(before 2006)
*Does my families driving record follow me throughout my adult years?
*Is there like a safe driving class that can give discounts?
*Is there anything else I should know just in general about car insurance?
Sorry as these may seem like stupid questions but I have ABSOLUTELY no idea how car insurance works since my parents have never explained any of this to me nor are they interested. I just really needed help as it’s incredibly stressful doing this in my own and I feel like I’ll need extra help with my situation due to my families driving history. Due to JUST turning 18 like 2 weeks ago I really don’t know what I’m doing. Adulting sucks.