cars and young adults/kids

[Zoe Girl]

I am a pretty smart person, but car insurance in pretty confusing to me today. Just up front I know someone will likely say that the answer is to take the kids off my insurance but I am willing to keep us as a group for at least a year so they can get used to car expenses and attend school, etc. I already got a payment from my oldest for her insurance and my middle kiddo was just added today,

I am just confused and trying to figure out what to charge them. I had my policy which states on my car the premium is $600 a 6 month period. However I paid a lot more than that, I am assuming because I had all 3 of us as drivers on that vehicle. Monthly I was around $180 (there is also a small uninsured motorist premium as well). Then E got her car and the added premium is $623 but the monthly only increased about $55/60 so that is what I charged her. Today I called for her sister's car and the 6 month premium is $526 but the premium goes up about $55 (February will be higher since the payment comes out this week for January already). But basically the increase seems to be in the same $55/60 range.

So now what to charge the kids? I could charge them about $60 a month which is the increase in premiums because I was willing to pay insurance that included them before they got vehicles (and their dad supported this with keeping some child support for them above the required age). I like this because then they can pay an affordable amount to me and still work and go to school while paying for car repairs and all. I save money and a HUGE amount of stress by not picking them up from work when the busses stop running or getting them to DR appointments, they even help with their brother. Or I could strictly say their amount is closer to $100 a month because that is what the 6 month premium says, and what they will eventually pay when they get their own policies sometime in the next year.

[herbgeek]

The numbers you provided don't add up in any way that is logical to me.

You were originally paying $1200/year for just yourself.
When you added 2 additional people to this same car, the price went up to $2160/year. (180*12)
When you added a second car to the policy, the price increased to $3406/year (but premiums only went up $55/month, $660/year which doesn't make sense)
When you added a third car to the policy, the price increased to $4458.

I would expect monthly premiums to now be $371.50, but you've reported that premiums are now $290-300. ($180 + 55/60 + 55/60). Something doesn't add up. Did you get a price break on the first car, now that the other two have their own cars and are not listed on yours?

I think they should be paying the difference between what you'd pay on your own, and what you are paying as a family. You would be paying $100/month on your own, so they should be paying the difference between the total premium per month and the $100 you would otherwise be paying.

[Zoe Girl]

Thank you, it does not add up to me either however I have not gone through all my previous statements so I am going off the monthly deal. I wonder if there are multi-car discounts or other things I have not accounted for. In any case it does not make sense to me, and I am going to catch up with my regular insurance agent later this week.