Reader question:

Hi, I’m sixteen and I need New Jersey auto insurance. I’m still on a learner’s permit for a few months, so do I need teen auto insurance?

Mackenzie

Everyone who drives needs auto insurance.

However, in the state of New Jersey, in order to get an auto insurance policy in your own name, you need to have at least one of the cars on the policy registered under your name as well. It is very important for the names on the registration and on the insurance to match, because if they don’t it could cause a lot of problems when it comes time for a claim or for proof of New Jersey auto insurance to the state department of motor vehicles. However, this is where you come into a dilemma. You can only register a car as soon as your eighteen, and so teen auto insurance in the teen’s name is not an option.

So what do you do?

Well, what I would suggest is that you see if one of your parents’ will add you to their policy. This is how most teenagers end up doing it, and although it does make the adult’s auto insurance policy quite a bit more expensive, it is still much cheaper than it would be if you got a car insurance policy on your own, even if you were allowed. If you do things right, though, there are several ways to make that price lower.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.