Teens, Adults Confused By Auto Insurance: Survey

Teens, Adults Confused By Auto Insurance: Survey

NU Online News Service, Nov. 24, 3:01 p.m. EST?When it comes to understanding auto insurance, older drivers can be just as ignorant as teenagers, according a new study from The Progressive Corp.

In a recent online survey of 1,000 teens and 1,000 adults, the Mayfield Village, Ohio-based auto insurer found that many adult respondents were just as confused about auto insurance basics as the younger respondents.[@@]

Tom Hollyer, agency product development manager at Progressive, noted that while adults scored better in some categories, "they scored worse than the teens in others."

For example, nine percent of the adults in the survey--compared to just two percent among the teens--said incorrectly that "age was not a factor" in auto insurance rates.

Progressive also noted that most adults and teens in the survey said credit history information has no effect on their insurance rates, while in fact, most auto insurance companies consider information about credit histories when calculating their rates. Also, nearly a third of adults and a quarter of teens in the survey erroneously said the color of their car affects their rates.

Also in the study, 23 percent of teens surveyed--compared to 18 percent of adults--incorrectly said auto premium rates are "pretty much the same" from company to company, while in fact, rates vary widely between carriers.

"You'd think because adults have been driving longer and have probably had more experience with auto insurance than teens that they would have a better working knowledge," Mr. Hollyer said. "But overall they don't. The two groups are about equally uninformed about different things."

Auto insurance can be a significant portion of a person's budget, Mr. Hollyer said. "And the more information people of any age have about it, the better their chances are of making more informed decisions that can save them money and provide them with appropriate coverage."