Your teenager just got a license.
That's one of the most expensive events your policy sees all year.

Adding a newly licensed driver changes how a carrier prices the whole car — and carriers disagree about it sharply. Reading Massachusetts carriers' own rate filings for the same standardized household, we found the typical filed increase runs anywhere from about 32% to about 118%, depending on the carrier, for the identical household. Sometimes the right move is your current carrier, restructured properly. Sometimes it isn't. We look at the whole household before saying which. Get in line here. We can’t place policies before January, so if your teen already has the keys, tell your current carrier today, tell us your renewal date, and your household goes first when we open.

Common Questions

How much will this actually raise our rate?

We can’t tell you your number without seeing your household — but we can tell you carriers disagree about this sharply. The Division’s own filing examples define this driver by years licensed, not age — specifically, someone one year licensed, driving occasionally. Reading Massachusetts carriers’ own rate filings for that standardized household, we found the typical filed increase runs anywhere from about 32% to about 118%, depending on the carrier — the same driver can cost several times as much in percentage terms depending on who carries the household. Same mileage, same deductible — the difference is in how each carrier weighs a new driver. See the filings themselves.

Should we add them to our policy, or get them their own?

It depends on the carrier and the household, which is exactly why this isn’t a general answer. Some households are well served by staying exactly where they are and simply adding the driver correctly. Others are worth a full re-competition, because carriers weigh a new driver very differently. A smaller percentage increase isn’t automatically a smaller bill — it depends what the household’s premium was before the driver was added, which is exactly why this gets looked at whole rather than judged as a single number. See the young drivers guide for how carriers weigh a new driver and what actually moves the number from there.

Is there anything we can do about it? We can’t change their age.

The vehicle they’re driving, a clean record from day one, and good-student credit where it applies all move the number, and how much each one matters varies by carrier. Experience also counts over time — the major carriers we’ve read reward more years licensed, some by a little and some by a lot. The young drivers guide walks through what actually moves the number.

They’re already driving. Can this wait until Podium launches?

No. Tell your current carrier when your new driver is licensed — your policy’s terms say how and when. That call is today’s job, not January’s. Then put your household on the list here, so the whole picture is ready to look at when we open.

Your teenager just got a license.
That's one of the most expensive events your policy sees all year.

Tell us about your new driver

New Driver Details

What Should We Look Into?

You’re on the list.

Your teenager just got a license.That's one of the most expensive events your policy sees all year.

Tell us about your new driver

New Driver Details

What Should We Look Into?

You’re on the list.

Your teenager just got a license.
That's one of the most expensive events your policy sees all year.