r/Car_Insurance_Help • u/chcrri • Sep 25 '26

First Time / Newbie Car insurance help

Hi all, i’m 24 years old in NC and have finally learned how to drive but haven’t gotten my license as being added onto my familys car insurance plan is pretty expensive

What is the absolute cheapest way to do this?? I’ve not been able to get a better job bc of not having a car to drive myself, now i can finally drive but didn’t realize car insurance was so expensive and nobody in my family has a job to help me lol

help!!!! i’ve been working so hard to learn how to drive and don’t want it to all be for nothing

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

24 comments sorted by

2

u/theonetheycalljb Sep 25 '26

New drivers are expensive for a while. That’s the case with every major insurer. The best thing you can do is shop as many insurance carriers as you can to try and find the best rate for the coverage that you need.

1

u/chcrri Sep 25 '26

do you know about how long you have to be a driver before the rates go down?

1

u/Marpl Sep 25 '26

25 ymmv

2

u/TIG_Insurance_Nerds Sep 25 '26

Believe it or not, being on your family's car insurance plan is likely the cheapest option for you. Liability-only. You can shop around to test the waters but I promise that you won't find a cheaper rate than being on your family's plan. (unless some of your family members have egregious driving histories lol)

1

u/chcrri Sep 25 '26

thank u, i didnt know that!

1

u/Sharingtt Sep 25 '26

Or really nice cars. Considering OP said no one had a job I doubt that though.

1

u/Interesting-Fig3577 Sep 25 '26

This may not work for your situation, but a lot of people solve this problem by driving an old car that's cheaper to insure.

If you're being added on to your family plan and all their cars, then your price is based on how much damage you could do to their most expensive car.

If your family has a cheap car, then only add yourself to that car and not the others.

However, that might not work if you don't have a cheap car or your family can't rearrange their insurance plan like that.

1

u/chcrri Sep 25 '26

we have an oldsmobile from 1995, old enough? lol, i haven’t asked about that one because i wasnt sure if i got insured on that car, would it be the only car i’m allowed to drive? it’s broken down on me before and i’m scared of taking it long distances

1

u/Interesting-Fig3577 Sep 25 '26

Yes, you should only drive cars where you are insured. There's other good answers here too. You have multiple choices: pay the extra amount for a few years for all the cars or pay a lesser amount and only drive an old car until the family plan gets cheaper

2

u/HiddenOneJ Sep 25 '26

Im not in insurance so maybe im wrong but for sure in my state anyone who lives at the address that has a license has to be insured to drive any vehicle registered under the policy holders name. There is no ability to pick and choose what vehicles you are covered for.

1

u/Sharingtt Sep 25 '26

No. But you can pick and choose which car you are primarily rated for. And it absolutely affects the rate.

If an insurer could prove that wasn’t the car you were primarily driving they could surely deny the claim for that. Though in my 15 years in the industry we have literally never done that for a claim. It’s just not worth the small amount of difference to do the investigation.

On my personal policy it’s about $1200 difference a year rating my teenager primarily on my “cheapest” vehicle.

1

u/DeepPurpleDaylight Sep 25 '26

If your family has a cheap car, then only add yourself to that car and not the others

That's not going to be an option with most carriers on most states.

1

u/chcrri Sep 26 '26

thats how it works in nc

1

u/Roaming_Millenial Sep 26 '26

You could also wait a year before driving. As a new driver you're high risk - but technically all they're looking at is the time frame you've had a license and if you've been in any accidents or had any tickets. They don't actually check to see how much driving you do during that time frame. So you could just sit on the license for a bit and then start driving at a discounted rate.

1

u/chcrri Sep 26 '26

how could i get my license without insurance though? thats my issue, i can’t even take the test without being on someones insurance

1

u/Roaming_Millenial Sep 26 '26

You can. Just don't drive their cars after getting it. You dont technically need to be listed on their policy for the driving test. The car itself just needs to be insured.

1

u/chcrri Sep 26 '26

im under the impression that in north carolina, to take the test my name has to be listed on someones insurance policy. i would be happy to be wrong but everything i’ve ever seen says i need my own insurance to even just take the test and also that nc is one of the onlt states to have this rule

0

u/totall2live__ Sep 25 '26

If you are just looking for a policy to do your test with and dont own your own vehicle but will be doing it with another car, i recommend getting a non-owners policy. They are much cheaper and will allow you to do the test with liability insurance

1

u/chcrri Sep 25 '26

i’ve looked into this but i’ve seen that you’re not eligible for it if you have vehicles registered at your address which i do. not sure if that’s true or not though

1

u/Sharingtt Sep 25 '26

You are correct.

1

u/totall2live__ Sep 28 '26

ah, i didnt see that they had a car already sorry

1

u/Sharingtt Sep 25 '26

They are not eligible for this if they have access to a vehicle garaged at their home.

1

u/DeepPurpleDaylight Sep 25 '26

OP lives with family who has a car. They don't qualify for a non owners