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Are you looking forward to the day when you can stop playing Taxi Driver and your son or daughter can start to drive themselves to school, practice, rehearsal, and friends? Well, be careful what you wish for! Driving teenagers can cost a lot of money – especially boys. We paid over $500 for our daughter's driving lessons a few years ago. When she could finally drive the family cars by herself, our insurance when up by about $300 a year. But, that's nothing really. If Alison was an Alexander – and everything else being equal - our insurance would have been over $1,500 more a year.

Why is insurance for young drivers, and especially boys, so high? Well, it's simple. Drivers under the age of 25 have a high-level of at-fault accidents and therefore are a high risk for the insurance company.

Here are some tips on how you can reduce the cost of insuring a new driver:

Driver experience. Once your daughter or son receives his driving permit, let your insurance company know. You will not have to pay additional insurance right away because the teen must always be driving with a licenced driver and the risk of an accident is relatively low. However, this will build the teen's driving history for the insurance company once they do get their full driver's licence.

Driver training. One of the things that will affect the rate the most is whether or not the teen has taken a driver's education course. New drivers can get significant discounts off their insurance for the first three years if they have been through a government-approved driver training program.

Shop around. While your current company may have given you a great rate last renewal period, they may not be your best bet now. Take the time to shop around and find out if your current provider is competitive.

Drive an older model, less expensive car. The cost of adding a teenager to your insurance policy as an occasional driver will depend on the age of the teen, their driving history and the type of car you have. If you have new, high-end models in the driveway, adding newly-licensed junior to the policy could result in some significant rate hikes.

Most importantly, encourage your child to drive carefully and cautiously. An accident can be very scary in more than one way.

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