Insurance for teen drivers can be prohibitively expensive. On average, teen insurance on a parent’s policy costs $1,332 every six months. However, male teen driver pays a little more than their female counterpart. While a female teen driver pays $1,257 for a six-month insurance policy, a male teen driver pays $1,407. To put that in perspective, male teen drivers pay $25 more on their parent’s policy every month.
Since insuring a teen driver is expensive, you need the shop around to find the best carrier offering the best coverage for your teen at the lowest possible rates.
Here’s a guide to help you explore affordable car insurance quotes from different companies.
The best car insurance companies for teen drivers
In a customer satisfaction survey conducted by The Zebra, teen drivers consistently ranked USAA and State Farm as the top two carriers in terms of ease of use, trustworthiness, online experience, claims satisfaction, and willingness to recommend.
Here’s a chart showing the auto insurance carriers with their respective ranks.
How much does car insurance cost for teen drivers?
When it comes to teen drivers, going for stand-alone policies (teens having their own policy) is always more expensive. On average, it costs them $2,287 every six months. Whereas being on parents’ policy would save them $995 every six months. Therefore, it’s a good idea for parents to add their teens to their policy rather than go for a standalone policy.
Here’s a chart showing average insurance premiums for teen drivers by insurance company:
Auto insurance for teens by gender
Gender plays an important role for teen drivers in terms of the cost of auto insurance policies. However, as they age into adulthood, it becomes a lot less significant.
For parents, adding a male teen driver costs $300 more per year than adding a female teen driver. Therefore, young male drivers are more expensive to insure in general.
Car insurance for male teenage drivers
Due to the increased risk they represent, male teen drivers usually pay more in premiums than their female counterparts. For parents, adding their son to their car insurance policy will cost $725 more.
For adding young male drivers (between 16 to 19 years of age) to your insurance policy, USAA and State Farm are the two cheapest insurance companies.
Car insurance for female teenage drivers
While relatively less expensive than adding your son to your policy, adding your daughter still raises your car insurance rate by an average of %575 every six months. On the parent’s policy, the average monthly premium for a female young driver is $209 which works out to $1,257 for a six-month policy. USAA and State Farm are the most affordable carriers for female teen drivers between 16 to 19 years of age.
Average cost of car insurance for teens by coverage level
If your teen driver is on their own policy, the coverage they need will depend on the vehicle and their personal preferences. Broadly, the coverage can be divided into three levels.
- Best: This coverage is the most comprehensive which includes collision coverage (deductibles at $500) plus high liability limits (100/300/100). If your teen is using a high-performance car, and you have considerable assets or a loaned or leased car.
- Good: This has relatively lower liability limits (50/100/50) and little higher deductibles ($1000 for comprehensive and collision). This is recommended for most teens if they’re on their own policy.
- Minimum: The type of coverage whose liability is usually mandated by the State and hence, will vary from one State to another. Usually, this doesn’t offer any full-body coverage.
Best insurance coverage for teen drivers
Opting for a higher liability is wise for those who have considerable final assets. In the event of an accident, car insurance with higher liability coverage protects you from having your assets seized if you were sued post the accident and the damage you caused far exceeds the value of your insurance coverage.
Good insurance coverage for teen drivers
Lower liability insurance coverage is the middle path between comprehensive coverage and minimum state-mandated liability. This typically offers 50/100/50 liability limits plus full coverage with $1000 deductibles. While a higher level of deductibles helps you keep the premium lower, $500 deductibles are more common among teens.
Minimum insurance coverage for teen drivers
While minimum liability insurance is the bare essential to stay in the good graces of the state’s department of insurance, it doesn’t help you in the long run. Minimum liability is not recommended for more than a few years if you have young drivers.
USAA is considered the cheapest for all coverage levels. See the chart below.
- As a matter of fact, carrying minimum liability insurance for a long time increases your risk proposition in the eyes of insurance companies
- When you carry minimum liability insurance, you’re heavily underinsured esp in an at-fault accident scenario. This effectively means you can be sued for monetary damage beyond the coverage of your liability insurance.
- Minimum liability insurance does not offer coverage for physical damage to your vehicle. This means trouble when you consider scenarios like damage caused by uninsured drivers, at-fault accidents, and comprehensive claims such as weather, theft, or animal-related damage to your vehicle.
Minimum liability insurance is not recommended, but it should be a choice when you can’t afford to pay for higher insurance costs and are bound to opt for state-mandated liability coverage for your vehicle.
How to find cheap car insurance for teens
Car insurance is generally expensive but when a teen is factored in, it can go through the roof. As they age and become more experienced with driving, the risk will be lower.
While there’s little you can do about paying significantly higher for getting coverage for teenage drivers, the following guides will help you reduce financial stress to a certain extent.