How Much Is Car Insurance for Teens?

The cost to insure a teen driver is generally more than the cost of insuring older, more experienced drivers because newer drivers are a greater risk. The exact cost of car insurance for teens depends on several factors, including whether they qualify for discounts.

Here’s a look at the average cost of car insurance for teens and how you can keep your costs as low as possible.

Key Takeaways

  • Car insurance for teens generally costs more than for older drivers because newer drivers are a greater risk.
  • Adding a 16-year-old to an adult’s policy costs on average $250 per month, according to Investopedia research.
  • The cost of car insurance for teens depends on several factors, including the type of vehicle that the teen is driving.
  • Other factors that can affect the cost of car insurance for teens include the teen’s age, gender, and driving history.
  • The amount of coverage that the policy includes will also affect its cost.

Insurance companies typically charge more to insure teen drivers because teens are new drivers and are a greater risk for getting into an accident. Drivers ages 16 to 19 have the highest rate of accidents among any age group in the United States. As a result, auto insurers charge more to cover them.

Average Cost of Car Insurance for Teens

The average cost to add a 16-year-old, newly licensed driver to an adult’s existing auto insurance policy is about $250 per month, according to Investopedia’s research of six major insurance companies. However, the cost can vary greatly from one insurer and policyholder to the next. 

Auto insurers consider many factors when determining the cost of an auto insurance policy, including the driver’s age, gender, and driving history. The type of vehicles that are insured and the amount of coverage also impact the price.

Example Pricing with Common Auto-Added Discounts

Each person will have a different quote for insurance because the insurer takes into account many factors specific to their situation. These example quotes from May 2023 were based on a 40-year-old female driver with and without a 16-year-old newly licensed male driver. The coverage includes liability with limits of $50,000, $100,000, and $50,000, comprehensive coverage with a $500 deductible, and collision coverage with a $500 deductible. The car covered is a 2015 Toyota Corolla driven 12,000 miles per year.

Many insurers automatically add discounts as you request quotes, such as those for a clean driving record, good grades, a safe vehicle, or continuous car insurance coverage in recent years. The example quotes below reflect pricing that includes auto-added discounts. Keep in mind that prices may also vary by location and other factors.

Insurer Six-month policy, adult only Monthly policy, adult only Six-month policy, adult and teen Monthly policy, adult and teen Additional cost per month to add teen
Progressive $442 $82 $1,076 $199 $117
Allstate $672 $113 $1,565 $261 $148
Farmers Insurance $759 $127 $1,917 $320 $193
Geico $759 $131 $1,967 $333 $202
Amica $967 $162 $2,204 $368 $206
State Farm $758 $126 $2,359 $393 $267
Average $726 $123 $1,848 $312 $189
Insurers are listed in order of the cost to add a teen to an adult policy for a sample applicant. Progressive’s additional cost is the lowest per month when standard discounts are applied.

Pricing Without Discounts

What if you don’t qualify for discounts? All of the insurers showed the amount that they discounted quotes (with the exception of Farmers). Here’s a cost comparison of the various auto insurance quotes without discounts.

Insurer Six-month policy, adult only Monthly policy, adult only Six-month policy, adult and teen Monthly policy, adult and teen Additional cost per month to add teen
Geico $1,021 $170 $2,249 $375 $205
Progressive $750 $125 $2,190 $365 $240
Allstate $1,034 $172 $2,846 $474 $302
Amica $1,132 $189 $2,060 $510 $321
State Farm $961 $160 $3,843 $641 $481
Farmers Insurance N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Average $980 $163 $2,638 $473 $310
Without discounts, Geico has the lowest cost per month for adding a teen for our example applicant.

Top 4 Insurance Companies

The following four companies offered the best car insurance rates for an adult and a newly licensed teen driver based on the example quotes that Investopedia received.

Progressive

Progressive had the lowest auto insurance quotes across the board. The payment breakdown was interesting as they required a small down payment initially, followed by five equal payments. Most insurers offered six equal payments or a large down payment followed by smaller payments. While there was a long list of discounts automatically added during the quote process, Progressive offered the best rates both with and without discounts. 

Geico 

Geico offered the second-lowest, non-discounted monthly policy quote at $375 per month, just $10 more than Progressive’s quote. If you find that you don’t qualify for most of the available discounts that insurers are offering, be sure to get a quote from Geico. Its discounted quote wasn’t quite as competitive, falling a bit above the average at $333 per month. 

Allstate

When comparing the discounted quotes, Allstate offered the second-lowest rate at just $261 per month (after $1,281 in discounts off the six-month price). If you’re adding a teen with good grades, who will be driving a car with safety features, and both have clean driving records, this insurance could be a good fit. The insurer’s non-discounted rate of $474 was roughly in the middle of all the quotes. 

Farmers

Farmers was one of the only insurers that didn’t list the amount by which its plans were automatically discounted, although it did list the type of discounts that were added. (So it was difficult to compare Farmers’ non-discounted plans to other non-discounted plans.) However, Farmers offered the third-lowest discounted rate for an adult who added a teen to their policy. The rate was $320 per month.

Discounts for Teen Drivers

Most car insurance providers offer a variety of discounts that can help you save on your car insurance costs, such as: 

  • Bundle discounts: Save when you purchase auto insurance and another type of coverage, like rental or homeowners insurance, from the same provider.
  • Multivehicle discount: Receive a discount for insuring more than one vehicle through the same insurer. 
  • Safety discount: Save by driving a vehicle equipped with anti-theft devices, anti-lock brakes, airbags, or other safety equipment. 
  • Defensive driving course discount: Get a percentage off of your policy when you complete a defensive driving course. 
  • Member or organization discounts: You may be able to save based on organizations you’re a part of, or through your place of employment. 
  • Good-student discount: Earn a discount for teen drivers who are full-time students and get good grades. A 3.0 grade-point average or higher is often required. 
  • Driving tracking program discounts: Insurers may offer a mobile app or plug-in device that tracks your teen’s driving and offers discounts for good driving habits and/or less driving overall. 
  • Good-driver discount: If the drivers on your policy haven’t had any accidents, tickets, or claims in recent years, you will often receive a good-driver discount. 
  • Paperless billing discounts: Insurers may offer a discount if you agree to receive your statements electronically. 
  • Automatic payments: You might also be able to save money by agreeing to automatic withdrawals of your monthly payments.
  • Pay-in-full: Some insurers offer a discount if you pay for a six-month policy upfront instead of monthly. 

As you apply for quotes from auto insurers, most companies ask you questions and automatically add discounts to your quote as you answer them. They may also give you the option to add additional discounts. However, you can research and ensure that you’re not missing any savings.

The quoted discounts aren’t guaranteed and may depend on further verification, such as transcripts to prove a certain grade-point average.

How to Add a Teen Driver to Your Policy

You can add a teen to your car insurance policy by contacting your current auto insurer and making the request. You may be able to add a driver online through an account portal, or you might need to call to speak with a customer service representative. In most cases, you’ll need the new driver’s name, license or permit information, date of birth, and driving history information (if any).

To get coverage through a new provider, it’s often best to start by getting a quote online. If you decide that you officially want the policy, you can complete the application and sign up for the new policy online, over the phone, or in person with a local agent.

How to Save Additional Money on Insurance for Teens

Here are three ways that you can save on car insurance for teens:

  • Choose an affordable car: Auto insurance is based on not only the driver but also the vehicle they’ll be driving, and certain vehicles are more expensive to insure than others. For example, convertibles, sports cars, and newer vehicles will be more expensive to insure than used, modestly priced economy cars that are older.
  • Review coverage and deductibles: Choosing higher deductibles on comprehensive and collision damage can help to lower your premium. However, be sure that you’re comfortable paying the deductible if your teen gets into an accident. You may also want to consider lowering coverage amounts for physical damage coverage on older vehicles when it is not required by a lienholder and makes sense for your overall financial situation.
  • Shop around for coverage: Prices vary greatly among insurers, so you don’t need to settle for what your current insurer offers you. Shop around with various providers to find the best deal on coverage for you and anyone else on your policy.

Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance for a Teenager?

Progressive offered the cheapest car insurance for teenagers of the six major insurance companies analyzed by Investopedia. The monthly cost for an adult and a newly licensed teen was $199 per month with discounts and $365 per month without discounts.

When Should I Add My Teen to My Car Insurance?

The minimum auto insurance requirements in your state apply to teens if they are driving on public roads, so they’ll need coverage as soon as they get their permits and start driving. Having coverage in place will help you ensure that damages won’t have to be paid fully out of pocket if a teen is involved in an accident.

At What Age Is Insurance the Cheapest?

The cost of auto insurance continues to drop as you age and gain more driving experience, hitting a low for drivers ages 65 to 74, according to Progressive. However, once you turn 75, the price can begin to increase.

What Is the Best Age to Start Insurance?

Younger drivers pay more for auto insurance because they are at greater risk for getting into an accident. Rates then generally decline as you age. For example, at Progressive, rates drop by an average of 8% when drivers turn 19 and then by another 7% at 21. By the time drivers are 30, average rates at Progressive are about 45% less than they were when drivers were 18.

What Can You Do to Save Money on Car Insurance?

You can save money on car insurance by avoiding tickets and accidents, taking advantage of discounts available to you, raising your deductibles, lowering your coverage limits, and shopping around for the best deal.

The Bottom Line

Adding a teen to your insurance policy will make it more expensive. The exact amount of the additional cost will depend on the vehicle they drive, the other vehicles on your policy, the teen’s grades in school, the insurer you choose, and other factors.

You can get the lower prices for adding a teen driver by taking steps that can influence your insurance rates, such as ensuring that you get as many discounts as possible and shopping around to find the best deal. Consider having a conversation with your teen about the cost of insurance. Make sure they understand how to keep insurance-related costs down through behaviors like getting good grades and driving responsibly.

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