Car insurance for teens is much more expensive than coverage for older, more experienced drivers, due to teens' propensity to drive riskly and the relative lack of experience behind the wheel. Young adult drivers who live on the university campus or attend school in another state and leave their car parked in the family home may be entitled to a remote student discount, says Justin Yoshizawa, director of product management at Mercury Insurance in Brea, California. While adding a teenager to your car insurance is expensive, it's even more expensive for a newly licensed teen to have their own policy. Policygenius calculated the cost of car insurance by adding a 16-year-old driver to an existing policy using rates provided by Quadrant Information Services.
Generally, a teen must maintain their car insurance while attending college or any other institution of higher education, but the best approach depends on the teen's situation. One of the best ways to keep the cost of car insurance for 16-year-olds low is to add your teen driver to your family policy. You should add your teen to your car insurance as soon as they get their driver's license, even if you only plan to drive occasionally. Insurance companies require that all licensed drivers in a household who have access to the insured vehicle have a license.
Nationwide, American Family and State Farm have the most affordable car insurance for parents who add a teen driver to their policy. Cars with safety features, such as stability control and automatic emergency braking, are the best cars for teens to drive, according to the IIHS. The prices shown in this analysis reflect the average between auto insurance rates with minimum and full coverage, as shown in the quotes obtained from Quadrant Information Services for households in Illinois, New York, Ohio, Texas and Washington. Insurance providers often offer telematic programs, which reward safe driving practices with a discount based on a driving score determined by a smartphone app, if your insurer offers it.
You can exclude your 16-year-old child from your policy to avoid the rate increase by filing a form with your insurance company, but then they won't be able to drive your car. The final insurance policy premium for any policy is determined by the insurance company upon application.
