Best Car Insurance for Teens
Teenage drivers provide a significant risk of accidents to insurers, therefore their car insurance prices can be relatively high. Our research revealed that when parents add a teen to their coverage, their auto insurance costs frequently quadruple.
According to our analysis conducted in February 2024, Erie, USAA, American Family, and Nationwide are some of the top auto insurance providers for young drivers and teenagers.
Cheap Car Insurance Providers for Teen Drivers
Cheap Car Insurance After Adding a Teen Driver
Among the firms in our survey, USAA is the most affordable for comprehensive auto insurance after adding a teen driver. When a parent’s policy is added to by a young driver between the ages of 16 and 19, the average annual cost with USAA is $3,360.
Since USAA is exclusively accessible to active duty personnel, veterans, and their families, those seeking more economical options for their adolescent driver policy addition may consider Erie and Geico.
| Company | Average Annual Cost |
| USAA* | $3,360 |
| Erie | $3,822 |
| Geico | $4,014 |
| Travelers | $4,259 |
| Nationwide | $4,335 |
Related: Lively: The Best Insurance Company in the USA 2024
The Lowest Rates on Teen Drivers’ Own Policy Auto Insurance
For teenagers 16 to 19 who are purchasing their coverage and have a military connection, USAA offers the lowest rates for auto insurance. The most affordable providers for other teenage drivers purchasing their policy are Auto-Owners and Geico.
| Company | Average Annual Cost |
| USAA* | $4,350 |
| Auto-Owners | $4,621 |
| Geico | $4,761 |
| Erie | $5,277 |
| American Family | $5,346 |
How to Get the Best Car Insurance for Teens and Teenagers?
There’s no way to avoid a big rate hike when you add a teen driver to your car insurance, but there are ways to keep the cost as low as possible.
Make sure your kid is covered by your insurance.
People whose parents want cheap car insurance for their teens should know that adding the teen to a parent’s policy is usually cheaper than getting the teen their policy. If you’re not sure, have your insurance agent get quotes for both options. You can also compare quotes online to see how much two different policies will cost. It’s free to get quotes, so there’s no reason not to find the best route.
Make sure you can save money.
Some typical discounts that teens can use are “good student” discounts (usually for getting at least a B average) and “student away at school” discounts for college students. You might be able to get a discount on their rates if they live more than 100 miles away from school and don’t have a car.
Also, programs for teen drivers can offer both savings and helpful lessons on how to drive. Keeping accidents off a teen’s record will protect your rates in the future.
Shop around
It’s a good idea to get car insurance quotes again if you haven’t done so in a while now that you have a teen driver. For instance, Erie and USAA charge a little more than $4,000 a year for a family of four with a 16-year-old child. On the other hand, Farmers charges over $7,000 a year and Allstate over $8,000 a year.
Think about companies that will accept accidents.
Car insurance rates increase by an average of 40% if you cause an accident that hurts someone and by 38% if you cause an accident that damages property.
Some companies offer accident forgiveness insurance. With this feature, the insurance company won’t raise rates because of a single accident. The accident will still appear on your record, and it might change your rates if you switch insurance companies later.
A lot of people can get accident forgiveness through their car insurance, but not all of them can. People who are on the coverage must have had no accidents in a certain number of years.
Accident forgiveness programmes may raise car insurance costs. Based on our research, the price ranges from $15 to $60 a year.
Think about companies that offer security for buying a new car.
If your car is totaled, your new car replacement policy will pay for a brand-new car of the same make and model, less your deductible. If you have this coverage, you won’t have to pay the gap between what a brand-new car would be worth and how much your damaged car is worth now.
Families with teens who drive may benefit from new car substitute coverage. Teenagers are more likely to crash their cars.
Not everyone is qualified for coverage to buy a new car. Most of the time, you’ll need accident and comprehensive coverage. This protects your car in case of damage. Most insurance companies also want your car to be less than a certain model year old and have less than a certain number of miles on it, like 24,000. Coverage for a new car won’t be available for older cars or cars with a lot of miles on them.
