Finding the cheapest car insurance for teens and young drivers can be difficult. Since teenagers are inexperienced drivers, they’re considered very risky to insure, and policies can cost thousands of dollars a year.
It’s usually a lot cheaper to add a young driver to a parent or guardian’s auto insurance policy than it is to purchase a separate one. And the best way to find the cheapest coverage is to shop around and get quotes from multiple companies.
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To give you an idea of how much car insurance for young drivers costs, NerdWallet looked at rates for households that add a teen or young driver to their policy.
How we found the cheapest car insurance for teens and young drivers
NerdWallet analyzed Quadrant car insurance rate estimates from the largest auto insurers in all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C. We analyzed rates for hypothetical male and female drivers ages 16 through 18 with no tickets or traffic violations who were added to car insurance policies held by either one or two adult drivers. For one-adult families, we used a 50-year-old male adult. For two-adult families, we used a 50-year-old male adult and a 45-year-old female adult.
Rates were then analyzed for teenagers driving their own 2010 Toyota Camry L with minimum coverage, or sharing a parent’s or guardian’s 2020 Toyota Camry L with full coverage. Data analysis was done in January 2024.
Full coverage insurance policies in our analyses include comprehensive and collision coverage, as well as uninsured/underinsured motorist protection and increased liability limits. Minimum coverage policies include state-mandated coverage only.
How much is car insurance for teens?
Our analysis found that adding a teen to a two-adult policy more than doubles the cost of auto insurance. The average cost of adding a teenager to a car insurance policy is $3,824 per year, according to NerdWallet’s analysis of full coverage rates for 16-year-old drivers included on a two-parent or guardian auto insurance policy.
Adding a teen or young driver is so expensive because, mile for mile, teen drivers get into car crashes four times as often as drivers 20 and older, according to data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety . Further, car accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
That all translates to higher insurance costs for teens, but how much depends on factors like the state where the teen lives, their gender and age, and whether the teen is the primary policyholder.
Car insurance cost for teens in a two-adult household
Below are average car insurance rates for policies with two adults and a teen driver. We looked at rates for teens driving their own older car compared to teen drivers that share a family car.
Age | Average annual rate, teen drives an older car | Average annual rate, teen shares a family car |
|---|---|---|
16 | $5,941 | $6,535 |
17 | $5,301 | $5,686 |
18 | $5,023 | $5,239 |
For comparison, the average cost to insure two adults is $2,711 per year, according to our analysis of full coverage rates for a 50-year-old male driver and 45-year-old female driver sharing one policy. | ||
As teens grow older and gain more experience on the road, their insurance costs tend to go down. Two-parent households insuring a 16-year-old pay at least 18% more, on average, than those insuring an 18-year-old.
Car insurance cost for teens in a one-adult household
Below are average car insurance rates for policies with one adult and a teen driver. We looked at rates for teens driving their own older car compared to teen drivers that share a family car.
Age | Average annual rate, teen drives an older car | Average annual rate, teen shares a family car |
|---|---|---|
16 | $4,486 | $2,134 |
17 | $3,956 | $1,833 |
18 | $3,675 | $1,671 |
For comparison, the average cost to insure one adult is $1,794 per year, according to our analysis of full coverage rates for a 50-year-old male driver. | ||
A single-parent household insuring a 16-year-old would pay at least 22% more, on average, than one insuring an 18-year-old.
Should you add a teenager to your auto insurance policy?
Adding a teen or young driver to a household’s insurance policy will often be cheaper than if they got their own stand-alone policy. Young drivers are seen as riskier to insure due to their lack of driving experience and higher likelihood of reckless driving and accidents. In most cases, adding a teen to a parent or guardian’s policy will be the cheapest option.
Adding a young driver to your policy may help you qualify for more discounts. For example, many insurers offer multicar discounts for insuring multiple cars under the same policy. Some offer savings if your teen is a good student or practices safe driving.
While adding a teen or young driver to your policy is often the cheapest way to insure them, that won’t always be the case. For example, if you own an expensive sports car that the teen won’t drive, it’s probably cheaper to insure them on their own policy.
Why is car insurance for young men so expensive?
Young women can pay a lot for car insurance, but in general, young men see some of the highest auto insurance rates among people with clean driving records. In part, that’s because they are inexperienced and don't have a driving record for insurers to use to set rates.
When insurance companies can’t reference a driving record to determine how likely you are to file a claim, they rely on statistics to gauge risk and set prices. A newly licensed teenager receives high insurance quotes because his peers file a lot of claims, more expensive claims or both.
Male teenagers cause crashes at higher rates than any other group. Teens ages 16 to 19 cause nearly three times as many fatal accidents as adults 20 and over, according to data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety . Teenage boys caused roughly two-thirds of those crashes in recent years, down from 75% in 1975, the data shows.
In addition to the risk that they will crash, teens typically lack a credit history, are unmarried and haven't completed as much education — all of which can increase car insurance rates.
Below are average full coverage rates for car insurance policies with two adults and a teen driver, with the teenager sharing an adult’s car.
Car insurance rates for policies with teens, based on gender
Gender | 16-year-old | 17-year-old | 18-year-old |
|---|---|---|---|
Female | $7,203 | $6,095 | $5,683 |
Male | $8,161 | $6,918 | $6,458 |
Policies with two adults and a male teen driver cost up to 14% more on average than those with a female driver of the same age.
A note about the term "gender."
In this article, NerdWallet uses the term “gender.” We recognize that this is different from sex. Gender is how you identify within society, while sex refers to certain biological attributes.
Some insurers don’t recognize this distinction and use the terms interchangeably. This means that when you apply for car insurance, they may ask for your gender when they really mean sex.
They may also ask for identification that doesn’t reflect your gender accurately. For instance, a company may want the gender you list on your insurance application to match the sex listed on your driver’s license.
For more details, read about getting car insurance as a transgender or nonbinary driver.
How to save on car insurance for young drivers
The best way to save on auto insurance for teens and young drivers is to add them to a parent or guardian’s policy instead of buying their own policy. You should also shop around for multiple car insurance quotes to find the cheapest rate.
When shopping for car insurance, be on the lookout for possible discounts, including:
Good grade discount. Some auto insurers offer discounts for maintaining a high GPA or getting straight A's.
Defensive driving discount. If a young driver takes a defensive driving course, some car insurance companies may offer a discount.
Tracked driving behavior programs. Young drivers that complete an education program and practice safe driving habits by letting their insurer track their driving through a mobile app may qualify for a discount.
Student away-at-school discount. Young drivers who go to school away from home could qualify for a student-away discount.
It’s also cheaper having a teen or young driver share a car with a parent or guardian than having them drive a car of their own, according to our analysis. In addition to saving what you’d pay for an additional vehicle, having fewer cars on a policy means a lower premium.
