When our 16-year-old son said he wanted to get his driver’s permit, we knew our insurance rates were about to go up. Little did we know that teen driver insurance would result in such a dramatic increase in our monthly insurance premium. The lessons we learned? Shop around and take advantage of ways to lower your rates!

Shop Around for Teen Driver Insurance

After being with the same insurance company for years, my husband and I were hesitant to switch. We worried we’d lose those loyalty discounts and that we’d end up paying a higher rate. However, shopping around for insurance was one of the best moves we made when we added our teenage son to our policy.

Members of the Main Line Parent Community have had similar experiences with switching insurance carriers. “I loved my agent of 18 years, but when I had to insure [my child], my insurance would have skyrocketed. He told me all his products would not be competitive with other companies out there. I price shopped till I dropped,” explained Patricia Harnett.

Sarah Todd, an insurance producer at Element Risk Management says, “Always shop! Some companies don’t want to insure young drivers, so they have higher rates than others.”

According to the website, CarInsurance.com, the average cost of adding a teen driver to the parents’ policy in Pennsylvania is an additional $1,530 per year (2022 data) with the average total cost jumping to $2,807 for the household policy. Of course, rates will vary depending on your location and the vehicle that you are insuring for your teen. Whether you’re insuring your son or daughter will also affect your insurance cost; when it comes to teen drivers, boys usually cost more to insure than girls. Why? Based on statistics, male teen drivers cause more accidents per year than female teen drivers.

As soon as your teen gets his or her permit, check with your insurance provider to ensure that he’s covered under your policy. Some insurance companies cover permit drivers without additional fees until they get their license, while others require an additional insurance purchase for teens with permits.

Ways to Lower Teen Insurance Rates

While car insurance for teens is going to be high no matter what steps you take, there are still some things you and your teen can do to minimize out of pocket expenses.

• Take a driver’s education class. Most insurance companies give discounts for teens who have enrolled in an official driver’s education class. There are private driving companies around the Main Line that provide classroom and behind-the-wheel driver training for new drivers. Check to see if your local vocational/tech school has driver training classes as well. Typically, they have larger class sizes, but they cost less than one-on-one driver training.
• Can you increase your deductible? If you have the funds available, you may want to consider raising your out-of-pocket deductible. While there’s always the risk that your teen will be in an accident and your car will need repairs, the higher deductible should lower your monthly insurance bill.
• Study hard! Many insurance companies offer student drivers a discount if they have A or B averages in school.
• Choose a car’s safety rating over style. When insurance companies look at insuring teens, they’re also looking at the type of vehicles they’ll be driving. Cars with higher safety ratings are not only safer for your teen, but they also cost less to insure.

While covering your teen on your insurance policy may sound like a daunting prospect, the average cost for independently insured teen drivers is well over $6000 per year. With some shopping around, asking a lot of questions, and being pro-active about getting insurance, your teen will be driving insured in no time.

Tell Us…

What has your experience been with insuring teen drivers? Tell us about it in the comments below. Your experience can help other Main Line families!

Lead photo by Easton Oliver (Unsplash). Edited by Beth Gilbert-Crowell. Originally published in 2018, data has been updated in 2023.