Average Cost of Car Insurance for 16-Year-Olds
Find Cheap 16-Year-Old Auto Insurance Quotes
The average cost to insure a 16-year-old is $813 per month for full coverage, based on our analysis of thousands of rates across nine states. On average, 16-year-old boys pay $63 more per month compared to girls.
Erie has the cheapest car insurance for 16-year-old drivers at $311 per month for full coverage, based on our analysis of thousands of rates across nine states. Although car insurance for 16-year-olds is expensive, you can save by sharing an insurance policy with your parents, getting quotes from multiple insurers and maximizing how many discounts you get.
Cost of car insurance for a 16-year-old
16-year-olds can expect to pay on average $813 per month for car insurance. Among the different insurers we analyzed, rates ranged from $311 to $1,141 per month for full coverage, which highlights the importance of getting quotes from multiple insurers.
Find Cheap 16-Year-Old Auto Insurance Quotes
Find the Cheapest Insurers for Young Drivers in Each State
Erie offers the cheapest insurance for 16-year-olds at a monthly rate of $311. As Erie is only available in 13 states, Farmers is the cheapest option offered nationwide at $415 per month.
Average cost of car insurance for a 16-year-old
Insurer | Monthly cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Erie | $311 |
| Farmers | $415 |
| USAA | $423 |
| Geico | $479 |
| Nationwide | $539 |
| State Farm | $577 |
| Progressive | $772 |
| Allstate | $1,141 |
| Average | $813 |
Cost of car insurance for 16-year-olds compared to other ages
Insuring a 16-year-old driver can be very expensive. The cost to insure a 16-year-old driver is more than double the average cost to insure a 25-year-old. A 16-year-old can expect their insurance cost to decrease by an average of 9% when they turn 17.
How do rates differ between 16-year-old male and female drivers?
The average cost of car insurance for 16-year-old female drivers is generally cheaper than the cost for male drivers. This is because young male drivers tend to display more risky driving behavior compared to young female drivers, such as speeding or driving drunk.
Age | Monthly cost - male driver | Monthly cost - female driver |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | $845 | $782 |
| 17 | $768 | $705 |
| 18 | $647 | $586 |
Why is car insurance so expensive for 16-year-olds?
Car insurance is much more expensive for 16-year-old drivers because they are more likely to get in accidents than older drivers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), teen drivers are three times more likely than other drivers to get in a fatal crash.
Rates for 16-year-olds are also higher because insurance companies don't have existing data to base their models on. Car insurance rates are partly based on your driving history, as someone who has driven accident-free for several years will pay less for insurance than someone who has caused several car accidents.
But for these teens, who have typically had their driver's licenses for a year or less, there's very little data for insurance companies to base their decision on. This leads to higher costs for every teenage driver, no matter how careful they are.
The cheapest auto insurance company for 16-year-olds by state
Geico and State Farm are frequently the cheapest insurers, as both companies are the cheapest option in three states. Below are the cheapest insurance companies for a 16-year-old in our nine sample states.
[table align="left left right" footnote="We did not include USAA in these recommendations, as its policies only serve current or former military members and their families.] State | Insurer | Average monthly rate _ California | State Farm | $349 _ Florida | Geico | $425 _ Georgia | Georgia Farm Bureau | $274 _ Illinois | State Farm | $390 _ Michigan | Frankenmuth Mutual | $952 _ New York | Geico | $534 _ North Carolina | State Farm | $201 _ Ohio | Geico | $333 _ Texas | Fred Loya | $264 _ [/table]Do I have to add my teenager to my car insurance?
In most cases, you are required to add your 16-year-old son or daughter to your car insurance as soon as they get their license. Some states mandate it by law, and many insurance companies require it too. Even if it's not required, it's a smart idea to ensure everyone is covered by your car insurance.
Typically, you only need to add a driver to your policy once they have their license. If your 16-year-old hasn't yet passed their license test, they usually don't need to be listed on your policy.
Rates for 16-year-olds are cheaper under parents' insurance
The most substantial way to save money on car insurance as a 16-year-old is to get added to your parents' insurance policy instead of buying your own policy. A 16-year-old male could reduce his rates by 45% by joining his parents' car insurance policy.
Some insurance companies require you to have one shared policy for everyone in your family. Even if you are able to buy your own policy, you'll likely need your parents to approve the agreement — an insurer won't let you buy a policy on your own as a minor, since minors can't legally sign contracts.
Driving laws for 16-year-olds
Many states have laws limiting how and when 16-year-olds can drive, even after they've passed their license tests. Teen drivers often have intermediate licenses, also called provisional or restricted licenses, which come with restrictions that don't apply to adult drivers.
For example, 16-year-old drivers in Florida can't drive between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. In California, 16-year-olds can't have passengers under 20 years old unless a driver aged 25 or older is supervising.
How to save on the cost of auto insurance for 16-year-olds
Car insurance rates for 16-year-old drivers are very high, but there are ways to bring your monthly premium down. The best thing to do is to be added to a family member's policy rather than buying your own.
But there are other ways to get the cheapest possible car insurance for a 16-year-old.
Shop around at multiple insurance companies
Every insurance company offers different prices, and the discrepancy is particularly high when it comes to teenagers — going with one insurer over another can amount to thousands of dollars saved over the course of a year.
However, the cheapest insurers for 16-year-old drivers will vary by region. You should collect quotes from several different insurance companies to be confident you're paying as little as possible.
Find discounts for 16-year-old drivers
To offset the high cost of insurance for 16-year-olds, many insurance companies offer a variety of discounts targeted specifically for young drivers. Here are some common deductions to look out for.
- Good grades: If you're a full-time high school or college student with a certain GPA (often a "B"/3.0 or better), you can see a reduction in rates.
- Driving tracker: Many insurance companies will provide you with a telematics driving tracker, which reduces your rates after you've demonstrated that you drive safely. For example, it may show that you don't suddenly start or stop, or swerve on the road. These plug into your car's diagnostic port, or use a mobile app, to track your habits.
- Driving class: Sixteen-year-old drivers are likely to have recently taken driver's education, but many states allow you to take a driver's education course to automatically reduce your car insurance rates — in New York state, the discount is 10%.
- Student away from home: This discount applies more often to college students than 16-year-old high schoolers, but if you're more than 100 miles away from home for school (such as boarding school), and you don't have a car with you, you'll usually qualify to have your insurance rates reduced.
- Pay-in-full: You can get a discount on your car insurance from most insurers by paying for the entire plan in full, rather than breaking the cost up by month.
Buy a car that's cheaper to insure
If you or your parents are buying a new or used car for you to drive once you turn 16, one major consideration is how much it costs to insure. The price of car insurance varies significantly by car model — for example, we found in our study of the cheapest cars to insure that a Honda CR-V, the car with the lowest monthly rates, is 33% cheaper to insure than a Ford Mustang.
Buying a fun or fast car — like a Mustang — may seem appealing, but it's likely to be much more expensive to buy, drive and insure than a car like a Honda Civic. Plus, if you do get in an accident, a sports car will be more expensive to repair.
Drop comprehensive and collision coverage
One of the simplest ways for teenagers to lower their insurance bills is to reduce the amount of coverage they're paying for. The most commonly removed portions of car insurance are comprehensive and collision coverage, which pay for the repair of your own vehicle. Collision covers you if your car is damaged in a crash and no one else is at fault. Comprehensive coverage pays for damage caused by something other than a collision, like vandalism or theft.
Both coverages are optional unless you have a car loan or lease. Dropping comprehensive and collision coverage is generally a better idea when your car is older and not worth as much money. This is because the maximum possible payout of coverage — the replacement cost of your car — is often less than the cost of coverage. However, you should only drop these coverages if you can afford to repair or replace your car without them.
How to get car insurance for a 16-year-old
For 16-year-olds who are simply adding themselves to their parents' policy, getting behind the wheel can be as simple as calling your insurance agent or going to your insurer's website.
However, adding a 16-year-old to a car insurance policy is an ideal time to check with other insurers to see how much they charge for their coverage and to consider switching insurance companies in order to save money.
Can a 16 year-old get their own car insurance?
Yes, a 16 year-old can purchase their own car insurance policy. However, along with it being more expensive, there will likely be an extra step in the process.
They'll probably need to have a parent approve or cosign the agreement, as minors can't sign legally binding contracts.
Methodology
Our study used car insurance quotes from thousands of ZIP codes across nine of the most populated states in the U.S. Our sample drivers were 16-year-old boys and girls who drove a 2015 Honda Civic EX. All other parameters affecting car insurance rates were kept constant.
The full coverage policies that we used had the following limits:
Coverage type | Study limits |
|---|---|
| Bodily injury liability | $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident |
| Property damage liability | $25,000 per accident |
| Uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily injury | $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident |
| Comprehensive and collision | $500 deductible |
| Personal injury protection (PIP) | Minimum when required by state |
Our study included 29 insurance companies, but rates from insurers were only added to our list of average prices and recommendations if their policies were available in at least three of the nine states.
ValuePenguin's analysis collected insurance rate data from Quadrant Information Services. The rates used were sourced publicly from insurer filings. The rates mentioned in this study should be used for comparative purposes only, as your own quotes may be different.