How much is car insurance for a 16-year-old?

Here’s what you need to know…

• When adding a teen to your auto insurance, your rates may go up anywhere from a few hundred dollars to over $1,000 annually
• Insurance companies view teenagers as high-risk drivers, which is why rates are higher for them
• Asking about discounts, raising your deductible, and driving an inexpensive vehicle can help reduce your car insurance rates

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It’s one of the most exciting moments of their lives and one of the most worrisome (and expensive) of yours. Your teenager has turned 16, passed driver’s education, and will soon be licensed to drive, but how much is car insurance for a 16-year-old? Each insurer is different when it comes to newly licensed drivers, especially those who are 16 years old.

Many insurers demand that you list every person in your household who is 15 years of age or older on your insurance policy application, and exclude them if they are not going to drive. Learn more about insurance exclusions so you’re not surprised down the road.

Though your teen may not be licensed or “allowed” to drive, they are certainly capable of getting behind the wheel of your car and causing an accident. But can a 16-year-old get auto insurance? Yes. And insurance quotes are free, so shop around.

Below, we’ll answer questions like, “How much is insurance for a 16-year-old male?” and a lot more. You can also compare insurance rates with our helpful tool.

How much will a teenage driver raise my car insurance rates?

If you’re wondering about male vs. female insurance rates for teenagers, you should know that males often pay more than females. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• The increase in premiums when getting car insurance for a 16-year-old male or female will vary by the auto insurance company.
• The average cost of auto insurance for a 16-year-old male can range from a few hundred bucks to over $1,000 annually.
• According to the Insurance Information Institute, chances are you will see a sizeable increase in rates when adding a teen driver.
• Your rates won’t go down until your teen turns 25 and/or they’re removed from your auto insurance policy.

There are several variables that affect how much adding a teenage driver will raise your rates.

Does car insurance go down when you turn 25? The one guarantee is that your rates will go up, and in most cases, they won’t come back down until your child is removed from the policy or they turn 25 years old. Do insurance companies check driving records? Yes, and they charge more if you have violations on your record.

You can expect to pay a lot or even have to exclude your child from your policy altogether if they get a ticket and have an accident within the first couple of years they have their license.

Insurers are already leery of your teen driver, but if you throw traffic offenses into the mix, you’ll be in real trouble.

How much does it cost to add a teenager to car insurance? It depends on a number of factors, but you can expect your rates to go up dramatically. Auto insurance for teens is not cheap.

What is the cheapest insurance for a 16-year-old? There’s no easy answer to that question. However, it’s always a good idea to shop around when you’re ready to add your teen to your car insurance policy. Use our free tool below to compare rates in your area right now.

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Read more: Why Did My Car Insurance Rate Go Up? No Accident or Ticket

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Why the automatic increase in premium for teen drivers?

Your teen is turning 16, so you call your insurance company and ask, “How much is car insurance for a teenager a month?” You’re shocked by the price they quote you. Why the drastic increase in your premium?

• Insurance is a numbers game.
• More risk means the insurer needs to charge more for coverage.
• Teen drivers are inexperienced drivers, so they’re inherently more risky

Insurance companies make money by charging more for insurance than they pay out in claims. Their goal is to match the lowest premiums to those of us who are least likely to be involved in an accident and the highest premiums to those of us who are most likely to do so…see where we’re going with this?

You guessed it. Teenagers represent a huge risk to insurance companies in the form of claims. For the most part, this is simply due to a lack of experience behind the wheel. Remember when you weren’t able to change the radio station while entering the freeway at the same time? As your teen ages, they will become a more experienced driver and your auto insurance rates will go down.

Male vs. Female Teens: Who costs more to insure?

Are insurance rates lower for females? One of the many variables affecting the increase in your insurance premium is your child’s gender. How much is insurance for a 16-year-old male per month vs a female? You can expect to pay quite a bit more for a newly licensed male driver.

Why? Teen boys tend to have many more tickets and accidents than female teen drivers. It goes back to who is likely going to cost the insurance company more money. Young men tend to drive more aggressively than young women. They take more chances and have a habit of pushing the limits when it comes to operating a motor vehicle.

An example of the differences in rates between males and females in Anchorage, AK can be seen in the chart below.

Anchorage, AK Average Annual Car Insurance Rates by Age. Gender, and Marital Status

So how much is auto insurance for a 16-year-old male? As you can see, male teenagers pay the most. However, insurance statistics are starting to reveal a growing trend of newly licensed females prone to distracted driving. This alarming trend is related solely to texting while driving.

Additionally, some studies show that driving while texting is equally, and in some cases, more dangerous than driving while intoxicated; you’re either looking at the road or you’re not. You can expect the premium gap between young men and women to close if this trend continues and more claims are paid as a result of actions by female drivers.

Additionally, rates will differ based on state. For example, the answer to how much is car insurance for a 16-year-old male in Florida will be different from the answer to how much does car insurance cost for a 16-year-old male in Texas.

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How can I reduce the costs associated with insuring a newly licensed teenager?

So, how can you find affordable car insurance in this situation? Fortunately, just like everything else in life, you can do some things to “earn” the trust of your insurer and demonstrate that your teen driver is not as much of a risk as the average newly licensed driver. However, the average insurance cost for a 16-year-old male can vary.

Here are some basic points to cover when figuring out how much it costs to insure a 16-year-old driver.

Discounts, Discounts, Discounts

There are several discounts available to lower your car insurance rates and ease the checkbook shock of adding a young driver to your insurance policy.

Some of the most common are the good student discount and the safe driver discount. Your teen will have to earn the latter by maintaining a clean driving record.

You can have your teen sit through a defensive driver course to earn a discount, as well. These classes are frequently offered online. Expect to pay about $50 for the class and to spend at least four hours learning and testing on how to be a safe driver.

Virtually every major insurer offer a variety of discounts, so you should also ask about the multi-car discount, multi-policy discount, discounts for a good safety rating or safety features on your vehicle, and anything else that might apply.

There are also distant student discounts available if your 16-year-old goes off to college in a couple of years.

Your provider might also offer a usage-based insurance program, which monitors your driving habits with a mobile app or telematics device and issues you a discount for driving safely. This could motivate your teen to obey traffic laws while also saving you money.

Raise Your Deductibles

If you haven’t already done so, this may be the time to raise your auto insurance deductible as well. Higher deductibles are one of the most overlooked options for lowering insurance rates, for 16-year-old drivers and adults alike.

You may have enjoyed the $250 deductible for years, but going up to the $1,000 deductible gives your insurance carrier the peace of mind that you’re willing to put some skin in the game when it comes to paying for damage caused to your vehicle by your newly licensed driver.

Raising your deductible could knock a few hundred dollars per year off your premium.

That’s going to help quite a bit. Your auto insurance premium will depend on your specific company as well. How much is insurance for a 16-year-old at State Farm? To answer this question accurately, it’s important to speak with that company directly.

Unless your family is in dire financial straits, never consider lowering your insurance liability limits as a means to lower your rates. If your independent insurance agent or direct insurer offers you this option, it may be prudent to decline and look for a new agent or insurer.

They probably don’t have your best interests in mind. You need to switch to a different insurance company if the only way your current insurer can help is to risk your financial future.

Pick The “Right” Car For Your Teen

Assuming your new driver will have their own vehicle, choosing the right car for your teen driver can mean a difference of several hundred dollars per year. The cars that are the most expensive to insure are even more expensive when a teenager is driving them.

So, a 2012 Mustang with physical damage coverage is not a good idea. However, a used 1995 Honda Civic with liability-only coverage will save you a ton of money.

Easily compare insurance rates using our comparison tool below.

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Should my 16-year-old have his own car insurance policy?

Insurance agents get asked this question every day. While this ultimately comes down to your personal preference and risk tolerance, it’s generally not the best idea and here’s why: You are responsible for your child and their actions. Period. Many insurance claims are settled in court every year.

Having your teen on their own individual policy does not guarantee you won’t be found negligent for their behavior and sued accordingly.

Just don’t expect your insurance company to defend you in court if your child is not on your auto policy with you. Your teen’s separate policy may pay out its full limits and that might not be enough to cover the damages in a particularly nasty accident.

This is when the injured party’s attorney sues you personally. Remember, your child is a minor until the age of 18 in most states. This means you could be “on the hook,” legally speaking, for their negligence.

This is a hotly contested concept in the insurance world. Just be sure to consider that you are not the first person in the U.S. to try to beat the system and save a buck. Also, consider that insurance companies and attorneys are better at this sort of thing than you are and they know how not to get beat. Insure accordingly.

If the person who’s telling you it’s okay to get your teen their own policy is the person who makes a commission by selling you that policy, they may not have your best interests in mind.

What’s the bottom line?

So, how much is insurance for a 16-year-old? Contrary to what your checkbook is telling you, you might consider actually raising your liability limits when you add a teen driver to your policy. Can insurance help you avoid bankruptcy?

Yes, it costs more, but the goal of auto insurance coverage is to keep you from going bankrupt in the event you cause someone serious bodily injury or property damage. Additionally, the average price of car insurance for a 16-year-old male or female can vary. It’s still going to be cheaper to keep your teen on your policy rather than getting them a stand-alone policy of their own.

If all rational thought tells you (and all statistics tell insurance companies) that your teen is likely to cause an accident, you may want to cover your “assets” accordingly.

You can be sued for more than what your insurer will pay. The result of losing that court case may be wage garnishment or asset forfeiture. So it may be prudent to consider a personal liability umbrella policy to supplement your car insurance coverage.

Believing you can only be sued for your auto insurance liability limits is a common insurance myth that can destroy your financial future in the blink of an eye.

So, how much does insurance cost for a 16-year-old male or female? There are some different factors involved but you can compare rates on insurance for teen drivers today by entering your ZIP code into our FREE tool.

References:

1. https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-teen-drivers
2. https://thelawdictionary.org/defensive-driver-course/

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