Teen Drivers Almost Double Parents’ Car Insurance Costs

The average married couple pays 80% more for car insurance after adding a teen driver to their policy, according to a new insuranceQuotes.com report. 16-year-olds cause the highest spike in premiums (96%); the average impact decreases to 60% at age 19.

Teenage males are much more expensive to insure than teenage females (average increases of 92% and 67%, respectively). Six states prohibit insurers from using gender in their rate calculations (Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina and Pennsylvania).

The most expensive state to insure a teen driver is New Hampshire, where the average premium jumps 115%. Teen drivers cause premiums to more than double in four other states: Wyoming (104%), Illinois (104%), Maine (103%) and Rhode Island (102%).

“It’s really expensive to insure a teen driver, but good student discounts can take some of the sting out of these bills,” said Laura Adams, senior analyst, insuranceQuotes.com. “I’ve seen discounts as high as 25% for students who maintain at least a B average in high school or college. Students and their parents need to proactively request this discount.”

Hawaii is the only state that does not allow age and length of driving experience to affect car insurance costs. As a result, teen drivers only cost 17% more to insure in Hawaii, the lowest increase in the nation by far. New York State has the second-lowest increase (53%), followed by Michigan (57%) and North Carolina (60%).

The cost to insure a teen driver has actually fallen a bit since 2013, when the average annual increase was 85% (98% for males and 73% for females).

Click here to view the average premium increases in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

http://www.insurancequotes.com/auto/teen-driving-costs-61515