How Can Young Adult and Teen Drivers Get Affordable Car Insurance?

Young adult drivers, teen drivers, and drivers who just recently got their license are typically considered high-risk drivers by most insurance companies. As a result, they are usually charged significantly more for insurance. Though this price increase can seem inevitable, there are still ways you can save.

Discounts for Drivers Under 26

While drivers under 26 typically pay higher rates for insurance due to the risk associated with their age group, that doesn’t mean finding appropriate discounts is impossible. Depending on the carrier, young drivers can take advantage of several discounts that can significantly decrease insurance spending. This might include:

• Student away at college discounts: While many students away at college don’t drive, getting rid of insurance coverage while at school means a gap in insurance, which can make it harder and more expensive to find insurance later. To avoid this issue, some insurers allow students to pay a discounted rate just to keep their policy active while they’re away.
• Good grade discounts: Drivers currently enrolled in college can get discounts for maintaining an A or B average in school.
• Safe driver discounts: Once a driver under 26 has a few years of driving experience with no associated traffic incidents, they may be eligible for safe driver discounts.

Besides the additional costs of being considered a young driver, it’s the time during or just after college that many drivers choose to find their own insurance policies, which makes significantly higher prices almost inevitable. With so many factors leading to higher rates, discounts are particularly useful to this group and should always be taken into consideration while comparing insurers.

Discounts for Teen Drivers

If you are proactive and ask your carrier directly, chances are you’ll find they offer at least a few discounts that might be relevant to your teen driver. Though the savings may seem small on paper, they add up. Here are just a few possibilities:

• High GPA discounts: As with college students, carriers often offer discounts for students that maintain a 3.5 to 4.0 GPA average in high school.
• Defensive driving course discounts: Teens who take a driving safety course can get discounts for taking the initiative and trying to be good drivers.
• Low-mileage discounts: Not all carriers offer this as an option, but teens that don’t need to drive often should consider a pay-per-mile policy.

As your carrier isn’t required to tell you about all the discounts they have available, always do your research and see what options you have yourself. The savings are worth it.

Delaying Driving to Save

Though it might seem unfair or downright impractical, delaying getting a license even a year or two can make a significant difference in insurance costs. A 16-year-old who is new to driving will generally pay more than a 17-year-old with the same experience level, and a 17-year-old will pay more than an 18-year-old.

This suggestion depends entirely on your family situation and location and is likely not viable for most young adults. For teens living at home with their parents, however, this can be financially beneficial. While some teens need a license to drive themselves to school or work, and there are many who simply want the freedom a car offers, there are teens who live in places with enough public transportation that waiting a year or two to get their license isn’t a big deal. In those cases, this can mean significant savings.

Other Ways to Save

Most multiple vehicle insurance policies insure every driver on the policy to every car on the policy as a default. This can cause notable price hikes when you add a young or teen driver to a policy that includes an expensive sports car, which can be pricey to insure to begin with. Though not common, some insurers allow policyholders to exclude young/teen drivers from specific cars covered by a policy, so they won’t have to pay those associated price increases. Check with your carrier directly to see if this is an option.

Not all carriers offer this when it comes to drivers under 18, but young adult or teen drivers can also purchase their own policy altogether. Whether this saves money immediately or not depends on your situation. In the case above, with the family policy that includes an expensive sports car, this could be another way around it -- by having their own policy, the young adult or teen can be insured to a much more basic car that costs less to cover. The main benefit to getting a driver under 26 their own policy is allowing them more financial freedom and potentially earning them lower cost insurance in the long run -- in general, the longer an individual has insurance on their own, the less they pay over time.

Just like adding any new driver, adding a driver under 26 to your car insurance will cause prices to increase, with the cost of a young adult or teen being particularly expensive because they are categorized as high-risk drivers. While there is no way to avoid paying more, using our suggestions to lower your rates can lessen the financial blow.

Drivers under 26 years old do not have to overpay. By matching you to the best quotes from companies that specialize in young and teen drivers, we can help you save. Enter your zip code to begin!