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

Whether you’re looking for yourself or a dependent, shopping for car insurance for a 16-year-old may be a new experience that has significant financial implications. Teenagers and young adults tend to pay more for car insurance, so it’s important to be diligent when choosing a company and coverage details.

It’s easy to get stuck overpaying for car insurance if you rush to buy the first car insurance policy available. This article will aim to give you a better understanding of how much you should pay for car insurance for a 16-year-old and some of the common variables that influence those rates.

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

If you’re looking for car insurance for a 16-year-old, there’s a good chance you’re about to incur a new expense. The issue is that 16-year-olds have very little driving experience and ultimately are considered a greater risk to insurance companies.

Even if a 16-year-old has excellent driving habits, they won’t be rewarded with cheaper rates for a few years. That said, there are some potential discounts that can lessen the cost of car insurance for teenagers. Young driver car insurance may come with some small challenges. (For more information, read our “The Cheapest Cars to Insure for Young Drivers“).

It’s important to know that car insurance rates vary due to many factors. Age is one factor, however, where you live plays a notable role in your car insurance rates, too. In general, those that live in large cities tend to pay more than those that live countryside. Car insurance companies assume greater risk in areas of higher traffic and ultimately charge more for insurance in those areas.

While it might be hard to give precise sample rates for a 16-year-old without any additional context, we can provide some sample rates to exemplify how rates vary and what might be considered normal for a 16-year-old.

Read more: How much insurance coverage do I need?

Sample 16-Year-Old Car Insurance Rates

The sample car insurance rates below are for a 16-year-old with no accidents or notable driving incidents. The rates were provided as if the driver was a full-time student driving a 2012 Honda Accord. These rates are for liability coverage only and would be subject to increases for greater coverage.

Sample Car Insurance Rates for a16-Year-Old

You’ll see above that a 16-year-old’s car insurance rates can fluctuate greatly between states, companies, and by gender. It’s common for car insurance rates to vary by company by a small percentage. Choosing the right company can sometimes save $40 or $50 per month.

These sample rates show much greater variance, emphasizing the importance of shopping multiple car insurance companies. In Odessa, Florida, 16-year-olds could pay well over $100 per month more for Progressive than Geico. This major difference was not as significant between the two companies in Portland, Maine.

As with most forms of insurance, males tend to pay more than females. Males tend to get into more frequent and more serious accidents, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Again, assumed risk increases the rates for males compared to females.

How to Save on Car Insurance for a 16-Year-Old

Whether you’re a parent or a 16-year-old student, it might be tough to take on a new expense exceeding $200 per month. It might help to find other ways to save on car insurance as an inexperienced driver. This means looking for additional discounts.

There are a few potential options for saving on car insurance for teenagers, listed below:

• Good student discount
• Driver education discount
• Purchasing a safe vehicle
• Purchasing liability coverage only
• Raising the insurance deductible
• Driver tracking/pay as you drive

Many car insurance companies offer discounts to 16-year-olds if they have good grades. Usually, this means they need a “B” letter grade average or a 3.0 grade point average. State Farm offers a discount of up to 25% for good students. The associated discount does vary from company to company.

Defensive driving or driver education courses can also help to lower rates. Allstate offers a discount for those who take the teenSMART driver education course. Before you take a course, be sure your insurance company will approve it for a discount.

Safe cars are less expensive to insure. You can look up vehicle safety ratings to get a better idea. Keep in mind that you will have less flexibility with coverage if you take a loan out on a car. Most lenders require full coverage on cars until the loan is paid off. Liability coverage is much less expensive without comprehensive coverage or collision coverage.

Some companies, such as State Farm, will monitor your driving habits. State Farm’s Drive Safe & Save program will track vehicle speed, braking habits, and phone usage. Assuming these are all within reason, drivers could save up to 30% on car insurance. Even 10% can be a major discount on car insurance for 16-year-old drivers.

Overall, there are a handful of options that can make car insurance more reasonable for 16-year-olds.

Read more: How much is car insurance for a 20-year-old?

Cost of Car Insurance for 16-Year-Olds: The Bottom Line

Young adults and teenagers can expect to pay more for car insurance. By shopping rates from multiple companies and applying eligible discounts, 16-year-olds can find more affordable car insurance rates.