How much will my car insurance rates rise after adding my teenage driver?

If you plan to allow your newly licensed teenager to drive your car even occasionally, then you will need to add them to your auto insurance policy. And, yes, unfortunately your rate will go up, but just by how much is the question.  If you fail to add them to your policy then it could mean that if there’s an accident and they are driving, there is no coverage and you could be liable for out of pocket expenses and damages to the other party, as well as your own property damage.   

So, back to the big question of how much will adding the teenager to your policy affect your car insurance rates.  This question really depends upon many factors including what kind of car they will drive, whether it’s for your son or daughter (no myth here, it does cost more to add a male than a female youthful driver), whether or not he or she completed a driver’s education course and even their grades – teens with GPA’s above 3.0 may qualify for a good student discount.

According to a recent study completed by carinsurance.com, your rates will rise anywhere between approximately 90% to a whopping 250%.  They took a typical couple in their mid to late 40’s with a good driving record and two average vehicles and then added a 16 year old to the policy. Then they compared increases in 25 cities spread out across America. The average dollar increase was $1,014 every six months.  This is because your teenager is considered a high risk driver out of the gate. It’s a known fact that new teenage drivers are 3.7 times more likely to be involved in an accident and 1.8 times more likely to get a traffic ticket compared to the average insured adult. Learn more about teenage driver crash statistics in California here.

There’s not a lot you can do to minimize the impact of a new teen driver on your policy. However, the good student discount we talked about above can lower your rate by as much as 15%.  In this case, it really does pay or save to get the good grades!

A final suggestion to lower your overall cost of adding your teen to your policy would be to increase your deductibles and lower your coverage amounts, but since a teen is more likely to cause liability damage in an accident, it may not be appropriate and often should only be considered as a last resort. 

If the cost is simply too prohibitive, hold off on the driving and the driver's license until you can find a way to afford it. If a child is away at college, he generally won't have access to your car anyway. This is probably the least popular means of dealing with the car insurance conundrum.

Other than these few suggestions, there isn't much other than time and a good driving record that can help to lower this cost. Remember, many factors are involved in your policy premium, some of which may not be mentioned in this article.  It’s always recommended that you speak with a licensed insurance agent in your state. S/he should be most qualified to consulting with you regarding policy decisions.