Editor's note: This article first appeared on Insurance.comand is reprinted here with their permission. Click here for the original post.
|If you're about to buy car insurance for your teen driver,prepare to open your wallet.
|The cost of adding a teen to your auto insurance policy willmore than double your annual insurance premium in almost everystate, according to data gathered by Insurance.com. Only parents inHawaii—where laws prohibit use of age and experience as ratingfactors—escape this financial wallop.
|“A newly licensed teen in your household is a problem for bothyou and your insurance company,” says Des Toups, managing editor ofInsurance.com. “Insurance costs a lot because there's a very highrisk of using it.”
|Teens more likely to get in car accidents
|Teens are more expensive to insure than older drivers becausethey're more likely to get in car accidents. The crash rate permile driven for 16- to 19-year-olds is four times higher than therisk for older drivers, according to the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention (CDC). The risk is highest for 16-year-olds,who have a crash rate twice as high as 18- and 19-year-olds.
|Insurance.com compared rates in 10 ZIP codes in each state on a2014 Honda Accord driven by a 40-year-old man buying full coverage,then added a 16-year-old teen to the policy.
- Nationwide, on average, a household's car insurance bill rose152%.
- A teenage boy was more expensive. The average bill rose 176%,compared with 129% for teenage girls.
- California rates rose the most, more than 200%.
|
Huge differences between companies
|Behind each state average is a wide swing in rates from companyto company. For example, in Irvine, California (ZIP 92408), therates for the adult driver alone ranged from $956 to $1,776 a year.Adding a teen male to the policy, the rates ranged from $2,369 to$6,186.
|“You can see why the first words out of any insurance expert'smouth tend to be 'shop around',” Toups says.
|The value of discounts is never more apparent than when yourbill has suddenly soared. See “Cheap car insurance for teens” for 10 ways tofind savings that may take out some of the sting.
| State | Adultalone | Withteen | Increase |
| Alabama | $1,217 | $3,521 | 184% |
| Alaska | $1,188 | $3,384 | 181% |
| Arizona | $1,009 | $2,984 | 192% |
| Arkansas | $1,277 | $3,059 | 143% |
| California | $1,461 | $4,903 | 227% |
| Colorado | $1,095 | $2,664 | 142% |
| Connecticut | $1,597 | $4,917 | 217% |
| Delaware | $1,538 | $4,155 | 170% |
| District of Columbia | $1,628 | $3,527 | 118% |
| Florida | $1,463 | $3,849 | 172% |
| Georgia | $1,210 | $3,263 | 168% |
| Hawaii | $1,104 | $1,121 | 2% |
| Idaho | $822 | $2,583 | 217% |
| Illinois | $990 | $3,030 | 195% |
| Indiana | $950 | $2,400 | 162% |
| Iowa | $939 | $2,484 | 159% |
| Kansas | $1,141 | $2,664 | 130% |
| Kentucky | $1,177 | $3,102 | 174% |
| Louisiana | $1,645 | $4,943 | 194% |
| Maine | $758 | $1,942 | 153% |
| Maryland | $1,260 | $3,418 | 169% |
| Massachusetts | $1,469 | $3,228 | 132% |
| Michigan | $2,297 | $5,223 | 121% |
| Minnesota | $1,270 | $2,704 | 124% |
| Mississippi | $1,218 | $2,930 | 146% |
| Missouri | $1,039 | $2,406 | 130% |
| Montana | $1,321 | $2,935 | 126% |
| Nebraska | $1,035 | $2,527 | 147% |
| Nevada | $1,113 | $2,651 | 132% |
| New Hampshire | $865 | $2,450 | 186% |
| New Jersey | $1,348 | $4,092 | 204% |
| New Mexico | $1,125 | $2,466 | 113% |
| New York | $1,336 | $3,320 | 147% |
| North Carolina | $836 | $2,408 | 204% |
| North Dakota | $1,365 | $2,758 | 116% |
| Ohio | $763 | $1,757 | 136% |
| Oklahoma | $1,405 | $3,006 | 114% |
| Oregon | $1,110 | $2,577 | 133% |
| Pennsylvania | $1,252 | $3,046 | 146% |
| Rhode Island | $2,117 | $5,750 | 149% |
| South Carolina | $1,055 | $2,674 | 155% |
| South Dakota | $1,080 | $2,260 | 109% |
| Tennessee | $1,256 | $2,881 | 134% |
| Texas | $1,416 | $3,534 | 145% |
| Utah | $935 | $2,165 | 131% |
| Vermont | $900 | $2,288 | 146% |
| Virginia | $849 | $2,288 | 167% |
| Washington | $1,075 | $2,636 | 144% |
| West Virginia | $1,534 | $3,914 | 168% |
| Wisconsin | $863 | $2,185 | 157% |
| Wyoming | $1,237 | $3,175 | 156% |
| National average | $1,215 | $3,059 | 152% |
Methodology: Insurance.com commissioned QuadrantInformation Services to calculate auto insurance rates from sixlarge carriers (Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, Nationwide, Progressiveand State Farm) in 10 ZIP codes per state. Rates were compiled inJanuary 2015.
|Rates are based on full coverage for a single, 40-year-old malewho commutes 12 miles to work each day, with policy limits of100/300/50 ($100,000 for injury liability for one person, $300,000for all injuries and $50,000 for property damage in an accident)and a $500 deductible on collision and comprehensive coverage. Thehypothetical driver has a clean record and good credit. The rateincludes uninsured motorist coverage. A second set of rates wascompiled with a newly licensed teenage male and female added to thepolicy.
|Actual rates will depend on individual driver factors.
|Additional reading
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