Best Car Insurance Companies for Teenagers (2025)
Auto-Owners and GEICO are the best national insurers for teen drivers, while COUNTRY Financial and NJM are top regional insurers.
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Car insurance for teen drivers costs more than coverage for any other age group. Nationally, teen car insurance averages $350 per month for full coverage and $198 monthly for liability-only insurance, Insurify data shows. By comparison, the national monthly averages for drivers of all ages are $182 and $103, respectively.
Insurers charge more to cover teenagers because young drivers have a greater risk of getting into an accident.1 But teen drivers can lower their rates by taking approved driver safety courses, choosing a lower-value car with safety features, and staying on their parents’ insurance policy. It’s also important for teen drivers and their parents to compare rates from multiple auto insurance companies.
Quick Facts
On average, teen drivers pay $350 per month for full coverage and $198 for liability-only car insurance.
It’s generally cheaper for teen drivers to stay on their parents’ auto insurance rather than buy their own policies.
Discounts for taking driver’s education courses and for students away at college can help families reduce the cost of insuring a teen driver.
Cheapest car insurance for teenagers
Overall, COUNTRY Financial offers the cheapest rates for teen drivers, with full-coverage rates as low as $78 per month and $44 per month for minimum-coverage policies. But the insurer offers auto coverage in just 19 states, so it won’t work for everyone. National insurers Auto-Owners and GEICO offer the best combination of wide availability and the cheapest rates for teens.
The following table illustrates average monthly rates from top insurers for teen drivers buying their own insurance policies.
Best car insurance companies for teenagers
To determine which car insurance companies are the best for teens, Insurify’s data team considered three main factors: cost, safety, and availability. To start, we looked at which insurance companies charge the least for teen drivers. All these insurers offer discounts for teens or young adult drivers, and many discounts encourage good grades and driving behavior.
We also included auto insurance companies that provide resources to help teens develop better driving habits and offer discounts to teens who pursue driving education. Finally, we considered the number of states an insurer operates in. Regional insurers typically offer the same coverages and discounts as national companies and may have lower rates. But their limited availability means they won’t be a good fit for every family.
Here’s a closer look at some of the best car insurance companies for teenagers and what parents need to know about each option.
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 500+ partner insurance providers. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.
Our editorial team spent more than 350 hours developing the Insurify Quality (IQ) Score and scoring insurance companies. The IQ Score objectively analyzes and calculates a score for insurers using more than 15 crucial criteria. The team weighted criteria by importance to the consumer — factors such as customer reviews and affordability influence the score more than availability and third-party ratings.
We rate each company on a 1 to 10 scale based on five categories: financial ratings, customer satisfaction, affordability, customer support and transparency, and availability. Insurify updates ratings once a year or as more recent information becomes available.
- Third-party financial ratings: Insurify uses data from AM Best, S&P, Moody’s, and more to compare insurance companies’ credit and ability to pay out future claims.
- Customer satisfaction: To calculate this score, Insurify analyzed more than 55,000 customer reviews across 155 car insurance companies. We also consider third-party ratings from J.D. Power, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and Trustpilot.
- Affordability: Our data scientists analyzed more than 90 million real-time auto insurance rates from our partners across the U.S., as well as available discounts, to calculate an affordability score.
- Customer support and transparency: This measures coverage options, ease of claims filing, and the insurer's transparency surrounding discounts, coverages, and claims process.
- Availability and reach: Insurify scores availability and reach by identifying the number of states in which insurers offer coverage and company size by market share.
GEICO: Best for low rates and national availability
COUNTRY Financial: Best for lowest rates overall
Hugo: Best for on-demand coverage
USAA: Best for military families
Metromile: Best for low-mileage teen drivers
State Farm: Best for building better driving skills
How much coverage do teen drivers need?
All states except New Hampshire require drivers to have a minimum amount of liability car insurance — so you’ll definitely need to buy at least that much. Liability car insurance pays for injuries and property damage to other parties in an accident you cause.
You can check with an insurance agent or your state’s motor vehicles department to find out your state’s minimum requirements.
If you lease or finance your vehicle, you’ll also need to buy full-coverage car insurance, which includes liability, comprehensive coverage, and collision coverage. Lenders and leasing companies require full coverage because it protects their investment in your vehicle. For example, if you cause an accident that totals your car, your insurance company will pay your lender the actual cash value of your vehicle.
And, because the actual cash value of your vehicle might be less than what you still owe on your auto loan, gap insurance can be a good idea. Gap insurance can pay any difference between what your auto insurer pays and your loan or lease balance.
Adding a teen to a parent’s policy vs. their own policy
Most teens start out driving on their parents’ car insurance policies. It’s illegal for anyone younger than 18 to buy an insurance policy without the written consent of a parent or guardian, so it’s typically easier to add a teen to an existing policy. And it’s generally cheaper for a teenager to stay on a parent’s policy than to buy their own.
Adding a teen to an adult’s policy will increase the premium, but not as much as the teen would pay for a policy of their own. Teen drivers on their parents’ policies can benefit from the adults’ good driving history, good credit, and lower risk profile.
The following table illustrates the cost differences for teen drivers on their own policy vs. being added to a parent’s policy. Adults with no teen on their policy pay the least in the table, and their rates increase when they add a teen. But the difference between their policy costs with a teen driver and without one is just $139 — $45 less per month than the teen would pay for their own, independent policy.
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 500+ partner insurance providers. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.
How to get cheaper car insurance for teenagers
Teen drivers and their parents can take steps to reduce their car insurance costs, including:
Compare rates from multiple insurers. Insurance rates can vary between companies. Comparing multiple quotes is the best way to find the coverage you need at a price you can afford.
Learn to drive safely. Many insurers offer discounts for teen (and adult) drivers who complete approved driver-safety courses.
Lean into discounts. Most insurance companies offer multiple discounts that can help families with teen drivers save, such as good student discounts, multi-vehicle discounts, bundling (home and auto) discounts, and more.
Choose the right vehicle. The year, make, model, and safety features of your vehicle affect car insurance rates. Pick a lower-value, reliable, and safe vehicle for your teen driver. Be sure your insurer assigns your teen to the least expensive car on your policy.
Consider adjusting your deductibles. If you have full-coverage car insurance, raising your collision and comprehensive deductibles will reduce your monthly premium. Just be sure you can afford to cover the deductible amount out of pocket in case of an at-fault accident.
Car insurance discounts for teenagers
Many different auto insurance discounts are available for teenagers and their families. The following table shows some examples of discounts popular auto insurers offer.
How age affects car insurance rates
Age is a significant factor in determining auto insurance premiums. Companies consider younger drivers riskier to insure due to their lack of experience on the road, tendency to be easily distracted, and higher accident frequency — all factors that increase their likelihood of filing a claim.
As young drivers mature and gain experience, their car insurance rates tend to fall. Rates start to climb again around age 70, when age-related issues like vision and mobility challenges can put drivers at higher risk of accidents.
Car insurance for teens FAQs
Insuring a teenage driver can be expensive, so it’s a smart idea to learn as much as you can about the best and cheapest car insurance for teen drivers. Here are some answers to commonly asked questions about teenagers and car insurance.
Why is car insurance for teens so expensive?
Car insurance companies charge more for teenage drivers due to the higher risk that teens will get into an accident that results in a claim. Young drivers are more likely to drive without a seat belt, text while driving, speed, and be involved in a fatal crash.
What car insurance company is the cheapest for teenagers?
COUNTRY Financial offers the lowest car insurance rates for teen drivers, with full coverage as low as $78 per month. GEICO is the national insurer with the cheapest rates for teen drivers.
Does adding a teenage boy cost more than adding a teenage girl?
While adding a teen driver to a parent’s policy is the cheapest way to insure them, it does cost more to insure a teenage boy. Teen boys are much more likely to be involved in fatal accidents than girls, more likely to speed, and more likely to drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to CDC data.
How much does it cost to add a teen to your car insurance?
To better understand how much it can cost to add a teen to your car insurance policy, let’s look at the monthly cost of auto insurance for different family structures.
The following data is sourced from Insurify’s proprietary database:
Monthly cost of two parents plus a teen driver: $599 per month for full coverage, $296 for liability only
Monthly cost of two parents: $316 for full coverage, $157 for liability only
Monthly cost of teen driver on their own policy: $372 for full coverage, $184 for liability only
What are the cheapest cars to insure for first-time drivers?
The best cars for teen drivers have safety features that protect the vehicle’s occupants in case of a crash, and that can help lower car insurance costs. Putting teen drivers in lower-value vehicles, rather than high-value luxury models, can also help hold down premiums. Examples of good cars for teens include Honda Civic, Subaru Outback, and Nissan Pathfinder.
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