Insurance
Car Insurance for Teens
Published September 24, 2026 · Last updated October 1, 2026
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The short answer
Adding a teen driver usually raises your car insurance bill, sometimes a lot. The reason is simple: teens crash more. According to the CDC, drivers ages 16 to 19 have a fatal crash rate almost three times that of drivers 20 and older, per mile driven.
The good news is that you have real ways to bring the price down. Here's how insurers look at teen drivers, how to add yours, and which discounts are worth asking about.
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Why teen drivers cost more to insure
Insurers price for risk, and the CDC's numbers show why teens are a big one:
- The youngest drivers are riskiest. 16-year-olds crash at about 1.5 times the rate of 18- and 19-year-olds.
- Night driving. Teens' fatal crash rate at night is about 3 times that of adults ages 30 to 59. In 2020, 44% of teen crash deaths happened between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
- Passengers. Having teen or young adult passengers in the car raises the risk, and it climbs with each extra passenger.
- Seat belts. More than half (56%) of teens killed in crashes in 2020 weren't buckled up.
- Phones. In 2019, 39% of teen drivers said they had texted or emailed while driving in the past 30 days.
In 2020, about 2,800 teens were killed in crashes, roughly 8 a day.
Add your teen to your policy or buy their own?
For most families, adding a teen to a parent's policy costs less than a separate policy. The Mississippi Insurance Department, for one, gives exactly that advice. Your teen gets to share in your multi-car, bundling, and loyalty discounts, and your liability limits.
A separate policy may make sense in a few cases, like when a teen owns their own car and the parents want to keep their own record separate. Ask for quotes both ways.
When to call your insurer. Rules vary by company, but many want to hear from you when your teen gets a learner's permit, and almost all need to know once your teen is licensed. Leaving a licensed driver in your household off the policy can cause problems with a claim.
Discounts worth asking about
The Insurance Information Institute lists these discounts for young drivers:
- Good student. Usually for teens with strong grades. Ask what the cutoff is and what proof the insurer wants.
- Driver training. For teens who've finished a driver's education course.
- Away at college without a car. If your student lives at school more than a set distance away and doesn't take a car, the price can drop a lot.
Many insurers also offer safe driving or telematics programs, which track driving through an app or a device. These can help a careful teen prove it.
Other ways to lower the cost
- Pick the right car. Insurance costs more for high-performance cars and models that are expensive to repair. A safe, modest car is usually cheaper to insure.
- Assign your teen to the cheapest car, if your insurer lets you choose which driver goes with which car.
- Raise your deductibles. The Insurance Information Institute says going from a $200 to a $500 deductible can cut collision and comprehensive costs by 15% to 30%. Going to $1,000 can save 40% or more.
- Don't drop liability limits to save money. A teen driver is exactly when you want strong liability coverage. If you have savings or a home to protect, consider an umbrella policy.
- Shop at renewal. Rates for teens often fall as they get older and build a clean record.
Rules that help keep teens safe
Most states license teens in stages, with limits on night driving and on how many passengers a new driver can carry. These rules line up with the biggest risks in the CDC data. Check your state's rules, and consider setting your own on top of them: no phone use, seat belts every trip, and limits on night driving and passengers for the first year.
Not a quote or an offer. Your price comes from the insurance company.
Keep reading
Want to lower the whole family's bill? See how to lower car insurance and what affects your auto insurance price.
More car insurance guides: Car insurance cost · SR-22 insurance · High-risk car insurance · Liability-only car insurance · How to lower car insurance · What affects your auto insurance price · What comprehensive covers · Car insurance without a car · Umbrella insurance · All car insurance
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