Car Insurance Rates by Age

Car insurance rates by age

As drivers age, their car insurance rates typically change as well. This has to do with how insurance companies assign risk to drivers of varying ages. Insurance companies use age as a way to predict driving ability. Young drivers are thought of as riskier to insure than are drivers in their 50s, for example. 

Let’s break down average car insurance rates by age — starting first with teen drivers.

Teens

If the thought of a teen behind the wheel makes you nervous, you can imagine what an insurance company — financially responsible for its customers' actions — feels. On average, teens pay over three times more than the average driver, making them the most expensive age group to insure. So, if you’re a parent with a teen driver, you understand the struggle of finding affordable insurance for your young driver.

Let's explore car insurance for teens more deeply; which companies are the most affordable, most highly rated and offer the most discount options. 

Best car insurance for teens

Cheap car insurance options for teens

In order to really understand who has the cheapest insurance for teen drivers, our experts took sample rates from a few different companies. We discovered USAA and GEICO were the cheapest insurance companies for a teen driver, with all other metrics constant. 

AVERAGE COST OF CAR INSURANCE FOR A 17-YEAR-OLD

AVERAGE 6-MONTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS: TEEN ON PARENTS' PLAN

Keep in mind, this data is reflective of one type of profile in a location that may not represent you. Use this data as a starting point when shopping for car insurance.

Follow our lead and use our tool to compare insurance quotes.

Other ways to save on insurance costs

There’s no quick and easy way to half your insurance premium if you have a teen. Still, in addition to looking at as many companies as possible, we have some other solutions in mind.

Consider discounts

To learn more, check out our comprehensive guide:  Car Insurance Discounts.

• Safe driver
• Equipment discount
• Paid in full discount
• Paid via bank discount

Consider telematics

Telematics are in-car devices that monitor the way your teen drives in order to develop a more comprehensive car insurance premium. If your teen is an especially careful driver, their age can still hurt them based on the historical data. But with a telematics-based insurance plan, you might be able to save some money.

Choose a moderately priced vehicle

While your teen son or daughter may want that brand new ride, it’s not a good idea for your insurance premium. Vehicles with high MSRP driven by an inexperienced driver are major red flags to your insurance company. And they’ll almost always offset their fears of major property damage and bodily injury payouts with a higher premium. If you want to help keep that premium as low as possible, keep your teen driving an older sedan or car and reserve the fancy new car for yourself.

Avoid accidents

While this isn't mind-boggling advice, avoiding accidents as a young driver is probably the most important thing you can do to keep your rates low. Not only do insurance companies charge quite a bit for accidents, but they stay on your driving record for three years. On average, an at-fault accident raises premiums by $384 every six months. And, as with most claims, most insurance companies charge following an accident for up to three years, stretching that $384 per six months to over $2,300 in total. If you’re already paying a lot more to insure a young driver, you don’t want to factor in an accident. Drive safe and pay less.

AVERAGE PREMIUM INCREASE AFTER AT-FAULT ACCIDENT

Look for student discounts

Insurance companies see students with good grades (3.0 or above GPA) as less likely to take risks when it comes to driving. Because of this, they offer some pretty decent discounts for students. On average, your teen could save $207 per year on auto insurance!

AVERAGE SAVINGS FOR GOOD STUDENT AND GOOD DRIVER DISCOUNT

For more information, check out our guide to car insurance for students.

Car insurance in your 20s

Moving into your 20s is a big life change as far as insurance is concerned. By turning 20, you could save an average of 20% on your car insurance. That’s because you’ve got a few more years of driving and life experience under your belt — all of which makes you a cheaper client to insure, which is good for the insurance companies. Still, there are some tricks of the trade to learn about your 20s in the world of insurance.

Best car insurance for drivers in their 20s

AVERAGE INSURANCE PREMIUMS FOR DRIVERS IN THEIR 20S

Where to find cheap insurance in your 20s

It’s hard to pick one company that will give everyone the cheapest rate. People are too different and insurance is often too specific. But, we still want to deliver a starting point when you’re shopping around for car insurance. We compared eight popular insurers, using a standard user profile to determine which company offered the cheapest car insurance rates.

CHEAPEST CAR INSURANCE FOR 25-YEAR-OLDS

Consider this data as the first step to shopping for car insurance and be sure to compare rates to find the best policy for you.

Other ways to save on car insurance costs in your 20s

Your 20s offer unique opportunities to both add to your insurance portfolio and save money. Turning 25, getting married, or adding renters or home insurance can have major impacts on your insurance profile.

Continue best practices from your teen years:

• Purchase a telematics policy
• Drive a moderately priced vehicle
• Find good driver and good student discounts (if applicable)
• Drive safely

Bundle insurance policies

Keeping all your insurable interests within one insurer can not only make things easier but can reduce your rates (for auto and whatever insurance type you bundle it with). For your auto rate, you can lower your costs by between $79 and $149 per year by bundling with renters or homeowners, respectively.

Learn more about bundling homeowners and auto insurance.

Be smart with your coverage

Unlike fine wine, a vehicle does not grow in value over time but depreciates. So, if you’re driving a paid-off vehicle that isn’t worth very much, the insurance coverage you initially had might not be necessary. Namely, you may be able to forgo full coverage and stick with maintaining liability coverage. Here’s a quick how-to for determining if you still need comprehensive and collision coverage.

• Determine the value of your vehicle by using Kelley Blue Book and NADA.
• If the value of your vehicle determined above is less than the rates it costs to add additional, non-mandatory coverage, drop it.
• If it’s still saving you money to keep these coverages, consider raising your deductible. By raising your deductible, you lower your premium, but you take greater financial responsibility in the event you file a claim.

See our guides to insurance deductibles:

• Car Insurance with a $500 Deductible
• Car Insurance with a $1,000 Deductible

Be smart with your claims

Car insurance can work as a double-edged sword — the more you use it, the more expensive it will become. If you're considering filing a collision claim after an at-fault car accident for your vehicle, consider our advice.

• Get an estimate from a mechanic for the out-of-pocket damage first.
• Every insurance company will increase your rates after you file a claim for at least three years. Compare the out-of-pocket expense to the average surcharge for a collision claim. Look for your state in The Zebra's State of Insurance analysis. 
• Consider the surcharge over three years plus your deductible. If it is cheaper to pay out-of-pocket for a claim, do that.

For more information regarding claims and how they affect your car insurance, see our guide:  When and How to File a Car Insurance Claim.

Car insurance and roommates

Living with a roommate is a pretty common situation for people in their twenties. While your insurance company understands that you might be living with other people, they do have some stipulations regarding the sharing of vehicles. It’s important to follow these rules and understand what you are and are not covered for.

If your roommate is not on your policy, they can't use your vehicle.

Because you share a residence with your roommate, insurance companies either want your roommate to be a rated (chargeable) driver or be excluded altogether — pretty straightforward.

30s

Your 30s are a general continuation of your late 20s; you’re settling down, buying a home, and adding vehicles to your car insurance policy. There isn’t a huge difference in your premiums as you age in your 30s — only about 0.5% in savings every year. Unlike the changes you experience in your teens and twenties, the reason for this lack of change is because the driving habits of a 32-year-old aren’t that much different than that of a 34-year-old. So if you’re expecting to save in your 30s, you’ll have to do a bit more work to chip away at your rates.

Best car insurance companies for drivers in their 30s

Continue best practices from your 20s:

• Telematics
• Moderately valued vehicles
• Bundling
• Smart coverage
• Smart claims

How to save on auto insurance in your 30s

While you don’t save much as you age in your 30s, you do see some savings immediately entering your 30s — about 30% less than the average 20-something driver. So, take some comfort that while you might not want to turn 30, you should see some insurance savings.

AVERAGE 6-MONTH PREMIUMS — DRIVERS AGED 30-39

Shop around and compare rates

It’s difficult to give company-specific information for 30-year-olds because there’s too much variance in the average profile. Some 30-year-olds may be married and homeowners — which greatly affects your premium — while others rent and live alone. So, in order to get the best auto insurance rate possible that fits your driving profile, you should shop around to gather car insurance quotes from as many insurers as possible.

40s and 50s

There are a couple of key ways your premium changes during this time — all of which can bump up your premium. Still, older drivers should maintain what was discussed in previous sections.

• Bundle any and all insurance policies
• Use telematics, if possible
• Chose a moderate vehicle
• Be smart about filing claims
• Be smart with your coverage

Still, we wanted to offer something new for this time of your life. In order to navigate this costly time, we decided to create a family profile. Here’s what we found.

Best car insurance companies for drivers in their 40s and 50s

AVERAGE 6-MONTH PREMIUM FOR MARRIED COUPLES

This information pertains to life without younger drivers. As you can see, your 50s aren't so bad in the world of insurance. If you’re married and own a home, you can expect your six-month average rate to be about $703 across the companies we surveyed. USAA was the cheapest with GEICO in a close second. Next, we added the teen drivers to the picture: one male and one female driver, age 17.

AVERAGE 6-MONTH PREMIUM FOR FAMILIES

On average, adding teen drivers to your policy increases your premium by over $1,300 per year. 

How to save

The big thing during this time, and even into your 60s, is learning how to save with young drivers (kids) on your policy. As we stated previously, young drivers are seen as risk-takers to car insurance companies. They’re more likely to get into accidents, receive DUIs and other citations, and file claims. So, insurance companies protect themselves by charging higher rates. What this means to you is that you need to be a little craftier when it comes to auto insurance.

Keep your teens on your policy

Tenn drivers have a reputation of being high-risk drivers; they typically get into more accidents and receive citations that affect their driving histories — which would affect everyone on the policy's rate. This is why some brokers recommend having teens get their own policy. However, this is actually a bad idea for a couple of reasons. First, having responsible motorists on a policy help mediate the risk posed by the less experienced drivers. The amount of premium your teen costs alone would be much higher than if they were on your policy. Most teens aren’t able to pay over $5,000 a year — the average cost in 2020 if they're alone — so that will most likely fall on you. Simply put, it’s cheaper to keep them on your policy.

Next, lots of insurers won’t allow you to have two separate policies within the same household. From their perspective, it’s too likely for vehicles to be shared and so they prefer that every eligible driver be covered (i.e. charged).

Discount to consider: Student Away From Home

If your young driver is in college over 100 miles away from your residence, your insurance company might give you what’s called a Student Away From Home Discount. Basically, your premium is lowered based on what your insurance company sees as a lowered risk for your young driver not using the vehicle as much while they're away at school.

60s

The 60s can be a decade of flux for insurance consumers. Many people retire, sell their homes to downsize, boot their younger drivers from their policy, and invest in additional forms of insurance. Because of this, you probably need some guidance on how to maneuver your insurance policy to maximize your savings and keep your premiums low. 

Best car insurance companies for drivers in their 60s

How to save

Although your policy changes as you age, the key ideas for saving on auto insurance remain the same. So, continue with our earlier expressed ideas:

• Bundle any and all insurance policies
• Use telematics, if possible
• Choose a moderately priced vehicle
• Be smart about filing claims
• Be smart with your coverage
• Maintain a good credit score

Car insurance and kids

If you have children, this might be the time you’re wondering what to do about their insurance. Can you keep them on your policy? Should you remove them? Let’s explore.

• Remove your kids from your insurance policy: You need to remove your children from your policy if they no longer live in the household and drive their vehicles regularly. Insurance is ZIP code specific — so, it needs to be written and priced for your specific zip code. If your child lives in a different location, they need their own policy.
• Keep your kids on your insurance policy:If they live in your household and use your vehicle, you may keep them on your policy. Unlike things like healthcare, there is no age cap for covering your children if they live with you.

If you own the vehicle but your child drives it at their residence, you can be listed as an additional interest for the vehicle. This means that while your daughter or son is the primary user of the vehicle, you still have an invested interest in it. Generally, insurance companies don't care who pays the premium; if your son or daughter doesn't live with you and thus can't be on your policy, but you'd still like to pay their premium, speak to an insurance agent at their company.

Additional lines of insurance

• Boat insurance
• Condo insurance
• RV insurance
• Umbrella insurance: additional coverage