How much is car insurance for a 17 year old?

For a 17-year-old driver, car insurance is nearly $5,925, on average, for a year of full coverage on their own policy. That’s more than $4,000 over the national average ($1,758) for drivers age 30.

Newly licensed drivers are expensive to insure. They are inexperienced, naturally, and have a high rate of accidents. Auto insurance companies view that as risky. So, they charge new teen drivers much higher rates. But there are still ways to get car insurance for a 17-year-old driver and save while still ensuring you have sufficient coverage. Here we'll explain how.

As the table below shows, adding a teen to a parents’ policy is much cheaper than buying separate coverage under the teen’s name. While there is a huge savings between adding a teen and the teen having his or own policy, the cost to add the teen is generally still significant.

To illustrate the cost to add a teen, CarInsurance.com compared rates in 10 zip codes in each state. The family profile we used owned a 2017 Honda Accord driven by a 45-year old man buying full coverage. Then we added a 17-year old teen to the policy.

Car insurance cost for a 17-year-old female

The average cost for insurance for a 17-year-old female is $5,490. That’s for a policy of her own that includes comprehensive and collision coverage, with liability limits of 100/300/100.

Teen female drivers age 17 pay $867 less than males their age. Below you’ll see average insurance costs by state for a 17-year-old female and how that compares to the price of a parent policy with the child added. You'll see that adding a teen is much less expensive. That's because when teens get their own policy, they qualify for few discounts compared to their parents. Also, teens are commonly listed as a secondary driver on parents' policies.

Car insurance for a 17-year-old girl

Car insurance cost for a 17-year-old male

Males age 17 pay, on average, $6,357 for their own full coverage policy. That’s about $867 more than their female counterparts. You can compare rates for a 17-year-old male with his own policy to that of being added to his parents.

Car insurance for a 17-year-old male

How much does it cost to add a 17-year-old to car insurance?

Though adding a teen to a parent policy is cheaper than the teen having his or her own separate policy, the cost of adding a teen driver can still be high. Below are the average annual costs to add a 17-year-old boy or girl to your coverage.

Every situation is different, but to get an idea of what you can expect to pay, CarInsurance.com compared rates in 10 ZIP codes in each state. The family profile we used owned a 2017 Honda Accord driven by a 45-year-old man buying full coverage. Then we added a 17-year-old teen to the policy. Here's what happened:

The average household's car insurance bill rose by about 106% to add a 17-year-old.

A teenage boy was more expensive. The average bill rose 117%, compared with 95% for teenage girls.

How much you save by adding a 17-year-old to your insurance vs. a teen’s own policy

You’ll see in the chart below how much it costs to add a teen driver to a parent policy and how much you save doing so:

When it comes to car insurance for young drivers, most parents take the easier and far more common approach of adding a teen to their policy. For one thing, it's likely to be quite a bit cheaper.

Insurers base premiums on several factors, including the experience and driving record of the policyholder. A 17-year-old won't have that, which means higher rates.

Also, as CarInsurance.com Senior Consumer Analyst Penny Gusner points out, the teen won't be eligible for rate reductions the parent may qualify for, including multi-vehicle, multi-policy and loyalty discounts. Still, adding a 17-year-old driver to your policy means a significant hike in your rates.

Cheapest car insurance for 17-year-olds

Below you’ll see how auto insurance companies rank in price for a 17-year-old driver buying his or her own full coverage policy. Concord, Liberty Mutual, USAA, North Carolina Farm Bureau, Safeco, Geico and Erie had the cheapest car insurance for 17-year-olds among national carriers surveyed by CarInsurance.com.

Car insurance for 17-year old: state minimum coverage

Each state has minimum car insurance requirements that you must have to drive legally. This level of coverage is typically the cheapest, but it also provides limited protection. In most states, buying just the required coverage means your insurance will pay for others’ injuries and car damage, but not for your own injuries or car repairs. You’ll see in the charts below how much minimum coverage costs, on average, per year in each state, for a teen buying his or her own policy, as well as how that compares to the cost when added to a parent's policy.

Car Insurance for a 17-Year-Old Girl: state minimum coverage

Car Insurance for a 17-year-old boy: state minimum coverage

Recommendations and FAQs for insuring 17-year-old drivers

Can a 17-year-old have a car in their name and insure it?

Gusner says that a 17-year-old can own a car and insure it in most states -- but only if a parent or legal guardian co-signs for both the vehicle's title and insurance coverages.

"Even if you're under the age of majority, which is 18 in most states, you can buy and insure a car," Gusner explains. "However, in general, minors cannot enter into a contract, so they cannot sign for auto insurance by themselves. Depending on state laws, a teen may not be able to buy a car either, since that is a sales contract, without an adult signing on as well."

While most states consider 16 to be a legal age to own a car, there are exceptions. Gusner points out that a juvenile must be 17 in South Carolina to buy a vehicle, again with a parent or guardian signing on. She also notes that Ohio requires a parent to file a minor consent form with the state's bureau of motor vehicles if anyone under 18 wants title to a vehicle.

Are the state minimum requirements enough for my teen driver?

Liability protection is the first step when you insure a 17-year-old.

Gusner says it may be a mistake to think state-mandated minimum coverage is enough. State minimums are usually not enough. Medical bills and costs tied to property damage can start high and quickly go higher, depending on the injuries to those involved.

You don't want to be liable for out-of-pocket payments, so make sure your basic liability coverage protects your assets. Besides raising your liability amount, Gusner suggests purchasing an umbrella policy, which raises liability protection after reaching those basic limits. An umbrella with $1 million or more of protection may be reasonable.

If you're financing your vehicle, comprehensive insurance and collision coverage are required. If you own your car outright, you can opt-out if you want, but that means you're not covered for theft, damage to your vehicle from an accident or from hail, fire, floods and vandalism.

The cost for comprehensive and collision insurance, on average, per year is $436, according to the Insurance Information Institute. The average yearly rate for comprehensive is $139, and collision costs $297.

If you opt for comprehensive and collision, consider higher deductibles to lower your rate. Of course, you'd then have to pay for minor repairs following an accident.

Does a 17-year-old have to have full coverage?

There is no law requiring teen drivers to have full coverage. However, if the car being driven is leased or financed, the lender will mandate that you have full coverage, including comprehensive and collision insurance.

To drive legally, you only need state required liability insurance, which pays for damage and injuries of others in accidents you cause. It doesn’t cover your own car. However, because teens are inexperienced, and as a demographic have more accidents than experienced drivers, it’s wise to have full coverage on the car your teen drives.

Insurance applies to the car, not the driver. That means the coverage on the car that the teen is driving will apply to accidents and damage caused by the teen.

Gusner recommends a full coverage policy of the following:

• $100,000 for injury liability for one person, to pay for medical bills for those injured in an accident you cause
• $300,000 for all injuries in one accident that’s your fault
• $100,000 for property damage you cause, for instance, to repair a car you hit
• Collision insurance, to pay for damage to your car regardless of fault in an accident
• Comprehensive, to pay for damage to your car from hail, flooding, fire, vandalism, animal strikes, and to replace it if stolen

It really is worth the extra money to be fully protected during the time your teen is driving your car. Otherwise, you can be on the hook to pay out of your own pocket for even minor accidents that can exceed a bare-bones policy. The cost to jump from state minimum to full coverage with a 17-year-old daughter on your policy is about $1,800, but that’s just $150 a month for peace of mind. For a 17-year-old son, the cost to buy full coverage with him on your policy instead of state minimum is $1,966, or $164 a month.