What Does the O in Geico Stand for

Cheapest car insurance company for parents with a teen driver

We found that the cheapest widely available auto insurance for teen drivers is offered by Nationwide. A Nationwide policy with a teen and parent costs an average of $1,266 for six months, which is less than half the price of the national average of $2,859.

Although the companies aren't an option for everyone, Erie and USAA were the cheapest insurers overall. Erie is only available in 12 states and Washington, D.C., while USAA only offers policies to current and former military members. If you are looking to add a teenager to your car insurance policy, you should definitely consider these companies.

Graph showing the cheapest auto insurance companies for new and young drivers

Find Cheap Auto Insurance Quotes in Your Area

We limited the graph above to seven insurance companies that had quotes available in at least three of the 10 states used in this study, but these insurers may not necessarily be the best option for you and your teen. We found that in some cases smaller regional insurers provided cheaper rates.

And in your given state, a major insurer may be particularly cheap. For example, Nationwide was the cheapest major insurer on average, but Geico was the cheapest insurer in four out of our 10 sample states.

The cost of adding a teen to your car insurance policy

Typically, adding a teen driver to their parents' policy will be a cheaper alternative to getting a teen a car insurance policy on their own. In fact, it is half as expensive to add a teen to a policy than it is for them to get their own individual policy.

The average cost of adding an 18-year-old to a car insurance policy is $1,510 for a six-month policy, which is 112% more expensive. But the average cost of an 18-year-old getting a policy by themselves is $3,589.

The person most affected in this case is the parent, who is taking on a significant risk by adding a new, teen driver to their policy. As a result, insurance companies will increase their yearly payments.

Graph shows differences between a teenager getting car insurance through a parent or by themselves

Keeping your teen on your policy saves families an average of $2,080 every six months — a 44% reduction in auto insurance costs — compared to the cost of the same 18-year-old getting their own policy.

Cheapest auto insurance for teen drivers by state

The cheapest insurance in your state may not actually reflect the cheapest overall insurers listed above, as car insurance rates for teens vary widely from state to state. And certain companies were excluded from our national analysis, as they are only available in some states and not for all drivers.

Below, we have provided a full list of the cheapest auto insurers for young drivers in all of the 10 states included in our study.

California

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For a 50-year-old parent adding an 18-year-old teen to their policy, we found that Mercury insurance is the cheapest in California. A full coverage policy costs an average of $2,738 per year.

Mercury is cheap to begin with for older drivers, and only State Farm and Farmers charged less when our sample driver added their teenager to the policy.

Insurer	Annual premium for 50-year-old w/ teen	W/o teen
Mercury	$2,738	$1,486
State Farm	$2,899	$2,019
Auto Club	$3,220	$1,591
Farmers	$3,321	$2,267
Progressive	$4,450	$1,610
CSAA	$4,608	$1,932
Allstate	$4,732	$1,891
Geico	$5,756	$1,339

Florida

Geico is the cheapest option for Florida parents adding a teen to their car insurance. Whereas a 50-year-old will pay $1,723 per year for car insurance by themselves, they'll pay an average of $3,500 with their teen on the policy.

State Farm, Allstate and Progressive all charged in excess of $2,500 per year for adding a teen to the policy.

Insurer	Annual premium for 50-year-old w/ teen	W/o teen
Geico	$3,500	$1,723
State Farm	$4,800	$2,149
Allstate	$9,098	$5,095
Progressive	$9,430	$4,234

Georgia

Drivers in Georgia looking to add a teen to their policy should take a look at the Georgia Farm Bureau. It has some of the lowest rates in the state and didn't charge our sample driver much extra to add a son or daughter to their car insurance. A full coverage policy with both the parent and teen costs an average of $2,676 per year.

Georgia parents who qualify for USAA should also get a quote from that company, as its rates were even cheaper than the Farm Bureau on average.

Insurer	Annual premium for 50-year-old w/ teen	W/o teen
USAA	$2,676	$1,210
Georgia Farm Bureau	$2,688	$1,277
Geico	$3,997	$1,846
Progressive	$5,792	$2,068
Allstate	$7,028	$3,275
State Farm	$12,270	$5,199

Illinois

For Illinois parents adding a teen to their policy, USAA is the cheapest option by far. But for those who don't qualify for USAA, the next-best option on average is State Farm. Car insurance covering a parent and teen costs an average of $2,929 per year with State Farm.

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Some notable companies such as Farmers and Allstate are already expensive for a single driver, but even more expensive when adding a teen, almost doubling their costs.

Insurer	Annual premium for 50-year-old w/ teen	W/o teen
USAA	$2,096	$1,004
State Farm	$2,929	$1,183
Geico	$3,504	$1,958
Progressive	$3,505	$1,556
Country	$3,654	$1,647
Travelers	$4,345	$1,816
American Family	$4,358	$1,630
Farmers	$7,711	$3,231
Allstate	$9,019	$3,616

Michigan

Michigan is the most expensive state in the country for car insurance, but two companies stand out for parents looking to add a teen to their policy: USAA and Auto-Owners Insurance. The latter is available to everyone and charges $4,727 per year for a full coverage policy that covers both a parent and teen.

USAA is the cheapest policy but may not be available to you. Progressive is the only other relatively affordable option we surveyed; Frankenmuth, State Farm, AAA and Hanover all charge in excess of — and sometimes much more than — $8,000 per year.

Insurer	Annual premium for 50-year-old w/ teen	W/o teen
USAA	$3,768	$2,324
Auto-Owners Insurance Co	$4,724	$3,593
Progressive	$5,606	$3,383
Frankenmuth Mutual	$8,050	$2,900
State Farm	$11,072	$4,817
AAA	$25,131	$9,313
Allstate	$27,354	$14,893
Hanover	$41,628	$22,823

New York

New York is another state in which Geico is the most affordable option for parents with a teen. Geico charged our 50-year-old sample driver $2,094 per year by himself, and an additional $1,477 to add a teen, resulting in a total cost of $3,571 per year.

For those who qualify, USAA is also an affordable option. At $3,713 per year it was only a few hundred dollars more than Geico.

Insurer	Annual premium for 50-year-old w/ teen	W/o teen
Geico	$3,571	$2,094
USAA	$3,713	$1,327
New York Central Mutual Fire	$5,312	$2,771
Travelers	$6,482	$3,222
State Farm	$6,489	$2,481
Progressive	$7,148	$2,367
Allstate	$7,562	$3,831

North Carolina

In North Carolina, insurers charge relatively little to add a teenager to a policy. For instance, parents with a Geico policy will pay an average of $393 more per year when they add their teen on the policy. In full, with both parent and teen, the policy costs an average of $1,505 per year.

North Carolina Farm Bureau, Erie and Progressive are also three reasonably affordable options for parents, as prices range from $1,682 to $1,797 per year.

Insurer	Annual premium for 50-year-old w/ teen	W/o teen
Geico	$3,571	$2,094
USAA	$3,713	$1,327
New York Central Mutual Fire	$5,312	$2,771
Travelers	$6,482	$3,222
State Farm	$6,489	$2,481
Progressive	$7,148	$2,367
Allstate	$7,562	$3,831

Ohio

As in many of our other states, Geico is the cheapest option in Ohio for parents with a teen. A Geico policy cost our driver an average of $2,179 per year, roughly double the price of a 50-year-old getting a policy that just covers themself.

State Farm is a distant second, costing almost $400 more than Geico. State Farm is actually cheaper if you're a parent who doesn't add their teen to the policy, but it charged our sample driver an additional $1,444 on average if they added their son or daughter.

Insurer	Annual premium for 50-year-old w/ teen	W/o teen
Geico	$2,179	$1,141
State Farm	$2,509	$1,065
Nationwide	$3,066	$1,892
Westfield	$3,468	$1,267
Erie	$3,496	$1,735
Progressive	$3,871	$1,494
Allstate	$4,154	$2,145
Grange Mutual	$4,932	$1,303

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is another case in which USAA is the cheapest option overall. But for those who don't qualify, Erie is the most affordable option. A parent and teen covered under an Erie policy costs an average of $2,355 per year, almost $500 cheaper than the next best alternative.

Allstate and Progressive rate as especially expensive in Pennsylvania. If you're interested in these companies, it may still be worth getting a quote, as insurance rates can vary widely person to person. But on average, these companies are not cheap options in Pennsylvania.

Insurer	Annual premium for 50-year-old w/ teen	W/o teen
USAA	$1,303	$740
Erie	$2,355	$1,162
Nationwide	$2,821	$1,708
State Farm	$3,267	$1,355
Geico	$3,342	$2,159
Allstate	$5,029	$2,730
Progressive	$5,495	$2,115

Texas

State Farm just beats out Geico as the cheapest widely available insurance company in the state. Our driver paid $1,385 for insurance alone, and $3,178 when he added his teen to the policy.

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Once again, for those who qualify, USAA is a very affordable option. In fact, it's $1,400 per year cheaper than State Farm on average, so Texas drivers adding a teenager to their policy should make sure to get a quote if they can.

Insurer	Annual premium for 50-year-old w/ teen	W/o teen
USAA	$1,976	$1,078
State Farm	$3,179	$1,385
Geico	$3,543	$1,991
Allstate	$11,505	$4,047

More ways for teens to save on car insurance

There are several ways that young drivers can save money on car insurance.

The first is by qualifying for discounts, as most major insurers offer discounts targeted toward young drivers.

These include discounts for:

being a good student
taking a driver's education course

Additionally — if a teen is on their parent's policy — most large insurance companies will reduce car insurance premiums if the teen is away at school and has limited access to a vehicle.

Another significant way to reduce costs is by omitting coverages that may be unnecessary and expensive for teen drivers — such as collision insurance.

Collision insurance is costly for teen drivers because this demographic is statistically more likely to get into an accident and file an insurance claim than more experienced drivers.

If your car is worth less than a few thousand dollars, getting collision coverage will not be worth the increase in premiums, and we recommend opting for basic coverage instead.

Expert Insights to Help You Make Smarter Financial Decisions

ValuePenguin has curated an exclusive panel of professionals, spanning various areas of expertise, to help dissect difficult subjects and empower you to make smarter financial decisions. Read on for auto insurance insights.

Do you feel that parents having their teen children take on the responsibility of a big purchase, such as a car, provides a teachable moment that is worth the monetary cost? Why or why not?
Some states prohibit the use of gender to determine insurance rates, even though the motor vehicle death rate of male 16- to 19-year-olds is nearly double that of females of the same age. How do male and female teens pose different levels of risk to insurers?
The North Carolina Department of Transportation has the right under law to suspend teens' driving privileges if they drop out of school or do not pass at least 70% of their courses. Should academics play a strong role in a teen's eligibility to drive? Why or why not?
What is the psychological difference between learning in the classroom and learning "on the road" as a driver?

headshot of expert

Emily Barkley-Levenson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Read Answer

The commentary provided by these industry experts represent their viewpoints and opinions alone.

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headshot of expert

Emily Barkley-Levenson, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Psychology, Hofstra University

Do you feel that parents having their teen children take on the responsibility of a big purchase, such as a car, provides a teachable moment that is worth the monetary cost? Why or why not?

A lot of the attributes that make up what it means to be responsible, like self-control and delayed gratification, are still developing during adolescence and into early adulthood. In fact, the part of the brain that is responsible for these processes, the prefrontal cortex, is still maturing until around age 25. These are also skills that can be trained and improved with practice, which means that the teen years are a great time to work out those self-control muscles, so to speak. Taking on increased responsibility and autonomy with a car can provide an adolescent with lots of chances to build up their self-control and delayed gratification skills. There's also a phenomenon called the endowment effect, where we value things more if they belong to us or we have a sense of ownership over them. So having your teen pay for their car themselves (or at least contribute their own money toward it) should increase the value they place on it, leading to safer and more responsible behavior.

Some states prohibit the use of gender to determine insurance rates, even though the motor vehicle death rate of male 16- to 19-year-olds is nearly double that of females of the same age. How do male and female teens pose different levels of risk to insurers?

The research is quite clear that men engage in more risky behaviors than women, including wearing seat belts less frequently and running yellow lights more often. Women perceive a higher likelihood of negative consequences and less enjoyment from these actions than men do, which leads to less risk-taking behind the wheel. I expect these findings would play out similarly with adolescent boys and girls as well. That said, statistical averages can't predict the actions of any particular individual; teens of all genders can be reckless and risk-taking, and there are many teen boys who are extremely safe drivers.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has the right under law to suspend teens' driving privileges if they drop out of school or do not pass at least 70% of their courses. Should academics play a strong role in a teen's eligibility to drive? Why or why not?

The reasons why driving privileges are revoked typically have to do with safety (underage possession of alcohol, speeding or reckless driving, etc.). In this case, if there isn't a strong connection between dangerous driving and poor academic performance, then linking the two in terms of policy doesn't seem particularly effective. Academic performance does relate to other health-risk behaviors (like violence and drug use), but this is one of those cases of correlation not being the same thing as causation: Other factors such as family stress and poverty can make teens more likely both to underperform academically and to engage in health-risk behaviors, but skipping school doesn't cause you to drive more poorly.

What is the psychological difference between learning in the classroom and learning "on the road" as a driver?

Something that shows up over and over again in research with adolescents is a big difference in behavior between "cold" settings (nonemotional, intellectual contexts like a lab or a classroom) and "hot" settings (emotional situations in the real world, especially when peers and social pressure are involved). A teen may make entirely rational and safe decisions in the classroom (or when a driving instructor is in the car) but take risks on the road when they are more "amped up" by the presence of their friends.

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Why or why not?\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EA lot of the attributes that make up what it means to be responsible, like self-control and delayed gratification, are still developing during adolescence and into early adulthood. In fact, the part of the brain that is responsible for these processes, the prefrontal cortex, is still maturing until around age 25. These are also skills that can be trained and improved with practice, which means that the teen years are a great time to work out those self-control muscles, so to speak. Taking on increased responsibility and autonomy with a car can provide an adolescent with lots of chances to build up their self-control and delayed gratification skills. \nThere\u2019s also a phenomenon called the endowment effect, where we value things more if they belong to us or we have a sense of ownership over them. So having your teen pay for their car themselves (or at least contribute their own money toward it) should increase the value they place on it, leading to safer and more responsible behavior.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Ch4\u003ESome states prohibit the use of gender to determine insurance rates, even though the motor vehicle death rate of male 16- to 19-year-olds is nearly double that of females of the same age. How do male and female teens pose different levels of risk to insurers?\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe research is quite clear that men engage in more risky behaviors than women, including wearing seat belts less frequently and running yellow lights more often. Women perceive a higher likelihood of negative consequences and less enjoyment from these actions than men do, which leads to less risk-taking behind the wheel. I expect these findings would play out similarly with adolescent boys and girls as well. That said, statistical averages can\u2019t predict the actions of any particular individual; teens of all genders can be reckless and risk-taking, and there are many teen boys who are extremely safe drivers.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Ch4\u003EThe North Carolina Department of Transportation has the right under law to suspend teens\u2019 driving privileges if they drop out of school or do not pass at least 70% of their courses. Should academics play a strong role in a teen\u2019s eligibility to drive? Why or why not?\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe reasons why driving privileges are revoked typically have to do with safety (underage possession of alcohol, speeding or reckless driving, etc.). In this case, if there isn\u2019t a strong connection between dangerous driving and poor academic performance, then linking the two in terms of policy doesn\u2019t seem particularly effective. Academic performance does relate to other health-risk behaviors (like violence and drug use), but this is one of those cases of correlation not being the same thing as causation: Other factors such as family stress and poverty can make teens more likely both to underperform academically and to engage in health-risk behaviors, but skipping school doesn\u2019t \u003Cem\u003Ecause\u003C\/em\u003E you to drive more poorly.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Ch4\u003EWhat is the psychological difference between learning in the classroom and learning \"on the road\" as a driver?\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ESomething that shows up over and over again in research with adolescents is a big difference in behavior between \"cold\" settings (nonemotional, intellectual contexts like a lab or a classroom) and \"hot\" settings (emotional situations in the real world, especially when peers and social pressure are involved). A teen may make entirely rational and safe decisions in the classroom (or when a driving instructor is in the car) but take risks on the road when they are more \"amped up\" by the presence of their friends.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"ShortcodeAlign--root ShortcodeAlign--horizontal-center\"\u003E\n \u003Cdiv class=\"ShortcodeAlign--container\"\u003E \n \u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca class=\"ShortcodeLink--root Button--root Button--primary Button--auto-width\" title=\"Back to all experts\" href=\"#expertadvice\"\u003EBack to all experts\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n","padding":"double"}

Frequently asked questions

What's the best insurer for a teen driver?

We found low prices for a teen driver at Erie, USAA and Nationwide. But every driver will get rates tailored to them, so you should get quotes from at least five insurers to compare prices.

How can I save on insurance as a teenager?

The best way to bring down your insurance rates as a teen is to share a policy with your parents or another family member. A family policy is often substantially cheaper than the total cost of two separate policies.

What are the best teen driver discounts?

Insurers often provide discounts to teen drivers for getting good grades, taking an additional training course beyond basic driver's education and being away at school, where you won't be using your parents' car much.

Methodology

We pulled car insurance quotes from over 23 companies in 10 states for a sample 50-year-old male driver who drives a 2015 Honda Civic EX. The rates for a teenager are an average of rates for 18-year-old males and females.

We used a full coverage policy with the following limits and deductibles:

Coverage type	Study limits
Bodily liability	$50,000 per person/ $100,000 per accident
Property damage	$25,000 per accident
Uninsured/Underinsured motorist BI	$50,000 per person/ $100,000 per accident
Uninsured/Underinsured motorist property	$50,000 per accident
Comprehensive & collision	$500 deductible

ValuePenguin's analysis used insurance rate data from Quadrant Information Services. These rates were publicly sourced from insurer filings and should be used for comparative purposes only — your own quotes may be different.

What Does the O in Geico Stand for

Source: https://www.valuepenguin.com/best-car-insurance-teen-drivers