The costly truth of insuring teen drivers
As if teenagers don't already add enough stress to their parents' lives, once they start driving, family auto insurance rates not only inevitably go up — as you'd expect when adding drivers to a policy — but in most states they positively skyrocket. Online insurance emporium InsuranceQuotes.com conducted a study of the average premium increase after adding a teen driver to an existing auto insurance policy in all 50 states.
The effort found that, nationwide, such families will see an average 79 percent increase in premiums, but that's down from 84 percent in 2013. The firm also found it costs much more to add a young male driver than a female one. And adding a male teen to a married couple's policy results in a national average premium increase of 91 percent, compared to an increase of 67 percent for a female.
"Regardless of the costs to insure your teen driver, safety is the No. 1 priority," said Laura Adams, senior insurance analyst for InsuranceQuotes.com. "We suggest parents educate teens on the dangers of driving, especially when it comes to texting while driving or driving under the influence."
In the following slides, CNBC.com shares InsuranceQuote.com's top and bottom five states for auto-insurance rate increases when adding a teen driver to an existing policy. (States with lower increases tend to have greater regulation regarding insurance rates.)
— By CNBC's Kenneth Kiesnoski
Posted 22 June 2016
5th most expensive: Ohio
Average premium increase after adding a teen to an existing auto policy: 100.17 percent
Source: InsuranceQuotes.com
4th most expensive: Wyoming
Average premium increase after adding a teen to an existing auto policy: 105.77 percent
Source: InsuranceQuotes.com
3rd most expensive: Arizona
Average premium increase after adding a teen to an existing auto policy: 109.36 percent
Source: InsuranceQuotes.com
2nd most expensive: Rhode Island
Average premium increase after adding a teen to an existing auto policy: 119.19 percent
Source: InsuranceQuotes.com
Most expensive: New Hampshire
Average premium increase after adding a teen to an existing auto policy: 125.39 percent
And now for the top 5 least expensive states when it comes to car insurance premium rate hikes for teens ...
Source: InsuranceQuotes.com
5th least expensive: South Dakota
Average premium increase after adding a teen to an existing auto policy: 59.32 percent
Source: InsuranceQuotes.com
4th least expensive: Michigan
Average premium increase after adding a teen to an existing auto policy: 57.60 percent
Source: InsuranceQuotes.com
3rd least expensive: North Carolina
Average premium increase after adding a teen to an existing auto policy: 56.87 percent
Source: InsuranceQuotes.com
2nd least expensive: New York
Average premium increase after adding a teen to an existing auto policy: 51.81 percent
Source: InsuranceQuotes.com
Least expensive: Hawaii
Average premium increase after adding a teen to an existing auto policy: 16.93 percent
Hawaii is the only state not allowing insurers to take into account age, gender or length of driving experience when setting premium rates.
Source: InsuranceQuotes.com
