Car insurance for a 17-year-old

Causing an accident means you are accountable for property damage or injuries caused due to that accident. The injuries costs or the property damage may be highly expensive. They can also be beyond your budget. In case you do not have the ability to pay and do not wish to risk your home or assets, you may protect yourself from having liability insurance.

How much is car insurance for a 17-year-old?

The car insurance for a 17-year-old is definitely her per year on an average. The rate also depends on the place you live, the car you drive and the coverage you may get.

Generally, a separate policy for a teen is based on the coverage limits in association with the state required coverage and deductible.

Car insurance for a 17-year-old female

The car insurance cost for teenage drivers drops only with the driving experience of each additional year. However, a monthly premium even for a safe driver of 17-year-old is expected to cost around $300 and $500, while the monthly premiums of the same policy may be between $150 and $350 for a 20-year-old safe driver. However, yet the cost of insurance for a 17-year-old male is higher than a 17-year-old female.

Car insurance for a 17-year-old male

What Are The Best Cars For 17-Year-Olds?

The type of car a person is driving has an impact on what they pay for car insurance premiums. 17-year-old drivers are no different in this regard and should be focused on purchasing used vehicles that have good safety ratings and are not very expensive to repair. Teen drivers see some of the largest rates for car insurance, due to statistics showing that they are one of the most likely age demographics to get into an accident.

Vehicles like the 2014 Honda Civic LX, the 2015 Toyota Camry, and the 2014 Mazda 6SE 2.5i are often listed as top cars for 17-year-old drivers. Many vehicles are known to be both reliable and safe, proving to be good options for drivers who are 17. When purchasing a used vehicle, make sure to check out the vehicle's CarFax report to make sure it is not considered a salvaged vehicle.

How To Get Car Insurance For A 17-Year-Old

Getting car insurance is best done with free car insurance quotes at Cheap Auto Insurance. You should get quotes from multiple companies to compare rates. Teen drivers are statistically more likely to get into accidents than any other demographic. Due to this, automobile insurance rates are higher on average for 17-year-old drivers.

Make sure to consider discounts that teen drivers can get as well. There are good student discounts, as an example. Taking advantage of bundling insurance plans together can be a great way to save money. Not only that, but auto insurance providers often have large discounts for people who pay for an entire policy in advance. While not an option for everyone, it can be a fantastic way to save money if you are able to pay in full, in advance.

Adding a teen to parents' policy

Having an individual policy for your teen is not recommended as it may be very expensive. Instead, parents prefer taking the easier approach of going less costly. This is done by adding a teen to the parents existing policy. This works to be cheaper as the policy cost is taken considering the driving experience and record of the existing policyholder.

A 17-year-old cannot show any track record of driving safe on highways and this means higher rates. Besides, a 17-year-old may not get the coverage that the parents get, such as multi-policy, multi-vehicle and loyalty discounts. The multi-policy is when the policies of home and car are bundled. Even taking all those discounts, a 17-year-old teen driver addition to your policy means there will be a rate hike.

Another advantage of sharing a policy is that your 17-year-old teen can borrow your car for an occasion and drive and the parents are also covered in case they drive their teen’s car. Regardless of the insurance cost is high for a teen, there is a need to compare the quotes of car insurance and to find ways to save money.

Car insurance discounts for 17-year-olds

17-year-olds are teenage drivers and their policies come expensive. However, there are ways to enjoy car insurance discounts and they vary with each state. Here are some common car insurance discounts that can be enjoyed:

• Driver’s education: Avail a discount of 5 percent by ensuring your teenager completes the driving education course. Taking a class may be a step towards acquiring a license as per state law and it may be a mandate.
• Good student: Being a good student ensures up to 15 percent discount and this may be available for maintaining a B or 3.0 average in the classroom.
• Contract between the teen and parents: This is a contract signed by teen and parents specifying the driving rules, where there is the restriction of hours to be on road and also the passenger’s numbers. Besides, the parents can monitor the teen driving skills. This ensures a 5 % discount given.

FAQ for 17 year old drivers

Can a 17-year-old own and insure a car?

Most states permit a 17-year-old to own and also insure their car, but it needs to have a qualifier who may be a legal guardian or a parent to co-sign for the title of the vehicle and also for the insurance policy.

There are states that permit below 18-year-olds to own a car and also to insure a car. However, generally, minors are not acceptable and so cannot enter this contract and cannot sign themselves for auto insurance. Based on state laws, a 17-year-old teen cannot be allowed to buy a car. This is because buying a car means it is a sales contract and this contract requires an adult signing it.

Do you need insurance to drive a learner's permit?

A teen learning to drive certainly requires the insurance policy. However, it should be the vehicle owners policy, such that the vehicle is usually the guardian or parents, who accept accompanying the new novice driver and this is considered adequate. However, do not hesitate to add the 17-year-old teen to your family policy as he becomes licensed. Yet, check before adding him as he already has a permit.

Do you need insurance to get a license?

There is a need to get insurance by most states and this is because there will be at least minimal liability insurance. This applies such that a 17-year-old driver shows the vehicle he is driving is covered currently by the owner’s policy.

When it makes sense for a teen to have a separate policy

A teenager need not own a car merely to get individual car insurance from his parents. In general, a teen is eligible to have a separate policy, right from the moment he has a driver's license and is capable enough to operate a vehicle. At the same time, just because a teen can avail his own insurance policy, it does not mean he should get one on his own as a separate policy.

A teen driver obtaining a separate policy for namesake such that it has less coverage means many serious potential problems are ignored. In fact, in many states, the parents are liable legally for the actions of their child, especially for minors. The parents are sued for the actions of their child who is a teen behind the wheels, even if their 17-year-old teen has a separate policy. Thus, if the teen has a separate policy also, the parents owning auto insurance alone comes into play and the parents end up paying a huge bill amount.