How Age Affects Your Auto Insurance Rates (2023)
Age affects auto insurance rates just like location and vehicle type do. Auto insurance age brackets determine which age ranges are "higher-risk," resulting in higher rates for younger drivers. Age and auto insurance have an inverse relationship, so as your age increases, auto insurance rates will decrease. For instance, rates drop by about 65 percent for individuals in their 50s in comparison to those in their 20s. Compare car insurance quotes with our tool below to see how age affects auto insurance rates in practice.
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Leslie Kasperowicz
Farmers CSR for 4 Years
Leslie Kasperowicz holds a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Winnipeg. She spent several years as a Farmers Insurance CSR, gaining a solid understanding of insurance products including home, life, auto, and commercial and working directly with insurance customers to understand their needs. She has since used that knowledge in her more than ten years as a writer, largely in the insurance...
Farmers CSR for 4 Years
UPDATED: Mar 14, 2023
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident auto insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one auto insurance provider and cannot guarantee quotes from any single provider.
Our insurance industry partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different companies please enter your ZIP code on this page to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about auto insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything auto insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by auto insurance experts.
UPDATED: Mar 14, 2023
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident auto insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one auto insurance provider and cannot guarantee quotes from any single provider.
Our insurance industry partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different companies please enter your ZIP code on this page to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
On This Page
- A teen will always pay comparatively high auto insurance rates.
- As you get older, you will see your rates decrease.
- Drivers aged 55 and older pay comparatively low premiums.
Auto insurers analyze risk. One of the primary risk factors, by far, is age. How does age affect auto insurance rates? In this piece, we’ll discuss which demographics pay more for auto insurance, which demographics pay the least, and everything in between.
It’s important to note that teens should not expect low rates. As we said, insurers analyze risk and teens present risk. We’ll get into details in a bit. For now, click the link to learn some safe driving tips for teens. Always keep in mind that anything you can do to lower your rates, you should do.
We understand that, age aside, auto insurance is a complicated business. This is why we’ll tell you how age affects auto insurance step by step in a way that’s easy to understand.
Get a good start on finding affordable car insurance rates, no matter your age, by typing your ZIP code into our helpful tool above to find reasonable car insurance quotes in your area. Understanding how to compare auto insurance quotes will save you money.
- Auto Insurance by Age
- Affordable Auto Insurance Quotes for 19-Year-Olds (2023)
- Affordable Auto Insurance Quotes for 17-Year-Olds (2023)
- Affordable Auto Insurance Quotes for 20-Year-Olds (2023)
- Affordable Auto Insurance Quotes for 18-Year-Olds (2023)
- Affordable Auto Insurance Quotes for 16-Year-Olds (2023)
- Affordable Auto Insurance Quotes for Teenagers (2023)
How does your age affect auto insurance?
Age is one of the many factors that insurance companies look at when determining your auto insurance premium. So, it should come as no surprise that if you’re in the “higher risk” age brackets, you’ll be paying more for car insurance.
It probably also comes as no surprise to you that teenagers and first-time drivers will foot the highest bill for their car insurance. It’s important to not get taken advantage of in the insurance buying process.
The bottom line is, young drivers are deemed to be high-risk drivers because they’re inexperienced. As a result, young drivers, especially young male drivers, have the highest auto insurance premiums in America.
Which gender pays the most for auto insurance?
Is male or female insurance cheaper? Let’s take a look at a table comparing male and female rates from State Farm.
Driver Gender and Age | Average Annual Rates |
---|---|
Single 17-Year-Old Male | $7,324.34 |
Single 17-Year-Old Female | $5,953.88 |
Single 25-Year-Old Male | $2,554.56 |
Single 25-Year-Old Female | $2,335.96 |
Married 35-Year-Old Male | $2,081.72 |
Married 35-Year-Old Female | $2,081.72 |
Married 60-Year-Old Male | $1,873.89 |
Married 60-Year-Old Female | $1,873.89 |
Before we dig further into the explanation for these discrepancies, let’s look at a table comparing male and female rates from Geico.
Driver Age and Gender | Average Annual Rates |
---|---|
Single 17-year-old male | $6,278.96 |
Single 17-year-old female | $5,653.55 |
Single 25-year-old male | $2,262.87 |
Single 25-year-old female | $2,378.89 |
Married 35-year-old male | $2,312.38 |
Married 35-year-old female | $2,302.89 |
Married 60-year-old male | $2,283.45 |
Married 60-year-old female | $2,247.06 |
Research shows that young drivers (particularly males) are more likely to be reckless behind the wheel. In fact, statistics show that inexperienced drivers (both male and female) are more likely to file a claim or get a traffic violation, such as a speeding ticket. Because of this, most insurance companies make people wait until they are 25 years old to start paying normal, “adult” insurance rates.
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What are the average auto insurance rates by age?
What is the best age to get auto insurance? Who pays the most for auto insurance?
The following chart shows average insurance rates for one-person policies with auto liability insurance coverage amounts of $100,000 bodily injury per person per accident, $300,000 total bodily injury for each accident, and $100,000 property damage per accident. This chart shows only liability coverage rates. Collision and comprehensive coverage are not included.
Let’s take a look:
Driver Age Groups | Average Annual Liability Rates |
---|---|
16-19 years old | $2,999.00 |
20-24 years old | $2,040.00 |
25-29 years old | $1,707.00 |
30-34 years old | $1,591.00 |
35-39 years old | $1,610.00 |
40-44 years old | $1,603.00 |
45-49 years old | $1,478.00 |
50-54 years old | $1,284.00 |
55-59 years old | $1,214.00 |
60-64 years old | $1,169.00 |
65-69 years old | $1,244.00 |
70-74 years old | $1,187.00 |
75 years old and up | $1,203.00 |
As you can see, teens and young adults pay the most for auto insurance by far. So, at what age is auto insurance cheapest? It turns out seniors pay the least. You can learn more about the best auto insurance companies for seniors by clicking the link.
The bottom line is that age has an inverse effect on premium rates. Let’s take a look at just why this is.
Who pays more for coverage? Teenagers vs. the Elderly
Many people feel that the elderly also should pay more for auto insurance, as a person’s driving skills often diminish with age. Statistics show, however, that less than one percent of people aged 65 and above will die in auto accidents.
On the other hand, car accidents are the leading cause of death for people in the 15-20 age range, with males being twice as likely as females to die in a car accident at this age.
The elderly get in fewer high-speed accidents, and it’s not only because they drive 35 miles per hour on the highway. Their experience on the road gives them a huge advantage. Studies show that older drivers understand their limitations on the road and therefore take fewer risks. As a result, car accidents involving the elderly tend to be much less serious.
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How much does auto insurance go up with a teenager?
A big factor in answering this question is whether or not the teen is on their own policy. If they are, they can expect to pay over $2,000 annually for state minimum coverage. If they were to be added to their parent’s policy, the rate would be about $600 on average. If possible, always add your teen to an existing policy.
Here’s a video explaining how to cheaply add a teen to your existing policy.
One other thing you can do to mitigate skyrocketing costs for a teen driver is to choose the vehicle they’ll be driving carefully. In a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 83 percent of parents reported buying a used vehicle for their teens to cut down on costs.
What’s even more important is to choose a safe vehicle. Insurers will see this as a responsible choice. Your teen will be viewed as even more high-risk if they’re driving a Ford Mustang vs. a Honda Accord.
Let’s take a further dive into factors that can affect your premiums.
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What factors can affect the average price of auto insurance?
There are several primary factors that come into play in terms of rate determination. Chief among them are gender, age, marital status, geographic location, and credit score. We’ll get into all of them shortly.
Is it better to put single or divorced for auto insurance? Let’s take a look at a news report regarding how gender and relationship status can affect some drivers’ rates.
While it may seem unfair, insurers take your marital status into consideration. It’s been statistically determined that married people get in fewer accidents. Because of this, insurers consider single people to present a higher risk. It is worth noting that, while the video states that gender is a factor, this is not always the case.
Some states have passed laws preventing insurance companies from factoring a person’s gender into their insurance prices, and some companies have simply stopped doing it on their own, due to the fact that it could be viewed as a discriminatory practice.
What are the average annual Progressive auto insurance rates by state?
What states have the highest auto insurance premiums on average? You better believe that where you live plays a role in your premium. Let’s take a look at a table showing Progressive’s rates in the states where they operate.
State | Average Annual Auto Insurance Rates |
---|---|
Hawaii | $2,555.64 |
North Carolina | $3,393.11 |
Iowa | $2,981.28 |
Virginia | $2,357.87 |
New Hampshire | $3,151.77 |
California | $3,688.93 |
Alaska | $3,421.51 |
New Mexico | $3,463.64 |
Wisconsin | $3,606.06 |
Washington | $3,059.32 |
Missouri | $3,328.93 |
Ohio | $2,709.71 |
Illinois | $3,305.48 |
Arizona | $3,770.97 |
North Dakota | $4,165.84 |
Oregon | $3,467.77 |
Maine | $2,953.28 |
Tennessee | $3,660.89 |
South Dakota | $3,982.27 |
Nebraska | $3,283.68 |
New York | $4,958.88 |
Utah | $3,611.89 |
Massachusetts | $2,678.85 |
Indiana | $3,414.97 |
Median | $3,660.89 |
New Jersey | $5,515.21 |
Nevada | $4,861.70 |
Maryland | $4,582.70 |
Kansas | $3,279.62 |
Delaware | $5,986.32 |
Colorado | $3,876.39 |
Mississippi | $3,664.57 |
Montana | $3,220.84 |
Wyoming | $3,200.08 |
Alabama | $3,566.96 |
Pennsylvania | $4,034.50 |
Georgia | $4,966.83 |
South Carolina | $3,781.14 |
Texas | $4,043.28 |
Oklahoma | $4,142.33 |
Connecticut | $4,618.92 |
District of Columbia | $4,439.24 |
Vermont | $3,234.13 |
Rhode Island | $5,003.36 |
Arkansas | $4,124.98 |
Michigan | $4,362 |
Kentucky | $5,195.40 |
Florida | $4,680.46 |
Louisiana | $5,711.34 |
West Virginia | $2,595.36 |
Idaho | $2,979.09 |
Minnesota | $4,403.25 |
Take a look at the state average column. Notice how some states, like Michigan, can be upwards of $10,500 annually in comparison to other states where rates are half as much. Keep in mind these rates are for full coverage policies.
How about credit score? Let’s take a look at another news report, this time about credit score and your premium.
Basically, insurers view a good credit score as an indication that a person is responsible. Again, it’s all about risk. Let’s move on to how you can get the best rates possible.
How can I get the best auto insurance rates for my age?
It doesn’t matter if you’re 16 or 86, there are always ways for you to save on auto insurance. 4AutoInsuranceQuote.com has many guides that will help you find the best quotes for auto insurance regardless of how old or young you are. We recommend you start reading the following:
- The Top 10 Secrets for Finding the Cheapest Auto Insurance Rates
- The 20 Things You Should Know About That Will Affect Your Insurance Rates
After you’ve educated yourself on the ins-and-outs of auto insurance, scroll back up to the top of this page and enter your ZIP code to begin comparing auto insurance quotes. 4AutoInsuranceQuote.com helps connect all of our visitors, young or old, with the most competitive auto insurance rates in the industry.
If we haven’t answered all of your questions today, fear not, because we’re going to wrap up with some commonly asked questions.
When you’re ready to buy car insurance, get a good start on finding the cheapest rates for your demographic in your area by typing your ZIP code into our helpful tool below to find the best car insurance company for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which age group pays the most for auto insurance?
Teenage drivers pay the highest rates for auto insurance. As a driver ages, their insurance rates will gradually decrease, with those aged 55 and up generally paying the least.
Does the age of a driver affect insurance rates?
Age affects car insurance rates even more than other primary factors such as location. Young drivers will always pay more than older drivers because young drivers don’t have any experience behind the wheel and thus are automatically seen as a higher risk.
Why do females pay less for auto insurance?
Male drivers have, in the past, been more statistically prone to reckless driving. Not all companies charge male drivers higher rates, and some states have banned this practice.
Who has the cheapest auto insurance for seniors?
Allstate offers numerous senior discounts for drivers aged 55 or older.
At what age does auto insurance go down for State Farm?
With most insurers, your rates will begin to decrease from age 25 on.
What is the least amount of auto insurance coverage?
It is all dependent on your state. Most states have minimum bodily injury liability per person of $25,000, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 property damage liability per accident.
How often does auto insurance go down?
Your auto insurance rates will gradually decrease as you age, as long as your driving record remains clean.
Who has the cheapest full coverage auto insurance?
USAA and Erie Insurance are seen as having competitive pricing for full coverage auto insurance.
What state has no auto insurance?
Only two states do not have mandatory auto insurance. In Virginia, a driver can pay an uninsured motor vehicle fee to the state. In New Hampshire, a driver has the option to post cash bonds.
What state has the cheapest auto insurance?
The three cheapest states for auto insurance are Iowa, Vermont, and Nebraska.
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Leslie Kasperowicz
Farmers CSR for 4 Years
Leslie Kasperowicz holds a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Winnipeg. She spent several years as a Farmers Insurance CSR, gaining a solid understanding of insurance products including home, life, auto, and commercial and working directly with insurance customers to understand their needs. She has since used that knowledge in her more than ten years as a writer, largely in the insurance...
Farmers CSR for 4 Years
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about auto insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything auto insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by auto insurance experts.