The priciest and cheapest states for teen drivers
(MoneyWatch) How much will your car insurance payments go up when your teenager starts driving?
You can expect to pay about $2,000 more to cover your insurance premium hike. For a married couple with two cars, that represents an 84 percent jump.
The financial costs faced by parents with teen drivers vary widely by state, according to a new study underwritten by InsuranceQuotes.com, an online insurance marketplace. Parents in Arkansas pony up the most money to insure their teens, while parents in Hawaii will barely notice a difference in their insurance premiums.
Following are the top 10 states with the highest and lowest average premium increases for teen drivers.
10 states with highest average premium hike for teen drivers
1. Arkansas 116 percent
2. Utah 115 percent
3. Wyoming 112 percent
4. Alabama 111 percent
5. Idaho 107 percent
6. Maine 105 percent
7. Washington 105 percent
8. Arizona 104 percent
9. Louisiana 101 percent
10. New Hampshire 101 percent
10 states with the lowest average premium hike for teen drivers
1. Hawaii 18 percent
2. North Carolina 59 percent
3. New York 62 percent
4. Massachusetts 66 percent
5. Montana 66 percent
6. New Mexico 67 percent
7. South Dakota 68 percent
8. Kansas 70 percent
9. Texas 71 percent
10. Michigan 73 percent
If you're wondering why Hawaiians are so lucky, the Aloha state prohibits insurers from jacking up premiums based on gender, age or driving experience.
Here are four ways to shrink premiums when a teenager starts driving:
1. See if your child qualifies for a good student discount.
2. Ask whether the insurer will provide a discount if the teen takes advanced driver training.
3. Consider boosting your deductible.
4. Delay letting your child behind the wheel.
The increases to a family's auto insurance premium will decline with the age of the teenager. Here are the average premium increases for families by the age of the teen driver:
16-year-olds 99 percent
17-year-olds 90 percent
18-year-olds 82 percent
19-year-olds 65 percent
You'll also save if your teen driver is a girl. The average premium boost for a female teenager is 72 percent, versus 96 percent for boys.
