Best Car Insurance For 19-Year-Olds (2024 Picks) (2024)

Key Points:

• State Farm offers a good student discount of up to 25 percent, plus more money-saving features.
• 19-year-olds pay more than older drivers for car insurance.
• Compare rates from multiple companies to find the best option.

What is the best car insurance for a 19-year-old driver? It’s generally known that teenagers, as a demographic, are pricey to insure because they are still new to the road. The good news is that 19-year-olds are much cheaper to insure than 18-year-olds–especially if you take advantage of discounts. This guide will explain how to find the best car insurance for teen drivers and provide tips for ways to lower premiums.

Our rate data includes costs for 16, 20, 30, 40, and 50-year-olds. In general, insurance policies for 19-year-olds cost slightly more than policies for 20-year-olds, which average about $4,019 per year or $335 per month. These rates apply to individual policies. It’s usually cheaper to add a 19-year-old to a family plan than to have them buy their own.

Below, you can see our car insurance rate data by age.

Auto insurance rates vary depending on several demographic details. Car insurance for 19-year-olds is particularly expensive because these drivers are seen as less risk-averse and more likely to get into an accident, resulting in a claim. The other factors that commonly impact premiums are:

• Marital status
• Location
• Gender
• Credit score
• Driving history
• Vehicle make and model

Insurance for a 19-year-old is generally costly, not only because of the driver’s age but other factors that likely apply to teenagers. Young drivers usually have short driving histories and low credit scores. These things further impact premium rates.

Many people wonder about the role gender plays in finding cheap car insurance for your teenager. While this can influence rates slightly, some states, such as California, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and others, don’t allow companies to use gender as a pricing factor.

Types Of Car Insurance

Most of the time, states require bodily injury liability insurance and property damage liability insurance. The common types of auto coverage are detailed in the chart below.

There are many good strategies for securing low rates on car insurance for a 19-year-old. The best option is to insure teenage drivers on their parent’s policies. Adding a dependent to your policy will increase your rates by a lot, but not by as much as it would cost to purchase a separate policy for a teenager.

Some discounts commonly offered by insurance providers may apply to your situation. Contact your insurance provider and ask about the following types of discounts:

• Safe driving discount
• Good student discount
• Student away at school discount
• Low mileage discount

State Farm offers a good student discount of up to 25 percent, which is the best in the industry. Some providers also offer discounts for young drivers who complete a driver education course. For example, Liberty Mutual offers a discount for drivers under 21 who complete an approved course.

Another way to lower premiums is to opt for a higher deductible. You will have more out-of-pocket costs if you need to file a claim, but this could be worth it.

Finally, a good credit score will also help you save money. While it takes time to build credit, there are a few things teenagers can do. Start using a credit card as soon as possible, being sure to pay off your full balance on time every month. Having a job can also increase your credit score and ultimately decrease your insurance costs. These are long-term strategies to consider before your teen is ready to purchase insurance.

Try Usage-Based Insurance

Nineteen-year-olds might not have much driving history. However, they can take advantage of usage-based programs to get discounts for safe driving habits. Examples include:

• State Farm Drive Safe and Save™
• Progressive Snapshot
• Geico DriveEasy
• USAA SafePilot®
• Liberty Mutual RightTrack®
• Allstate Drivewise®

These programs can award big discounts if you’re a safe driver. But beware–some can raise your rates or remove other safe driving discounts if you aren’t a safe driver.

Most programs also require all drivers on a family plan to participate. Everyone can get a discount after a testing period.

Our picks for the best car insurance for 19-year-olds are State Farm, Geico, and Liberty Mutual.

#1 State Farm: Best Overall Provider

State Farm offers great opportunities for teens to save on car insurance. It offers a 25 percent discount for good students until they turn 25. State Farm also offers a driver training discount to individuals under 21 and a student-away-at-school discount to students who only use their cars on vacation.

Besides that, State Farm has an app called Steer Clear®. With this program, drivers under 25 complete driving courses and mentoring requirements to get a discount. Combined with generally affordable rates, these factors make State Farm a great option for 19-year-olds.

Learn more in our State Farm insurance review.

#2 Geico: Best For Basic Coverage

In our Geico auto insurance review, we found this auto insurance provider to be one of the top choices for young drivers. Geico has many discounts that can apply to teenage drivers, including:

• Good student discount
• Good driver discount
• Airbag discount
• Seat belt use discount
• Defensive driving discount
• Membership discount
• DriveEasy app

Geico is a full-service provider and offers add-ons like roadside assistance and mechanical breakdown insurance. AM Best rates Geico’s financial strength at A++, Superior, which is the highest score possible. It also maintains an A+ rating from the BBB.

#3 Liberty Mutual: Best Customizable Coverage

Liberty Mutual is another great car insurance option for 19-year-olds. The company offers three discounts that apply to the age group: New Teen Driver, Teen Driving Program, and Good Student.

Families can get the New Teen Driver discount if they’ve added a teen driver to their account within the last year. The Teen Driving Program discount applies when drivers under 21 take an approved educational course, and the Good Student discount applies to students under 25 who maintain a B average or better.

Finally, Liberty Mutual’s RightTrack program can award discounts of up to 30 percent for good drivers. RightTrack works through a smartphone app that tracks your driving in real time. You’ll get a discount if you apply after a 90-day period.

How We Rate Auto Insurers

Our review team extensively researches auto insurance providers to deliver informed and unbiased assessments of leading companies. We evaluate several key rating factors that are important to consumers to determine which providers are the best in the industry:

• Reliability: It’s important that an auto insurer is able to meet its claims obligations. Companies with a strong financial strength rating from AM Best score best in this category. Established insurers with a long history of reliable service also receive positive marks.
• Availability: Insurance companies that offer wider availability to consumers in terms of state availability and few eligibility requirements are more likely to meet consumer needs.
• Coverage: To determine our coverage score, we look at the number of coverage options available as well as coverage limits and deductible options. Our ratings also take into account additional services and benefits like roadside assistance.
• Pricing: Cost can be difficult to compare between insurers because so many factors impact annual premiums. The cheapest insurer for one driver may not be the cheapest for another. To determine our cost score, we look at insurance rate estimates generated by Quadrant Information Services, discount opportunities, and consumer reports.
• Service: We comb through customer reviews on sites like the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to learn about customer experiences. Insurers with a low volume of complaints score well in this area. We also consider the claims process, giving higher ratings to car insurance providers that offer a smooth experience.
• Technology: Providers with an online quote tool, easy-to-use claims app and a usage-based insurance app score best in this category.

*Data accurate at time of publication.