Average Car Insurance Cost for 17-Year-Old Drivers

Car insurance for 17-year-olds on a family policy averages $621 monthly for full coverage and $307 monthly for minimum coverage. These rates reflect the added cost of insuring a teen driver, not the total family premium.

An individual policy for a 17-year-old costs $687 monthly for full coverage and $352 for minimum coverage. The $66 difference for full coverage adds up to nearly $800 annually. Family policies win for affordability.

Get your teen a car model known for low premiums, such as the Subaru Outback, MINI Cooper or Honda Odyssey, to keep costs down.

Where your 17-year-old drives makes a dramatic difference in insurance costs. The most expensive states charge more than 10 times what the cheapest states do.

Hawaii leads with the lowest rates at $203 monthly for full coverage. The state prohibits insurers from using age as a pricing factor. Seventeen-year-olds pay the same as 40-year-olds. Maine follows at $259 monthly, then Wyoming at $285, North Dakota at $293 and Vermont at $295.

Full coverage for a 17-year-old costs the most in Louisiana, at $1,014 a month. That's nearly five times the rate in Hawaii. Florida is second at $897 a month, and New Jersey ($843), Maryland ($809) and Nevada ($737) round out the five most expensive states. Rates in these states are higher because of population density, accident rates and insurance fraud.

Gender affects 17-year-old insurance rates in most states. Boys average $639 monthly for full coverage on a family policy. Girls average $603 monthly. That $36 gap exists because male teens have higher accident rates during their first years of licensed driving.

The difference is smaller for minimum coverage: boys pay $316 monthly compared to $299 for girls , a $17 gap. When drivers move past their early 20s and build clean driving records, this gender-based pricing difference narrows.

Six states prohibit gender-based pricing entirely. California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania require identical rates for boy and girl 17-year-olds regardless of coverage level.

A 17-year-old's driving record affects insurance costs right away. For minimum coverage on a family policy, a clean record averages $307 per month. One at-fault accident pushes that cost to $391 monthly. A DUI raises it to $491.

The gap widens with an individual policy. A 17-year-old with a clean record pays $352 per month for minimum coverage. After an at-fault accident, the rate jumps to $516 monthly. A DUI drives costs up to $699 per month.

Safe driving at age 17 saves money. A clean record costs $84 less per month than an at-fault accident and $184 less than a DUI. Those increases don't fade quickly. Violations at this age raise car insurance costs for several years.

GEICO offers the lowest rates for 17-year-olds at $422 monthly for full coverage and $180 monthly for minimum coverage. Travelers comes in second for full coverage at $489 monthly, while Encompass ranks third at $505 monthly.

Every insurer weighs rating factors differently. The cheapest company for a 25-year-old may not be the cheapest car insurance for a 17-year-old. Age, driving experience and violation history all factor heavily into teen pricing.

Car insurance costs more for 17-year-olds because teen drivers crash more often than older drivers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that drivers aged 17 to 19 have the highest crash risk of any age group. Per mile driven, their risk is almost three times that of drivers over 20. Male teens have a higher crash death rate, and the risk climbs with each teen or young adult passenger in the car.

Fatal crashes show the same gap. Per mile driven, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) puts teen drivers' fatal crash risk at nearly three times that of drivers over 20.

Teen rates drop each year as drivers gain experience and keep their records clean. Several discounts and other methods can lower a teen's premium right away.

Yes, with written consent from a parent or guardian. Because 17-year-olds are minors, they can't buy an individual policy on their own.

But if a 17-year-old is legally emancipated, they have the same contractual rights as an adult and can purchase their own car insurance policy. If your teen driver borrows your car, add your child to your car insurance (this is more straightforward and cost-effective than the minor getting an independent policy).

The cheapest way to insure a 17-year-old is to add them to your family policy. These 10 methods lower your teen driver's premium further:

Teen drivers can save with good student, safe driver, telematics and low-mileage discounts, among others. Stack as many car insurance discounts as your teen qualifies for to get cheap car insurance for teens. Telematics programs and safe driver discounts reward responsible driving with lower rates. Teens who log fewer miles, such as college students away from home, can qualify for more savings.

Seventeen-year-old drivers on family policies pay $621 monthly for full coverage. Location impacts this figure. Hawaiian teens enjoy rates as low as $203 monthly. Louisiana teens face costs exceeding $1,000 monthly.

Individual policies cost $66 more per month than family coverage. Family policies are the clear financial winner. Maximize savings by pursuing good student discounts, maintaining clean driving records and shopping multiple insurers annually. As your teen matures and builds driving experience, rates decrease, dropping at ages 18, 19 and especially 25.

Whether you're a parent looking to add a teen to your policy or a young driver seeking information, we cover a range of topics to guide you through the ins and outs of car insurance for 17-year-olds.

MoneyGeek compared full coverage and minimum coverage rates from major insurers in all 50 states to find the cheapest options for 17-year-old drivers. Drivers this age crash three times as often as drivers over 20, so families need good information before they buy. This analysis shows parents where they can save and what each type of coverage protects.