Your age is one of the factors that insurance companies use to determine your auto insurance rates. Insurance companies consider age an indicator of risk, which is why young drivers typically pay more for car insurance than older drivers.
So, how will your age affect your car insurance cost?
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Insurance companies use age to determine their rates. Because younger drivers are less experienced behind the wheel, young drivers typically pay more for car insurance than older drivers, and teen drivers generally pay the most.
Assuming you maintain a good driving record, standard insurance rates will drop dramatically until around age 25 when they will continue to drop gradually until around age 55. People in their late 50s usually enjoy the cheapest rates while those 60 and older typically see a gradual increase in rates each year.
Read on to learn more about the average car insurance rates by age, and find your age group to see the average cost of car insurance for someone your age.
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Written by Alyssa DiCrasto
Last updated: January 19, 2023
When teenagers first get their driver’s license at age 16, they will pay more for car insurance because insurance companies consider them high-risk drivers. Teen drivers are 4 times more likely to be in a crash than drivers 20 years old and older. This is often due to teenagers’ immaturity and likelihood to take more risks as well as their lack of driving experience.1
As you get older, your car insurance rate typically decreases, since you gain driving experience and are less likely to cause an accident. Rates will drop quickly until you reach age 25, when you’ll see the most significant drop. Rates then may continue to drop slowly until you reach your late 50s, when rates are usually lowest.
The average female driver will see their car insurance rate decrease around age 20. By age 25, they will see the most significant percentage decrease in the cost of auto insurance.2
Like females, male drivers will also see their car insurance rates drop around age 20. However, males pay more for car insurance overall than females, indicating that car insurance companies consider male drivers to be higher risks than female drivers. So while 20-year-old males will pay less than they did as a teenager, they will still be paying a national average of 10% more than their female peers.
However, the size of this difference changes with age as well, so by age 25, males only pay around 2.5% more than females nationally.
Teenage drivers between the age of 16 and 19 are generally considered the highest-risk drivers for insurance providers to insure. That means their age group also pays the most for auto insurance coverage, with the national average car insurance cost for teens exceeding $3,000.
Below are the average rates in each state for a 17-year-old male policyholder with a clean record driving a 2022 RAV4.
The above rates assume that the teenager is the primary driver on a new insurance policy. If you are a parent of a teenage driver and add them to your existing policy, your rates will not be quite as expensive.
On average, adding a teenager to your policy can increase your policy 125%.
While insuring a teenage driver can be expensive, some insurance companies provide discounts, making them more affordable options for families with teen drivers.
Here are some of the most common discounts to look for when researching car insurance for teens:
These discounts typically apply to car insurance for students that are 17 or 18 years old as well.
It’s important to note, however, that other factors in addition to age can impact your car insurance rates for teens, including the state you live in and the car you drive.
One of the best ways to be confident that you have the best insurance for a teenager is to compare car insurance quotes from multiple providers, since this will take into account their age and all other contributing factors.
For a deeper look into car insurance for teens, visit one of the guides below to see data, insights, and recommendations specific to the age you’re most interested in:
Once a driver reaches age 20, the cost of car insurance slowly decreases until they are 25, when they see the most significant price drop related to age.
However, it is important to note that insurance prices are impacted by more factors than just your age, including other demographic information and the car you drive. To find the best car insurance, compare quotes from multiple providers to find an affordable policy for you.
Until their rates decrease, young adults can typically find auto insurance discounts to make their premiums more affordable.
For a deeper look into car insurance for young adults, visit one of the guides below to see data, insights, and recommendations specific to the age group you’re most interested in:
Drivers with clean driving records may see a slight drop in their car insurance rate once they turn 30. Often by age 30, other factors – such as credit score, homeownership, and insurance history – might impact your car insurance rate as much as your age does, depending on provider.
Drivers in their 30s can also typically benefit from car insurance discounts to receive an even better rate. When choosing the best car insurance for 30-year-olds, be sure to ask about Safe Driver, Defensive Driver, Accident-Free, and Low Mileage Discounts that may be available.
At age 40, drivers may see a slight decrease in the cost of car insurance once again. However, the older you get, the longer your driving record becomes, so it may become a more important factor when car insurance companies determine your rate.
For example, a driver with a good driving record may be eligible for discounts to decrease their car insurance cost even further. On the other hand, 40-year-old drivers with a poor driving record may find themselves paying more for auto insurance at this age than they had previously.
The average cost for car insurance for 50-year-olds is slightly less expensive than 40-year-olds. Although drivers may have been with their insurance provider for a while by this age, it’s always a good idea to compare rates.
Some car insurance companies may provide better discounts on auto insurance for 50-year-olds than others, so compare rates to find the best car insurance for you.
In your 60s, it’s a wise idea to re-evaluate your car insurance. This is because your rates may start to increase – the average cost for car insurance for 60-year-olds is slightly more expensive than 50-year-olds – and your car insurance needs may be different than they were before.
Additionally, some car insurance companies may provide better discounts on auto insurance for 60-year-olds than others, so your current company may not be the one that will be able to give you the best rates.
In general, drivers will pay the least for their premiums in their 60’s than they have before. However, the cost of auto insurance increases slightly for seniors over the age of 70 because car insurance companies consider them riskier drivers due to age-related impairments such in vision, cognition, and motor skills.5
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The rates on this page are estimated based on the rating plans insurance carriers have submitted to each state’s department of insurance. An insurance carrier’s rating plan details how the company uses certain characteristics to assign different rates to different people. We use the same data sources to power our comparison tools.
For the data on this page, we made the following assumptions: a single male with a clean driving record and Good credit score, driving a 2022 RAV4. We adjusted this profile by age to determine the rates you see on this page.
These rates should only be used for comparative purposes. Your rates can vary significantly based on your unique driver profile.
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