If you’ve followed along on our Insurance Head to Head series in the past (see some of our previous entries), you know that we like to compare two made-up people to see who would pay less for car insurance.
How do we know who would pay less? We use data we’ve compiled from thousands of insurance applicants to estimate how different rating factors affect the amount a person might be quoted.
Today we’re comparing two people that are part of a group that has some of the highest insurance rates in the country (to the tune of an average rate of $4,796 a year!) That’s right, they’re teenagers. Because teenagers are new to driving, insurance carriers charge significantly more to insure them. It makes sense; after all, they don’t have much driving experience or history to demonstrate they know what they’re doing.
However, not all teens are created equal, so let’s compare our contestants and see who will get a better (or at least, less worse) rate.
Now let’s see how our competitors’ rating factors compare.
Round #1: Location
In every state in the U.S., teens pay the most for car insurance. However, not all states see as big a jump based on age. Who do you think will pay more for their insurance: Madison in Hawaii or Ryan in Louisiana?
Round #2: Age
Although teens will pay the most for car insurance, the amount will change with every candle on the birthday cake. Independent of location, you can probably guess who will pay more between 16-year-old Madison and 19-year-old Ryan, but can you guess by how much?
Round #3: Ride
Both Madison and Ryan are lucky to be driving their own wheels, thanks to Madison’s generous mother and Ryan’s sweet Piggly Wiggly savings. They also both are rocking five-year-old vehicles. Which will likely cost more to insure: Madison’s Dodge or Ryan’s Jeep?
Round #4: Violations
Madison and Ryan both have short driving histories by virtue of being new drivers (one of the reasons teens pay so much more for insurance). Who do you think will see a bigger increase in their car insurance from their small violations: Madison for speeding in a school zone or Ryan for running that stop sign?
The Winner
In the real world, you can’t isolate just one rating factor as we’ve done here. Insurance companies look at each person as a whole and compile all their ratings factors together to determine the overall risk they might pose and decide how much they should pay.
However, we do have one way to find out a winner. We ran each of our contestants through The Zebra’s easy-to-use car insurance comparison platform to find the best rates that the top insurance companies would offer to each. Drum roll please!
If you’re a teen or have one on your policy, you know car insurance can be a financial strain. Here are some ideas for saving money on teen car insurance.
Want to see how you stack up against Madison and Ryan? Compare rates today to see how much you could be paying for car insurance.