Customer: "My daughter just got her license and I need to add her to my policy."
Insurance Agent: "Cool, now I can buy a new mercedes...er...sure I'll be glad to help you with that."
Insurance Agent: "Ok, your new 6 month premium has gone from $556 every 6 months to $1273."
If you have ever added a teenage driver to your insurance you have no doubt had a similar experience.
You saw your rate jump anywhere from 50-100% just for adding them with their license.
We haven't even talked about getting them a car.
If you've spent any time on this site you know by now that insurance premiums are based on risk and no other group, other than elderly operators, poses a higher risk to insurance companies than teenage drivers.
This a group with very little, if any, driving experience.
They don't know how to judge distances between cars and if they can make a turn in time to avoid the oncoming traffic, and so on.
Teen drivers are most likely to get into an accident than any other age group.
Your son or daughter may be a perfect driver with no tickets and no accidents but your rates will still be high because as a whole, teen drivers are very risky.
Yes, there are quite a few ways to save some money when you have a teen driver.
See if your current insurance company offers discounts for drivers training, AKA Driver's Ed, being a good student, claims free, and ticket free, and if they offer a discount for them being away at school without a vehicle.
You should also look to increase your comprehensive and collision deductibles to $500 or $1000 depending on how much you save and how old the vehicle is.
If the car is like 12-15 years old you should seriously consider dropping comp and collision and leaving liability only because the cost of the insurance each year would probably be more than the cost of the vehicle itself.
It does pay to shop around for cars as well.
The best advice I can give you before you buy a new car for your teenage driver is to call your insurance company first and get several quotes on several vehicles.