Hi, apologies if this is the wrong place for this thread; it just seemed the most relevant.
I am an internatioanal student from the UK and hope to apply to college later this year. One thing I am wondering quite a bit is what is the cost of car insurance for a teenage male over there in the US? Over here in the UK it is really expensive - is this similar over there too? Do any of you have any experience with getting car insurance for your children? How much did you end up paying? And for what sort of cars?
Car insurance is a state issue, and varies greatly in each state. Yes, teen males are usually really high, especially if it is a ‘stand alone’ policy, not attached to a parent’s policy and good driving record. It will also depend if the student is the main driver, the age and value of the car, and how much coverage you need.
It can be as high as $3000 per year for a teen. When we lived in Florida, I couldn’t afford to have my kids on my policy because it was over $1000/yr, EACH, just to add them to my car which they didn’t drive that much. Now I live in Colorado and it’s only about $90/mo for the 3 of use, all on one car, and a huge discount because they are away at college.
It really depends on the state, the car, the age and driving record of the driver.
A lot more. I think I did inquiring about independent insurance and it’s about $4000-$7000. Not the most expensive car. Toyota Corrola. Under the age of 25 in California is expensive.
Are you going to have a car? Many people don’t drive or have a car at college.
If you are not going to have a car, do you plan to drive at all?
If not, do you have to have insurance at all?
If yes, You probably won’t be able to rent a car if you are 18. What car would you be driving? If you were able to rent a car, they will sell you insurance for the time you have the car.
In the US, my daughter had car insurance but got a substantial discount for her being 200 miles away from home with no car. But she would drive when she came home on break. So if you want to maintain your insurance for when you go home, do they have something like this?
This is an international,student. It is very likely that any car insurance they have in another country cannot apply to any car driven here.
To the OP…there are lots of expenses associated with owning a car…and truthfully, at most colleges, a car is not needed. No car…no insurance is needed.
If your school has a zip car station (most large U’s and many smaller ones do now), that may be a better solution for a lot less money, and you can do it at 18. You would still need local liability insurance though.
I was not a college student, but I was able to drive in US (PA state) with an international drivers license for one year I think and then I had to take a drivers test to get a PA license so make sure you know the requirements of the state the college you attend is in.
I have 2 male drivers at college, one with car, one without, and I pay a fortune (was happy when total under 5K) for insurance. I drive an older volvo, but everyone else in the house has a 2012 or newer car, but none are high end. For just my 19yo son, I think we pay over 2k, maybe closer to three, and he has a perfect driving record. He does have a 2 door car, which may matter in rates. I replaced my older sons car with a brand new 2015, and his insurance went down about $250. Go figure. INsurance is high for young male drivers, and if you need your own policy it may be ridiculously high.
My quote is if the kids are on their own without a parent’s insurance. One kid only. Since you are internationals, I didn’t think it was possible for your son to tack on to your insurance.
I believe we pay about $1300/year for our D, who is 25 and has the highest possible policy limits. I believe we paid less and had lower policy limits on S. They had taken driver’s ed written and behind the wheel course and had a “good student” discount and a discount for having no accidents, tickets or violations on their records. Both were insured in Los Angeles, which has fairly high rates. I have heard of others with much higher rates, especially if there is ANY history of ANY violations or accidents on their records.
In some states, it even goes beyond state rates into county rates. I am paying about triple what I’d be paying in a neighbor county since I live in the same county as Detroit.
OP, there are way, way, WAY too many variables with insurance to give you any real idea of what you’ll pay. I’d use a website to give you a quote. I’d say you’re EASILY going to be paying $150+/month.
I have been paying basically the same rates for D for several years. They said her rates will drop slightly once she turns 26.
Rates also vary by vehicle driven, zip code where car is garaged, how much car is worth, its age and safety features, the insurer, and more! Males also tend to have higher rates and smokers.
The easiest way to know is to check out the website of car insurers like progressive insurance (I don’t know if they cover where you are going to school)…progressive actually will give you rates for themselves and competitors.
As others have said, for young men under 26 it is generally going to be a lot more expensive (it is for young women, but not as much as young men). Rates depend on the kind of insurance, the age of the driver, driving record, the location where you are driving, and the kind of car.
If you really need a car, the cheapest kind of insurance would be to get liability only and have an older car that isn’t worth that much. With a car like that, it basically doesn’t pay to have anything else but liability, given that if you get into an accident the insurance company will likely total it, so if the damage is that bad, they won’t pay much anyway. If you do get insurance, one piece of advice, don’t get the minimum that the law allows, make sure to get fairly high liability coverage, given the nature of the US court system, it doesn’t take much to have a high judgement against you.
I tend to agree with others, unless you think you really need a car at school (like, for example, you will be working and need a car to get to the job), I would try and avoid it. Renting a car can be difficult if you are young, in some places they won’t rent to someone younger than 26, but if you can avoid the cost, I would do it. Lot of schools won’t even let freshman have a car on campus, and most colleges tend to be kind of self contained, and if they are in a town you likely could either walk to places, or the school might have van or shuttle services, worth checking with the school.
HImom, who is the insurer? I might want to call them to get some quote.
OP, it’s cheaper to get zip car then paying for insurance and parking fee. The only problem with zip car is that my kid wants to go hiking and it seems expensive to get a zip car for that because of the time the car is not used.
If you are from the UK, I presume you grew up with cars with the steering wheel on the right and driving on the left side of the road, opposite to what we have here. Are you planning on buying a car here, and how much practice and experience do you have driving opposite from the UK? That is of far, far greater concern than the actual car insurance.
A tangential question, we have insurance, but haven’t used it for repairs for twenty years?, and that was with another company.
What is your cutoff when deciding to turn it over to the insurance company?
How about a one vehicle accident, nobody was hurt, but quoted repairs are over $1000( for a 17 yr old car)
I don’t want my rates raised, or is insurance mainly for the really big things?