Best car insurance for college students

How much is car insurance for college students?

The average car insurance cost for college students starts high for the youngest students and gets cheaper as they age.

Here’s a quick look at how the average annual cost of car insurance for each age:

• 18-year-old student: $5,249. The average cost of car insurance for an 18-year-old is over $3,430 more than the average premium for a 30-year-old.
• 19-year-old student: $4,126. On average, 19-year-old students pay $1,123 less than 18-year-olds, but they pay $2,231 more than the national average.
• 20-year-old student: $3,739. That’s a decrease of a few hundred dollars compared to 19-year-olds and $1,844 more than the national average.
• 21-year-old student: $3,094. At 21, college students pay about $700 less annually than at 20 years old. Still, 21-year-old students pay $1,199 more than the national average.

Best car insurance for college students

Rates are important, but college is stressful enough without worrying if your car insurance company has your back. To find the best car insurance for college students, we ranked car insurance companies based on National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaints data, AM Best financial stability ratings, and average rates for college students aged 18 through 21.

State Farm came out on top with a five-star rating overall, followed by GEICO and Nationwide.

Cheap car insurance for college students

If the best price is your No. 1 priority, Travelers is your best bet. Unless you qualify for USAA (you come from a military family or are in the military yourself), Travelers has the cheapest car insurance for college students at an average cost of $3,360 a year.  If you do have that military connection, USAA will cost only $2,936 a year on average.

Car insurance discounts for college students

Most car insurance companies offer multiple discounts that can help students save money. Here are some common types of discounts to ask insurance companies about.

Good student discount

Students who maintain a certain academic standard, such as a 3.0 GPA, are often eligible for a discount. The average good student discount is 14% although Nationwide offers an average discount of 20%.

Student away discount

College students who are attending school more than 100 miles away from home may be eligible for this discount.

Safe driving discount

This discount is available to students who maintain a safe driving record.

Driver’s education discount

Taking a driver's training course can improve your driving skills and encourage safer driving habits. Available to students who complete a safe driving course. The average driver's training course discount is 7%.

Low mileage discount

If you don’t drive much while at school, you could qualify for an average car insurance discount of 6%.

Other discounts for college students

You may qualify for one more of these other common car insurance discounts:

• Advance purchase: 8%
• Paperless billing: 4%
• Anti-theft device: 1%
• Airbags: 1%

Top car insurance companies offering discounts for college students

Here’s a look at the discounts offered by the top car insurance companies for college students. Note that discount availability varies by state.

State Farm

State Farm is our top pick for college students and has a solid list of discounts available:

• Good student (18%), for students up to age 25 with a 3.0 GPA or higher, ranked in the top 20% of their class, or on the Dean’s List/Honor Roll.
• Driver training, for taking an approved course.
• Student away at school, for students up to age 25 away at school without a car.
• Safe driving habits, for use of the State Farm usage-based programs that monitor driving habits.

GEICO

Our No. 2 company for college student car insurance, GEICO has the second-cheapest rates on average and offers the following discounts for college students:

• Good student (9%), for students with a B average or better
• Good driver, for students without an accident in the past five years
• Student organization/group/alumni, for members of certain school groups

Nationwide

In third place among the companies we ranked, Nationwide doesn’t have as many discounts specifically for college students as other companies but has the biggest good student discount. You may qualify for the following:

• Good student (20%), for students aged 18 to 24 with a B average or better
• Accident-free, for students with no accidents 
• Safe driver, for students with no at-fault accidents or major violations in the past five years

Travelers Insurance

Travelers has the cheapest rates of all of the companies we ranked, and offers the following discounts college students can take advantage of:

• Good student (6%), for students with a B average (3.0 GPA) or better, or in the upper 20% of the class 
• Student away at school, for students at school more than 100 miles away from home without a car
• Driver training, for students who complete an approved course

Progressive

Progressive is the No. 5 pick on our list of the best car insurance companies for college students. It offers these discounts:

• Good student (8%), for full-time students under age 23 with a B average or better
• Distant student, for students 22 or younger going to school 100+ miles from home without a car
• Teen driver discount, for students 18 and younger

Other car insurance companies that offer college student discounts

Those aren't the only insurance companies that offer student discounts to help college students and their parents save on car insurance costs. Here are some others:

• AAA
• Allstate
• American Family
• Auto-Owners
• Erie Insurance
• Farmers
• USAA

How to save money on auto insurance for college students

Insuring a younger driver is likely to be costly no matter what you do. However, there are several steps you can take that will make it less expensive.

• Add them to a parent’s policy (or keep them on). This will increase the cost of the parent’s policy, but the combined plan will be much cheaper overall.
• Take advantage of discounts.
• Teach and require safe driving habits.
• New car/safety features. Some insurers offer discounts for new cars. Of course, this often overlaps with cars that have a lot of safety features.
• Avoid filing unnecessary claims.
• Raise your deductible. If you can afford a higher deductible out-of-pocket if a claim is filed, increasing your deductible can save you money on your annual premium.

Is car insurance for college students cheaper when added to a parent’s policy?

College students will generally save money by being on their parents’ auto insurance policy. That’s because they can take advantage of the parent’s discounts and history with the company.

As you can see below, teens pay more for car insurance when they take out a solo policy than when added to a parent’s policy, in some cases by more than $1,000 a year.

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