Best car insurance for college students

How much is car insurance for college students?

As you might expect, when it comes to college students, car insurance is at its most expensive for 18-year-olds who are just starting college. It gets progressively less expensive each year, but even college seniors will find themselves paying nearly $1,000 more per year than the national average.

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

• 18-year-old student: $5,190. Yes, insuring an 18-year-old is costly. In fact, it’s more than over $3,430 more than the average premium for a 30-year-old.
• 19-year-old student: $3,560. 19-year-old students pay $1,630 less, on average than 18-year-olds. Still, they pay over $1,800 more than the national average.
• 20-year-old student: $3,500. Only a slight decrease compared to 19-year-olds and over $1,740 more than the national average.
• 21-year-old student: $2,737. Slightly larger than the previous decrease. Still, 21-year-old students pay over $979 more than the national average.

10 Best car insurance companies for college students

While combining policies can save money overall, it’s not the way to go in all cases. For example, if the student is moving to another state for college, the parents’ auto insurance company may not allow them to keep the student on their policy.

In these cases, you will want to be aware of the companies that have the lowest rates for students. Among national auto insurance providers, USAA, Liberty Mutual, and Geico have the cheapest rates for students.

Concord is the cheapest overall, but it is only available in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

Top car insurance companies offering discounts for college students

Those are the most common discounts available for college students, but every insurance provider is different. No insurer that we could find offers all of these discounts, so you’ll need to find which one offers the discounts that work best for you.

Here, we’ll take a look at some of the discounts offered by major car insurance companies.

Liberty Mutual

Liberty mutual offers plenty of ways to cut down on your car insurance bill. While it has plenty of discounts available, such as for veterans and electric vehicles, it also has student-specific discounts.

• Good student discount: For students earning a B grade average or better
• Student away from home discount: For parents whose child is away at school and only occasionally drives their car

Allstate

“Are you in good hands?” Such is the case for students with Allstate insurance as discounted rates are available. Allstate also has slightly lower academic requirements for its good student discounts, which often require a B grade or 3.0 GPA.

• Teen driver discount: For drivers under 25 who are unmarried and qualifies for one of the following:
• They’re a full-time student getting good grades (at least B- or 2.7 GPA)
• They successfully complete the teenSMART® driver education program
• They attend school at least 100 miles away from where your car is garaged
• Good student discount: For students earning a B grade average or better
• teenSMART® driver education program

State Farm

State Farm, the largest car insurance company, has no shortage of discounts for students and younger drivers. In fact, its discounts are some of the most generous around. Good students who meet academic requirements may get up to 25% off their monthly premiums.

• Steer Clear Safe Driver discount: Online course that lets you earn 15% off premiums once completed. Must be under 25 to qualify.
• Good Student discount: College students who meet certain minimum grade requirements while in school are eligible for up to 25% off their rate.
• Driver training discount: Available if all of the operators of a vehicle are under 21.
• Student away at school discount: For those who are under 25 and move away to school, only using their vehicle during holidays and vacations.

Farmers Insurance

Farmers has the typical set of student discounts, including a good student discount and a student away discount. Students must be under 25 to qualify for a good student discount.

• Good Student discount: Full-time students under 25 can qualify if they maintain a high GPA. Must provide documentation to show you meet the minimum criteria.
• Student away from home discount: For students more than 100 miles from home

Progressive

Progressive also offers a good student discount and a student away discount. It also has a teen driver discount, but it only applies to those 18 or younger. Thus, in most cases, only first-year college students will be eligible.

• Good student discount: Applies to students who maintain a B average or better under the age of 23.
• Student away from home discount: If the student is 100 miles or more away without a vehicle at school and is 22 years old or younger, they can get a discount on the car parked at home.
• Teen driver discount: Only applies to drivers 18 and younger.

Travelers Insurance

Travelers has discounts with rates slightly lower than some of the others on this list. Still, it helps that there is a driver training discount which could help offset the difference.

• Student away from home discount: Students who live 100 miles away or more may be eligible for up to a discount of up to 7%.
• Driver training discount: Up to 8% off for young drivers who take a qualified training course.
• Good student discount: Up to 8% off for students who maintain a B average or better.

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
• American Family
• Auto-Owners
• Geico
• MetLife
• Nationwide
• Safeco
• The General
• USAA

Common car insurance discounts for college students

Another way to identify the best car insurance for college students is to do some research on which insurance companies offer the best student discounts.

The average car insurance rate for college students isn’t exactly cheap. However, some 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 16% although Progressive's discount may be up to 23%.

Student away discount

College students who are attending school more than 100 miles away from home may be eligible for this discount. The average student away discount is 18% though Geico's discount may be up to 51%.

Safe driving discount

This discount is available to students who maintain a safe driving record. The average safe driving discount is 27% but can be as high as 30%, according to our analysis.

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 8%.

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?

The answer to this question is yes, teens will most likely save money by being on their parents’ auto insurance policy.

Given that car insurance is so expensive for college students, it makes sense to wonder if adding them to a parent’s policy reduces the cost. This can be the case when having a parent co-sign a loan for a young person with no credit, so what about car insurance?

On average, the total household savings when combining policies is $7,265 compared to the student having their own policy. The cost of the parent policy will increase, but by much less than the two would be when separate.