Best Car Insurance for 20-Year-Olds

According to our estimates, on average 20-year-old drivers pay between $2,700 and $3,700 per year for full-coverage car insurance on individual policies. Twenty-year-olds pay more for car insurance because of their relative inexperience behind the wheel. Families with 20-year-olds living at home will pay less if they have family insurance policies.

Factors That Affect the Cost of Car Insurance for 20-Year-Olds

The cost of car insurance for a 20-year-old driver is determined based on a variety of factors which can include gender, driving history, location and credit score.

Gender plays a major role in calculating your rates especially if you’re a teen or young adult. This is often because young men (such as 20-year-old male drivers) have significantly higher accident rates than female drivers, so they pay more for auto insurance coverage. However, some states don’t allow insurance companies to use gender for calculating your rates.

Our top picks for the best car insurance for 20-year-olds are State Farm, USAA, Geico, Erie Insurance and Liberty Mutual. We’ve found these companies to be affordable on average for young drivers.

*The overall rating applies to a standard driving profile, while the ranking order applies to 20-year-old drivers.

Twenty-year-olds aren’t teen drivers anymore, but they also aren’t out of the woods when it comes to high car insurance rates. Young adults are statistically more likely to get into accidents than older adults. Drivers see higher car insurance rates well into their 20s because of this, even if they have clean driving records.

You might be the safest 20-year-old driver out there, but the average cost of car insurance for your age group is higher because of the drivers who do get into accidents. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, drivers between the ages of 20 and 24 got into about 74% more accidents than drivers between the ages of 30 and 39 in 2014 and 2015.

Below, you can see how the number of crashes changes by age group.

Your car insurance premiums are based on how likely you are to file a claim, according to your provider. A variety of other factors also affect rates, but age is influential in most states. Below, you can see how average rates by age group relate to crash rates.

*Car insurance estimates are based on full-coverage policies with $50,000 bodily injury per person, $100,000 bodily injury per accident, $50,000 property damage per accident and a $500 deductible for collision coverage and comprehensive coverage.

Even if you’re 20 years old, there are a number of ways to save money on coverage. A few of the ways to find the best rates are shopping around, comparing car insurance discounts and limiting your coverage.

Shop Around

It might seem obvious, but one of the quickest ways to find a better rate is to compare car insurance quotes right now. You can shop around as often as you like, though we recommend comparing rates as often as your car insurance policy is up for renewal.

Each company has its own formulas for setting rates based on your driving profile. There may be a cheaper company out there at this time, but you won’t know if you don’t get a few car insurance quotes to find out. You can get quotes by putting your information into online quote tools or contacting insurance agents directly.

Find the Best Discounts

Car insurance companies usually offer multiple discounts, but not all companies have the same types of discounts. If you have good grades, look for companies that offer good student discounts to find lower rates. Or, if you’re a college student who’s on your parent’s policy and attending school away from home, make sure your family is getting a student-away-at-school discount.

When you’re shopping around for the best car insurance for 20-year-olds, keep an eye out for discounts like these:

• Safe driving discount
• Multi-policy bundling discount
• Military discount
• Driver training discount
• Defensive driving course discount
• Good student discount
• Student-away-at-school discount
• Multi-car discount
• New car discount
• Usage-based discount

Choose the Right Coverage and Deductible

Your coverage and deductible directly impact the cost of your auto insurance policy. You can save money by decreasing the limits of auto insurance coverage like comprehensive and collision insurance. You could also choose your state minimum coverage and drop comprehensive and collision to save more.

Your deductible is what you pay out of pocket before your insurance kicks in. Increasing this amount will lower your insurance cost because you’ll take some of the risk on yourself. Be sure you could pay your deductible if needed.

Choose a Cheap Car

If you’re considering getting a new car or trading your vehicle in, opt for a used vehicle that you or your family can buy with cash. Without an auto loan, you won’t be required to have comprehensive or collision coverage on the vehicle, so insurance will be cheaper.

Keep a Clean Driving Record

An at-fault accident will raise anyone’s rates, but it can make car insurance especially expensive for young drivers. If you get into an accident, you also won’t be eligible for a good driver discount if your company offers it. That’s why it’s so important to keep a clean driving history as a 20-year-old.

Maintain a Good Credit Score

Most states allow car insurance companies to set rates based on credit scores. A fair or poor credit score can raise your rates, so stay in the good or excellent credit zones to find good rates.

As a 20-year-old, you’ll find higher rates than older adult drivers will. However, we have outlined some of the best companies with the cheapest rates for car insurance for you to compare. While we have provided our top picks, we recommend that you compare auto insurance quotes from multiple companies in order to get the best deal.

Below are some common frequently asked questions about the best car insurance for 20 year olds:

Our Methodology

Because consumers rely on us to provide objective and accurate information, we created a comprehensive rating system to formulate our rankings of the best car insurance companies. We collected data on dozens of auto insurance providers to grade the companies on a wide range of ranking factors. The end result was an overall rating for each provider, with the insurers that scored the most points topping the list.

Here are the factors our ratings take into account:

• Cost: Auto insurance rate estimates generated by Quadrant Information Services and discount opportunities were both taken into consideration.
• Coverage: Companies that offer a variety of choices for insurance coverage are more likely to meet consumer needs.
• Reputation and experience: Our research team considered market share, ratings from industry experts and years in business when giving this score.
• Availability: Auto insurance companies with greater state availability and few eligibility requirements scored highest in this category.
• Customer experience: This score is based on volume of complaints reported by the NAIC and customer satisfaction ratings reported by J.D. Power. We also considered the responsiveness, friendliness and helpfulness of each insurance company’s customer service team based on our own shopper analysis.

Our credentials:

• 800 hours researched
• 45 companies reviewed
• 8,500+ consumers surveyed

*Data accurate at time of publication.