Car Insurance for Teens can break your little piggy bank. Statistics show that insurance companies feel that teenagers and young adults between the age of 16 to 24 year-olds (particularly males) are the riskiest drivers on the road. This age group is responsible for more accidents than any other age group. This high risk of teen accident and death can skyrocket your insurance rates 50 to 100 percent. This increase is necessary for insurance companies to survive. As a result, you'll want to look for ways to keep your insurance rates low by educating your teen driver on safe driving and purchasing a safe vehicle for them.

Unless your insurance company insists otherwise, you may be able to delay insuring your teenage driver until he or she gets a driver's license. A learner's permit restricts a teen to driving only when a licensed adult is in the car. Consequently, many insurance companies consider teens with learner's permits as low-risk drivers and require little if any additional premium to cover them. Learner's permits are good for 60 to 180 days, so if you're not required to insure a teen with one, you can save two to six months' worth of premium expenses. Some car insurance companies will want you to add your teen to your policy as soon as he or she gets a learner's permit, while others will let you wait until your teen has a driver's license. Your premium will go up, so find out if your insurer offers discounts if your teen is a good student or if he or she completes a driver's education or defensive driving course.

Many companies offer teen car insurance discounts to teens that attend high school or college full-time and maintain at least a 3.0 grade point average. Usually, having a 3.0 or higher GPA will reduce your car insurance premium by 10 percent. Insurers also offer discounts to those taking a locally accredited driver safety course or other state-certified programs. (Ask your insurer about these discounts, or get online information from the National Safety Council.)

Once your teen has a driver's license, adding him or her to your policy will most often be your least expensive option. You may have discounts on your policy (e.g., multiple-car and safe-driver discounts) that reduce your rates; these discounts might not be available to your teen. Do, however, ask your insurance agent if your teen qualifies for any discounts on his or her own. For instance, some insurance companies honor driver-education and good-student discounts.

But if you drive a vehicle that's particularly costly to insure, it may be better to buy your teen an inexpensive car and insure him or her separately. If the car you buy for your teen isn't worth a lot to begin with, you may be able to waive the collision and other-than-collision (also known as comprehensive) coverage and save money on the premium. Teen car insurance may cost up to 50 percent less if your teen drives a safer car such as a Honda Civic or a Volvo, according to Champion. Newer model cars with airbags are the least expensive to insure—and the safest for your teen to drive. Sports cars, expensive cars, high-performance cars and SUVs carry higher risk and higher teen car insurance premiums. Ask your insurance agent to help you compare the numbers to see if it is better to buy your teen an inexpensive car and insure him or her separately or to add them to your policy.