Knowing what is the cheapest car insurance for young drivers requires shopping around at different car insurance companies and taking some key factors into consideration. Finding a company that offers cheap car insurance for a young driver is possible, but you have to do your research and find out where those companies are.

Some of the key factors that car insurers consider when rating young drivers are where they live, their driving record, gender, the kind of car being insured and the type of coverage you are purchasing. Young male drivers under 25 are considered the highest risk group of drivers, while young female drivers in the same age group are considered much safer drivers and thus end up paying a lot less than their male counterparts.

If you’re a young driver with less than three years’ driving experience, you won’t even qualify for a good driver discount. However, if you shop around you may find an insurance company that may give you that discount if you’re 19 if they automatically use age 16 to calculate driving history. There are premium reductions available to a young driver even if he hasn’t been driving as long. If a young driver has a short drive to school or work, or maintains good grades in school, he may qualify for good student or low mileage discounts. He may also qualify for a discount if he maintains auto insurance coverage for a month or longer. Young drivers would especially benefit from taking a defensive driving course not only to learn safe habits, but to qualify for premium reductions that insurance companies offer for completing such courses. Another discount that can reduce the cost of car insurance for young drivers is one for being a resident student (where the drivers lives on campus and leaves the car at home),

Unless a young driver is going to driving a brand new car, he doesn’t necessarily need more than liability coverage. Adding on comprehensive and collision coverage on an older model costs more in the long run, and should a driver end up in accident, he may not recoup the entire cost of the vehicle if it is a fairly older model. If you do elect to add additional coverage, paying a higher deductible can help reduce premiums.

In addition to discounts, cheap car insurance for young drivers is attainable by staying out of vehicular mischief. Keep a clean driving record, drive a car that is considered a safe vehicle to drive, seeing if your parents can add you on their car insurance policy (even though this will increase their insurance costs) and establish and maintain a good credit history.

Figuring out what is the cheapest car insurance for young drivers takes time, research and much due diligence. It may be a bit nerve-wrangling, but if it results in affordable car insurance–even if you’re a young driver–it is well worth it.