Find Cheaper Maryland Car Insurance Rates for 16-Year-Olds

It’s hard to miss the captivating ads from car insurance companies like Farmers, The General, and Progressive that make claims of big savings. So drivers just need to pick the company with the cutest commercial, right?

Unfortunately, it’s just not that easy, as there are a whole bunch of unknown factors like how much liability insurance you need, the insurance company you are currently insured with, where your residence is in Maryland, and if you are married or single, that all influence how much you pay for auto insurance. The information below will cover the best ways to compare rates and will give you a good start in finding the cheapest car insurance in Maryland.

The type of vehicle that is being insured is probably the biggest factor when consumers are trying to find low-priced coverage for 16 year olds. Vehicles with lower acceleration and performance, good safety features, or a track record of few liability claims will cost quite a bit less to insure than high performance models. The next table showcases auto insurance premiums for a selection of the most affordable vehicles to buy insurance for.

Table data represents single female driver age 16, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and Maryland minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, and safe-driver. Rates do not factor in specific location which can influence insurance rates noticeably.

Based upon the table data, we can tell that vehicles like the Honda Accord, Ford Escape, and Honda CR-V should be the cheapest vehicles to insure for new drivers. The price for car insurance will trend higher just due to the fact that there is more claim risk for 16 year olds, but generally speaking those makes and models will most likely have the cheapest car insurance rates compared to all other vehicles.

Finding out which companies have the cheapest car insurance rates for 16 year olds will involve a bit more work in order to find the best policy. Every insurance provider uses a little different formula for filing rates in each state, so to begin we’ll rank the most affordable car insurance companies in Maryland.

It’s important to know that Maryland car insurance rates are influenced by many factors that will increase or decrease the cost of a policy. Improving your credit score, buying a home instead of renting, or getting a DUI may cause policy rate changes that can make some companies cheaper than competitors.

 

USAA offers some of the cheapest car insurance rates in Maryland at around $930 per year. Liberty Mutual, Erie, Penn National, and State Auto also qualify as some of the most economical Maryland car insurance companies.

As shown above, if you are a customer of Liberty Mutual and switched to USAA, you might achieve an annual savings of upwards of $184. Insureds with Erie might save as much as $197 a year, and Penn National policyholders might reduce rates by $207 a year.

To see if your current coverage is too expensive, click here to start your custom quote or click several companies below for low rates.

Remember that these premiums are averages for all types of drivers and the different vehicles they drive and do not take into consideration a rate increase for 16 year olds. So the company that can offer you the best price may not even be featured in the rate chart shown above. That’s why you need to get rate quotes from many companies using your own personal information and vehicle type.

Does full coverage make sense?

Finding the cheapest car insurance for 16 year olds in Maryland is probably important to most vehicle owners, and one easy way to find cheap insurance is to not buy comprehensive and collision coverage. The example below shows the difference between yearly insurance costs with full coverage compared to only the Maryland minimum liability coverage. The information is based on no tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, single status, and no additional discounts are factored in.

On average, full coverage costs an extra $1,910 per year over and above liability coverage. That amount may make you wonder if buying full coverage is worth the expense. There is no clear-cut rule for phasing out full coverage on your policy, but there is a broad guideline. If the yearly cost for physical damage coverage is more than about 10% of the vehicle’s replacement cost less your deductible, then it might be time to buy liability only.

For example, let’s assume your vehicle’s claim settlement value is $8,500 and you have $1,000 full coverage deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled in an accident, the most your company will settle for is $7,500 after the policy deductible has been paid. If you are paying over $750 a year for comprehensive and collision coverage, then it might be time to buy liability only.

The illustration below demonstrates how deductibles can increase or decrease insurance prices when quoting cheap insurance for 16 year olds. The rates are based on a married male driver, full physical damage coverage, and no discounts are factored in.

As shown above, a 40-year-old driver could lower their car insurance rates by $284 a year by switching from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $428 by switching to a $1,000 deductible. Youthful drivers, like the Age 20 category, can save as much as $942 each year by using higher deductibles when buying full coverage.

When increasing deductibles, it will be important to have plenty of money set aside to cover the extra out-of-pocket expense, which is the one inconvenience of using high deductibles.

How to find the cheapest car insurance for 16 year olds in Maryland

Below you’ll find some of the better money-saving solutions that can help Maryland drivers buy lower-cost coverage.

• Do not waste money insuring older vehicles for full coverage
• Choose a safer vehicle and pay lower rates
• Home or renters coverage can save on auto insurance
• Clean up your credit rating
• Increase the comprehensive and collision deductibles on your policy
• If possible, do not file small claims
• Look for cheaper rates once a year by shopping around

The last item on the list is very important, as was discussed in the prior information. Prices charged by car insurance companies change frequently, so don’t be unwilling to switch to a new company if you find a better deal.

Being loyal to a particular company is commendable, but it’s not recommended if that loyalty ends up costing a lot of money every month. It takes less than five minutes to compare prices and find cheaper auto insurance for 16 year olds.

Best cheap insurance quotes for new drivers

There are many different ways to buy car insurance in Maryland, but the three most common ways are from an independent insurance agent, a captive (or exclusive) agent like Allstate or State Farm, or direct online or over the phone from a company like Progressive or Geico.

You can use whichever method you prefer, but car insurance shoppers should know the differences in how they price policies.

Independent agencies work for many companies and can provide price quotes from all of them. They are not limited to a single company and can provide you with more rate quotes, which can give you a better chance of saving money. If the agent locates a cheaper price, an independent agent can move your coverage which makes it easier to save money.

A captive, or exclusive, agent is able to place business with one company, two popular examples being Farmers Insurance or State Farm agents. These agents usually cannot give you multiple price quotes, so if rates are not competitive, they cannot give other choices.

Consumers who buy car insurance direct bypass an independent or exclusive agent and buy from a direct company like Esurance. Shopping for car insurance direct is good for consumers who do not have complex finances and have an above average understanding of the exclusions of a policy.

What is the best method for finding the cheapest car insurance for 16 year olds in Maryland? The majority of car insurance shoppers assume that buying direct results in the cheapest rates because you bypass the agent, but that is not always the case. An argument could also be made that going through an independent agent guarantees the best prices since they can provide multiple quotes, but that assumption is also not accurate. And sometimes, exclusive agents have very competitive rates that are well below what direct and independents offer.

Because there are so many factors that make up car insurance rates, the only true way to buy the cheapest coverage is to compare, compare, and compare some more. Be sure to get quotes from all three types to have the best selection of rates to choose from. We compiled a list of companies with some of the cheapest online rates that you can click here to view.