It is a near universal truth that young people are going to have to expect to pay more for their auto insurance than their parents do.  Cheap car insurance for young drivers may seem at first to be a distant treasure that the average person would never expect to be able to find.

The truth is that by approaching the insurance company, driving habits, and general attitude of the driver in the right way, you can actually get automobile insurance for a teenager for only a modest amount of money more than you normally would be able to for an adult.

There are quite a few things that car insurance brokers keep in mind when settling on a policy, and by attending to each one, you can bring down your premium quite a bit.

Getting cheap car insurance for young drivers is actually a somewhat different experience depending on the gender of the driver in question. Statistically, teenage males are significantly more likely to be involved in a collision than females, so their rates tend to be somewhat higher.

Realistically, not much can be done for this, but it is included in our list because it has a significant effect on the insurance premium and it is one of the first things that an auto insurance specialist will see when assembling a quote.

While it may not be brought up by the car insurance broker during the quote consultation, students who are attending school and who are getting good grades are eligible for what is known as the good student discount.

When you go to the meeting with your insurance company, be sure to take a copy of the school transcript of the new driver as proof of good grades to ensure that you qualify for this discount.

The actual baseline requirement will vary somewhat between agencies, but most of them will offer a discount for a GPA above 3.0.

It goes without saying that new cars are going to result in a higher insurance premium than used cars. This is entirely due to the fact that a new car is worth much more than a car that is a few years old.

However, very old cars do not have many of the safety features common to modern cars, such as: antilock brakes, air bags, and passive restraints. These devices will help lower your rate because they greatly reduce the risk of injury. Most vehicles manufactured in the mid 1990s or later will have all of these safety devices already installed, and it is difficult to get cheap car insurance for young drivers without them.

Most people have a vague idea that the model of car comes into play when the insurance broker is assembling the quote.  Auto insurance specialists know that certain models of vehicle have a strong tendency to inspire more aggressive driving habits.  These tendencies are especially pronounced in less experienced drivers.  That is why drivers of SUVs and sports cars can expect higher rates than drivers of sedans, for example.

There is a certain level of skill and casual confidence behind the wheel that can only come from experience.  The exact amount of experience required before a particular company will allow for a discount will vary between companies, but the average amount of time required tends to run between three to seven years before the company will feel safe enough to offer a lower rate.

Some companies will never offer truly cheap car insurance for young drivers.  That is because different companies have different polices regarding risk factors, how exactly the quote breaks down, and a thousand other factors that the public is seldom privy to.

The important thing to remember is to shop around.  Never purchase from the first company you get a quote from.  Visit several different offices and gather as much information as you can before making a decision.

This may be the single most powerful factor in the makeup of an insurance premium.  It goes without saying that a driver with a clean record will have a much lower rate than a driver with a number of traffic infractions, but the number one violation that must be avoided at all costs is the DWI, especially if the driver is underage.  A single DWI can double or even triple the premium.

Consider paying the entire premium up front or putting it on a low interest credit card.  If you choose to pay it in monthly installments, your insurance provider will add a service charge on top of the premium, which could range from $5 to $20 per month, depending on the account and the services being purchased.

It goes without saying that the fewer services you purchase, the lower your premium.  In the case of car insurance, you want to be careful to not cut too far because of the financial risk involved.  If you have a collision, you want to make sure that you will be sufficiently covered.

One place where you might be able to make a significant cut is when it comes to collision insurance protection.  If the car being driven is old or is worth very little in terms of replacement cost, doing away with collision could save you some money.

As you can see, it is certainly possible to find relatively cheap car insurance for young drivers.  It is nearly impossible to find it as low as it would be for an adult because of the various risk factors involved, but you can certainly work the system a little bit to get the best deal on car insurance that you can.