How Much is Chicago Auto Insurance for 17 Year Olds?

Finding reliable, low-priced auto insurance is not the easiest thing to do, and figuring out which company has the best auto insurance rates for 17 year olds takes even more work. Each insurance company has a unique formula to set policy rates, so first we will examine the overall cheapest auto insurance companies in Chicago.

Best Auto Insurance Prices for Teens

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The Hartford generally has some of the cheapest car insurance rates in Chicago at around $746 per year. Rockford Mutual, Titan, Erie, and Cincinnati Insurance also qualify as some of the lowest-priced Chicago, IL auto insurance companies.

As depicted above, if you currently have coverage with Titan and switched to The Hartford, you might see an annual savings of around $114. Customers with Erie could save as much as $168 a year, and Cincinnati Insurance policyholders might lower prices by up to $178 a year.

To find out how your current rates compare, click here or visit several of the following companies.

Remember that these premiums are averages across all ages of drivers and types of vehicles and are not factoring in an exact location for 17 year olds. So the car insurance company that fits your needs best may not even be in the top 36 companies shown above. That illustrates why you need to compare rates from as many companies as possible using your own individual information.

The vehicle requiring coverage is one of the largest considerations that determines if you can find low-cost coverage for 17 year olds. Vehicles with economical engines, good crash test ratings, or a positive history of liability claims will cost significantly less to insure than fast, unsafe models. The information below shows coverage rates for a number of the cheaper automobiles to buy coverage for.

Data assumes single female driver age 17, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Illinois minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, and claim-free. Rate quotes do not factor in vehicle location which can modify auto insurance rates substantially.

Based upon these rates, we can conclude that vehicles like the Hyundai Elantra, Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, and Honda Accord will be a few of the cheaper vehicles to insure for teen drivers. The cost of a car insurance policy will trend higher because of the fact that there is more claim exposure for 17 year olds, but generally speaking those particular vehicles will probably have the lowest prices that you are likely to find.

One of the many components that determine the amount you pay each year for auto insurance is where you choose to live in Chicago. Regions with larger populations or more claims are more likely to pay higher prices, whereas areas with less people or fewer weather incidents receive better rates.

The information below rates the highest-priced areas in Illinois for 17 year olds to buy an auto insurance policy in. Chicago is ranked #2 with an annual cost of $1,529 for the average insurance policy, which is about $127 monthly.

Rates are comparative as the specific zip code location can lower or raise coverage rates significantly.

What is the best auto insurance company in Illinois?

Choosing a high-quality car insurance provider is hard considering how many different companies insure vehicles in Chicago. The company ratings below could help you select which car insurance providers you want to consider to insure your vehicles.

The rankings below are only made up of large nationwide companies, so companies that have a smaller presence are not factored into these rankings. If you wish to compare rates from the most competitive companies in Illinois, click here.

Top 10 Large Auto Insurance Companies in Chicago Ranked by Claims Service

1. Progressive
2. Travelers
3. Liberty Mutual
4. Nationwide
5. USAA
6. AAA Insurance
7. GEICO
8. Safeco Insurance
9. Mercury Insurance
10. Esurance

Top 10 Large Auto Insurance Companies in Chicago Ranked by A.M. Best Rating

1. USAA - A++
2. GEICO - A++
3. Travelers - A++
4. State Farm - A++
5. Titan Insurance - A+
6. Progressive - A+
7. Erie Insurance - A+
8. Mercury Insurance - A+
9. The Hartford - A+
10. Nationwide - A+

Should you buy full coverage?

Saving on auto insurance is the goal of the majority of drivers, and one easy way to reduce the cost of insurance for 17 year olds is to only buy liability insurance. The diagram below illustrates the comparison of insurance prices with liability coverage only compared to full coverage. The premiums assume a clean driving record, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, drivers are single, and no discounts are taken into consideration.

Averaged for all ages 20 through 70, comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy costs $1,648 per year over having just liability coverage. Many drivers will wonder when is the right time to remove full coverage. There isn't a written rule of when to exclude physical damage insurance, but there is a guideline you can use. If the annual cost of your full coverage insurance is 10% or more of replacement cost minus your deductible, then it could be time to drop full coverage.

For example, let's assume your vehicle's settlement value is $5,500 and you have $1,000 full coverage deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled, the most you would get paid by your company is $4,500 after the policy deductible has been paid. If it's costing in excess of $450 annually to have full coverage, then it's probably a good time to buy liability coverage only.

There are a few situations where buying only liability insurance is not financially feasible. If you still owe money on your vehicle, you have to carry full coverage as part of the loan requirements. Also, if you can't afford to buy a different vehicle if your current one is in an accident, you should not buy liability only.

Illustration showing the impact of accidents and violations

A great way to obtain the most affordable auto insurance rates for teen drivers is to pay attention while driving and avoid at-fault accidents and violations. The example below illustrates how speeding tickets and at-fault claims influence auto insurance rates for different age groups of insureds. The rate quotes are based on a single female driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, $250 deductibles, and no discounts are applied.

In the example above, the average cost of an auto insurance policy in Illinois per year with no accidents or violations is $1,309. Get written up for two speeding tickets and the average cost hikes up to $1,754, an increase of $444 each year. Now add one accident along with the two speeding tickets and the annual cost of auto insurance for 17 year olds jumps again to an average of $2,197. That's an increase of $888, or $74 per month, just for not driving attentively!

What aren't you shopping around?

Chicago, IL auto insurance rates are impacted by many factors that will increase or decrease the cost of your policy. Simply getting older, moving to a new city, or having a fender bender can cause premium changes that can cause some rates to be more affordable than the competition. Not only may your risk profile change, but companies change the rates they charge in Illinois as needed in order to maintain liquidity for claims. Higher than normal claims can result in increased rates, while a better claims history can cause cheaper Chicago car insurance rates.

To illustrate this example, the data below analyzes the cheapest car insurance in Chicago, IL for a 35-year-old female driver with no prior claims, no tickets, and good financial standing. If we compare prices based on her current situation, The Hartford might quote the lowest car insurance rates in Chicago at $1,222 annually. This is $127 less than the average policy premium paid by Illinois drivers of $1,349. Rockford Mutual, Titan, Erie, and Cincinnati Insurance are the remainder of the top five cheapest Chicago, IL auto insurance companies.

The example below compares rates after we give the driver from above a chargeable claim, a lower credit rating, and a speeding ticket. Since each insurance company has a proprietary formula to set policy rates, comparing quotes most likely will result in a different set of affordable companies as shown below.

Utica National now has the cheapest rate in Chicago with SECURA, State Farm, USAA, and Auto-Owners completing the list. This illustrates why it is critical to shop around to find the most economical insurance rates for 17 year olds.

Insurance rates consist of many risk factors and change dramatically, so the most economical option three years ago may now cost much more than other companies.