To wait or not to wait

[Ferzerp]

Don't be, if you look at the actuarial data the truth is Insurance companies cannot charge enough for young drivers. Their accident rates are disgusting. Any time you see a young person in an accident yea it’s not your rate that goes up but in a way all the young people crashing does increase rates slowly over time.

OP some companies have the split at 24 some 25 it's actually not age related it's how long you have been licensed. So usally it's right about when you hit 8 years. FYI each state has different rules also so take what people say here with a grain of salt.

Good luck.

I paid about 1/3 of that at that age. That's why I am surprised.

 

[xSkyDrAx]

All agencies base their rates on several key factors, roughly in descending order of importance: credit score, driving history, vehicle, age/gender, and marital status. What discounts they apply from there varies greatly from agency to agency.

There is no consideration for how long you've had insurance in general. Would a grocery store give you a discount just because you've bought groceries for the past 10 years?

You're acting like this will be your first auto insurance policy. If you already have an auto policy with someone, obviously get rates from them. Ask them if they take into account loyalty with the company for rates down the road. I know State Farm does, not sure about others.

Also ask your current and other agencies about discounts that might apply to you: no accidents, good academic discounts, student discounts, military/public safety, etc. Anything unique about yourself that might apply, ask. You never know what discounts these companies have and the agent won't always go through the effort of finding out for you.

Also consider combining insurance for multi-line discounts. Renter's/homeowner insurance, life insurance, etc.

I was added to my Dad's State Farm policy when I started driving. They later split me out under my own policy. This had the effect of showing me having been a State Farm customer since my Dad first started his own policy. Thus I have a very long history with them and per several agents, a highly discounted rate compared to most people. YMMV

I know it's not my first but since I'm going from a used beater car with just liability to a new car with full coverage I'm expecting a fairly significant increase in the amount that I'm paying. So while it's not my first time dealing with insurance it will be my first time really shopping around and trying to get the best deal. Prior to that my insurance was something my parents help me set up though it was still all under my name and I paid for it. This makes the whole process and considerations still a bit mysterious to me.

I went to a couple of insurance sites a while back, geico, allstate and what not to have them run me some quotes with their automatic quoting system and I got some ridiculous numbers in the range of 2k+ a year though that was on a different car. I'm not sure how accurate those automated things are compared to a quote that salesperson would write up since I'm guessing they can get more accurate numbers if you provide them with a Vin number?

 

[NutBucket]

Its definitely more accurate with a VIN but the ballpark figure is usually a pretty good indicator.