DALLAS, July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Just as some health insurance companies may assign higher premiums to groups of patients who have pre-existing conditions, auto insurance companies may also ask for higher rates from younger drivers, a demographic with one unavoidable but incredibly important pre-existing condition: inexperience. OnlineAutoInsurance.com recommends that young drivers and families thoroughly investigate options when trying to obtain reasonably priced coverage.

While teenagers drive fewer miles on average than almost all of the other age demographics, they still account for a disproportionately high number of accidents. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, "the crash rate per mile driven for 16-to-19-year-olds is four times the risk for drivers 20 and older."

The issue of teenage-driver safety is so serious that many organizations are pushing for legislation to prolong the licensing process so that new drivers must put in more time behind the wheel before being granted an unrestricted license. The authors of a review surveying studies about young-driver crash rates, published in the journal, Traffic Injury Prevention, advocated for delaying licensure upon their finding of a "steep learning curve among drivers of all ages, particularly teenagers."

Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19452361

The inexperience and crash statistics associated with younger drivers means that insurers are taking a larger-than-average risk when they provide coverage to members of this demographic. Naturally, most insurers are going to ask for a larger premium in order to compensate for taking an elevated risk. That means securing cheap car insurance for young drivers may require a heavy dose of comparison shopping. Consumers need to review quotes from multiple carriers and may want to explore different insurance arrangements; for example, a teenager may want to join the rest of the family's multi-car plan, but, if the policy covers an expensive or sporty automobile, the premium could end up costing more than if the young driver had purchased a separate plan with a more economical vehicle.

Consumers can visit http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/teenagers/cheapest-car-insurance-young-drivers.htm to get tips on saving on coverage for younger motorists and the ability to obtain a free quote comparison showing rates from multiple reputable carriers.

SOURCE Online Auto Insurance, LLC