by Brad Anderson
- Female drivers pay less but still spend thousands more than older motorists.
- Insurance rates often drop at 25, but that fall isn’t always guaranteed.
- Consumer Reports recommends smaller, safer cars like the Honda Civic.
If you’re a young driver living in Toronto, Canada, you might find car insurance premiums so absurdly high that owning a vehicle starts to feel pointless. It’s often far cheaper to rely on public transit or just call an Uber whenever you need to get somewhere.
Insurance companies have long treated young drivers as a higher risk, and a new report sheds light on just how much that perception is costing them.
The Price of Youth
The report, published by Rates.ca, highlights that males under the age of 25 are 73 percent more likely to have serious traffic violations than older male drivers.
While younger female drivers tend to have fewer infractions than their male counterparts, they’re still 53 percent more likely to have serious tickets on their records compared to women over 25.
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Additionally, the same study says that drivers under 25 – regardless of gender – are 66 percent more likely to have speeding tickets than those over that age bracket.
With these rates in mind, insurance fees can be shockingly expensive for younger drivers. For a 20-year-old male living in Toronto with a Honda Civic and no claims history, insurance could cost up to $13,418 per year. A female of the same age could pay up to $9,607. While that’s less than the male, it’s still a staggering amount.
What Can Drivers Do About It?
Drivers can save a lot of money if they’ve completed an MTO-approved beginner’s driver’s education course. In the case of the 20-year-old male in Toronto, completing a course like this could slash $2,000 from their insurance premium.
This program includes 20 hours of theory, 10 hours of home study, and 10 hours of in-car lessons with a licensed instructor.
While many insurance providers lower premiums once a driver turns 25, the drop isn’t always guaranteed. And with rates often creeping up year to year, any discount gained by hitting that milestone can easily be offset elsewhere.
The type of car you drive also impacts the premium. For young drivers, Consumer Reports has recommended models such as the Honda Civic, Hyundai Tucson, and Toyota Corolla.
“You’re going to want to choose a car that isn’t too big, isn’t too small, and (isn’t) too fast,” Consumer Reports’ Keith Barry told CTV News. “Not only is it going to be cheaper to insure but it’s also going to give that teen driver a better sense of their speed.”