When your teen driver goes on your car insurance policy, ask for the good student discount at the same time and send a recent report card or transcript. Many insurers cut your premium for a B average or better, but they can’t apply the discount until they see the grades.
That paperwork is worth the trouble. ValuePenguin’s 2024 analysis of Quadrant Information Services rate data found that adding a 16-year-old raised a married couple’s full-coverage premium by an average of 158%, or $3,252 a year. Even a 21-year-old added an average of $2,152 a year.
State Farm advertises its good student discount at up to 25% for a full-time student in high school or college. A 3.0 GPA or better qualifies, and so does a top-20% class rank or a spot on the dean’s list or honor roll. The savings can last until the student turns 25.
GEICO asks for a B average or better. Rules and amounts vary by state.
Ask what proof your insurer wants, and send updated grades whenever it asks for them. In the same conversation, ask about these related discounts:
- Driver training, which State Farm offers when all of the car’s drivers under 21 finish an approved driver’s ed course
- Student away at school, for a college student who leaves the car at home and uses it only on breaks
- Young-driver programs such as State Farm’s Steer Clear, which pairs short training lessons with logged driving for drivers under 25
Then get a quote from at least two insurers with every discount applied, and ask what each discount takes off in dollars. Insurers price the same teen differently. Say one quote is $6,000 a year before a 20% discount and another is $4,000 before a 10% one. The first comes to $4,800 and the second to $3,600, so the bigger discount still leaves the bigger bill.
Show your teen what the good student discount is worth in dollars. A B average becomes money your family keeps every year the grades hold.
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