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Liability Insurance for Teen Drivers

Liability insurance pays for injuries and property damage your teen driver causes to others in an at-fault accident.

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What Is Liability Insurance Insurance?

Liability insurance has two components: bodily injury liability pays medical bills, lost wages, and legal costs when your teen injures someone in an at-fault accident; property damage liability pays to repair or replace other people's vehicles and property your teen damages. If your 17-year-old rear-ends another car, liability insurance pays for the other driver's repairs and medical treatment — not your teen's car or injuries. Because teen drivers have the highest accident rates of any age group, insurers charge significantly more for liability coverage when a teen is added to a policy, even though the coverage limits remain the same.

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Who Needs Liability Insurance Insurance?

Every parent adding a teen driver and every young driver getting their first policy — liability insurance is legally required in 48 states plus DC, and the financial risk of driving without it is catastrophic. Beyond the legal requirement, parents with any meaningful assets (home equity, retirement accounts, savings) should carry limits well above state minimums — 100/300/100 or higher — because a serious at-fault accident caused by a teen driver can result in lawsuits that exceed minimal coverage and put your family's financial security at risk.

Start with your state's minimum liability limits as a legal baseline, then increase limits based on your family's assets and lawsuit exposure. Then focus discount stacking (good student, driver training, telematics) to offset the premium increase rather than reducing coverage limits.

How Much Does Liability Insurance Insurance Cost?

Teen's age and experience level — 16-year-olds cost more than 19-year-olds with three years of driving history
Your state's requirements and rate environment — Michigan, Louisiana, and Florida have the highest teen driver premiums; Maine, Idaho, and Ohio tend to be lowest
Add-to-parent-policy vs separate policy — adding a teen to a parent's existing policy is almost always cheaper than a standalone teen policy because the teen benefits from the parent's claims history and multi-car discounts

Related Coverage Types

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Full Coverage→

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Uninsured Motorist Coverage→

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Comprehensive Coverage→

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Collision Coverage→

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Cover Your New Driver for Less

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