All hope is not lost when it comes to young drivers saving money on car insurance. If you take the time to do some research on what will affect your rate, and do some shopping around you will be surprised at the amount of money you can put back into your pocket.

Shopping around is important – don’t just pick the agent your parents have used for years. Now if you are a parent shopping for your young driver, that goes for you too – while you should always check with your current insurance agent, don’t think that they are the only game in town.

Now that you are in shopping mode, here are a few things to keep in mind that will have an affect on finding the cheapest car insurance for young drivers.

The type of car – definitely not a sports car! Your choice in automobiles will play a huge part in determining the insurance premium. A standard sedan with plenty of safety features like anti-lock breaks, airbags, automatic seat belt, and alarm will result in a better rate. While the Buick Century might not be the most glamorous choice of a typical teen driver, it is a safe and cheaper choice than say a Ford Mustang or Honda Civic.

You might be surprised by the Civic, but believe it or not, they can be a higher insurance risk due to thefts and because of their small size they are more of a death risk for young drivers. Bigger breaks come for safe cars that generally cost less to repair than more expensive models. Do your homework and review safety reports and recalls on the car.

Check for discounts – There are discounts available to teen drivers that many people tend to forget about, such as the good student discount (B average) and safe driver discount.

Drivers under the age of 21 may qualify for a big discount if they take a defensive driving course, which some insurance companies provide themselves – or they will advise as to which safe driver course is approved by their company.

Do you plan to drive the car a lot? If not, check into low-mileage discounts.

If you have more than one policy with the company you are usually entitled to a discount, so check with the company that you might have your life or health insurance with, if they also handle auto policies.

Choices in coverage – If you are driving an older car that has very little cash value, you might want to consider dropping “comprehensive” or “collision” coverage, which would pay for damage or theft. You can check to see what they would pay in the event your car was stolen or damaged and weigh the difference yourself.

You may also want to increase the deductible as a way to lower your premium – just keep in mind that it will result in more out-of-pocket from you in the event of a claim. You can save a lot of money this way over the years, just as long as you have no unfortunate events.