4× Higher Car Insurance Costs Tied to Age & Gender

TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- FreeAdvice.com recently published a report on car insurance by age and gender. Age has a greater impact on car insurance premiums, but gender can also affect rates, particularly for young drivers.

Drivers labeled at the highest risk based on age and gender, 16-year-old males, pay an average of $752 per month versus $187 for 60-year-old females, a cost increase of over 300%.

States Banning Gender-Based Car Insurance Rates

Some states have banned insurers from using gender as a factor in rate calculations. While many individuals believe this leads to fairer pricing, statistics clearly demonstrate that teen males have a higher risk of being involved in an accident than teen females.

Regardless of the arguments for and against, most states allow gender to be a contributing factor to rate calculations. The following states do not:

• California
• Hawaii
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Montana
• North Carolina
• Pennsylvania

In the other states, male teens pay more for insurance on average than female teens, but the discrepancy nearly disappears by the time drivers are in their 20s.

Age and Car Insurance

If a teen driver keeps a clean record, by the time they reach their 20s, their rates will be about half of what they were at 16.

Newly retired drivers pay among the lowest rates of any age group, but as drivers enter their 70s and above, rates may begin to rise as the statistical risk associated with aging increases.

While average car insurance by age is an interesting statistic, Melanie Musson, a nationally recognized car insurance expert with FreeAdvice.com, explains, "Averages don't set rates for individual drivers. The best way to find coverage for a good price is to compare quotes from several insurers."

Other Factors Calculated in Car Insurance

In addition to age and gender, some of the most commonly used factors for setting rates include age, credit score, driving history, claims history, and ZIP code. Information about the car being driven will also factor into premiums.

Companies use similar information to calculate rates, but each uses a different formula, which is why someone may pay more or less for coverage depending on the company.

Read FreeAdvice.com's entire report here: Average Auto Insurance Rates by Age and Gender.

SOURCE FreeAdvice.com