When a teenager gets a driver’s licence, there’s more to the transition than simply handing over the keys. Your teen drivers will need to be insured to legally drive in Ontario.
What happens when you add a teenager to your auto insurance policy, and how much does it cost? In this article, we’ll delve into the details of adding a teenager to car insurance in Ontario, including how to make sure your teen is covered legally and affordably.
Adding a Teen Driver Can Increase Household Premiums by Up to 83%
To understand how much adding a teen driver can affect a family’s car insurance premium, we reviewed more than 30,000 real Ontario quotes generated through the MyChoice platform since the beginning of 2026. We compared experienced, continuously insured drivers with clean records against similar profiles where an 18-year-old occasional driver was added to the policy. We separately looked at teens with a G2 and a full G licence to understand how licence class affects the additional cost.
Across thousands of quotes we reviewed, adding an 18-year-old driver with a G2 licence increased the premium by an average of 82.7%, while adding an 18-year-old with a full G licence increased it by 69.9%.
Key Findings:
| Household Scenario | Approx. Annual Auto Insurance Premium | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Ontario Driver (baseline) | $2,345 | — |
| Adult + 18-year-old, full G, occasional driver | $3,984 | +$1,639 / +69.9% |
| Adult + 18-year-old, G2, occasional driver | $4,284 | +$1,939 / +82.7% |
| Teen aged 18–19 as primary driver of their own vehicle | ~$4,700 | ~2× adult rate |
| Two-car household, both adult primary drivers | ~$4,500 | — |
| Two-car household, parent + teen primary drivers | ~$6,300 | ~+$1,800 vs. two adults |
The above Ontario adult premiums are based on our standard profile of a driver between the ages of 35-44, with a clean driving record, licensed for 5+ years and at least 3 years of continuous insurance history, who also carries a standard $1,000 deductible under a full coverage policy.
Read More: A Guide to Car Insurance for Young Drivers
Add Them to Your Car, or Give Them Their Own?
This might be one of the most difficult decisions for Ontario parents to make. If affordability is your main priority, our data suggests that adding your teen as an occasional driver to an existing household vehicle is generally much cheaper than making them the primary driver of their own vehicle. However, if both you and your teen need separate vehicles, insuring both under the same household may open the door to multi-vehicle discounts.
Why Does One Teenager Increase Premiums So Much?
Driving experience is a key factor for insurers when determining risk, and statistics show that risk is high with teen drivers. According to data from MADD Canada, car crashes are the leading cause of death among those aged 15 to 24, and more than half of road-crash fatalities in this age group involve alcohol, cannabis, or other drugs. With that as a baseline, and with insurers not having any history on a newly insured driver, auto insurance premiums are set higher for young drivers to offset the high risk of liabilities.
Read More: Tips to Save on Car Insurance as a Young Driver
How Families Can Reduce the Financial Impact of Adding a Teen to Auto Insurance
- Enrol your teen with a government-approved driving school. They’ll receive important education on road safety, and you may qualify for an insurance discount.
- Stress the importance of a clean driving record. Maintaining a record free of incidents, speeding tickets, and other infractions over time is key to bringing insurance premiums down and keeping them there.
- Consider your vehicle. If you drive a luxury vehicle, a sports car, or one of the most frequently stolen vehicles in Ontario, your insurance premiums are likely already higher than average. Consider swapping your household car for one that’s more affordable to insure while your teen is on your policy.
- Ask for good student discounts. Some insurers provide discounts for full-time students who can demonstrate responsibility through strong academic performance.
- Shop around for rates. Don’t assume your current insurer is offering you the best rate, especially when making a significant change to your policy like adding a teen driver. MyChoice makes it easy to compare insurance rates for your scenario and find the most affordable option for you.