If you'd like to insure your teenager to drive your car, be prepared to pay through the nose. It's an unfortunate fact of life that young people tend to have more accidents than their older counterparts, and insurance companies know this all too well.

There may be some variance in the Teen rate your insurance company provides depending on the sex of the child, with males being a higher risk than females, and therefore more expensive to insure. Over all, the likelihood of someone between the ages of 16 and 19 having an accident is four times higher than those over 19. It's hard to blame insurance companies for charging more to cover themselves and your family.

Teen insurance is expensive, but if your child has good grades, this can count towards a discount. Teenagers who maintain a B average or higher will often cost their parent three quarters of what a less academically able student would cost to insure. Also make sure your teen has learned good driving skills and completed safety courses. Having certification from these courses may save you up to 10%, which can be a tidy little sum.

The other important factor in saving money on premiums goes for teens and adults. Keep it clean! Your driving record that is. Tickets and traffic infringements can send your premiums skyrocketing. Once again, gender becomes an issue, with females experiencing less increase in premiums per offense when compared with males.

It does seem unfair and biased, but you have to remember that it's nothing personal. Insurance companies let the numbers do the talking, so if you want the lowest insurance costs for your teen, regardless of gender, just remember to make sure they've completed a driving course, they keep out of trouble with traffic and the law, and keep their grades up.