Amazingly, car insurance quotes can vary as much as 100% between companies. One company may charge you $1,200 for a policy, while another will charge you $2,400 for the exact same policy. So the first step in getting the lowest rate for your teenager is to shop for rates.

When it comes to rate shopping you have two choices: 1.Spend half your life calling agents on the phone, or, 2. Go online to get quotes from car insurance websites.

Here again you have two choices: Spend days on end going from website to website, or go to an online comparison site where you can get quotes from a number of different companies. (See links below.)

Shopping Online

The advantages of shopping for car insurance for your teenager online are:

* It's quick - It only takes a few minutes of your time.

* It's easy - You only have to fill out one simple questionnaire in order to get multiple quotes.

* It's flexible - You can see all the deductions you're entitled to on the questionnaire so you can include them and get the cheapest rate.

* It's free!

Checking the Company

After you find the cheapest car insurance for your teenager, you''ll want to make sure the company you deal with is reliable. Here again, the easiest way to do that is to go online.

I recommend going to the following sites:

1. Your state's department of insurance website - Most insurance departments maintain websites that list consumer complaints where you can find the number of claims filed against various companies.

If your state's insurance department doesn't have a website with this information, you can go to California's website (www.insurance.ca.gov) to get it.

2. Epinions.com. - Epinions is a site where consumers review and rate companies based on their experience with that company. Here you can get the inside dope on how insurance companies treat their customers and how they handle their claims.