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A new study conducted by InsuranceQuotes.com found that 18-year-olds pay an average of 18 percent more for car insurance when they sign up for individual plans than they do when they remain on their parents’ policies.

The report, which was just published earlier this week, also noted in some states, like Pennsylvania, that number rockets as high as 24.94 percent.

“In most states, individual policies significantly add to the already high cost of insuring a teen driver,” says Laura Adams, InsuranceQuotes.com’s senior analyst. “Parents with an 18-year-old on their policy pay an average of 77% more than they would without the teen. While this certainly isn’t cheap, it’s usually much better than the individual policy option. Parents who wish to foster financial independence can still ask their child to pay for all or at least some of the increase.”

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A new report released by Consumer Federation of America earlier this week has revealed that married women pay less for car insurance than their single and widowed counterparts.

According to Money Talks News, which assessed the findings on Tuesday, the CFA sought out auto insurance quotes in 10 different cities from several different providers, and only one major company – State Farm – consistently charged married and non-married drivers the same rates.

Meanwhile, Geico always charged non-married drivers more, and Farmers, Progressive, Nationwide and Liberty almost always charged them more.

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Earlier this week, NerdWallet put together a handy new guide to help consumers find the cheapest car insurance rates online.

According to the site, a little bit of Internet research can pay off big time, especially when you take into account the relatively small amount of time it takes to look around.

But before you embark on your search, take a few minutes to prepare. Gather all of your information, decide the type and amount of coverage you’d like, gets lots of quotes and then – if necessary – talk to an expert to help you make sure you’re making the right decision for you and your family.

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Industry experts are preparing for a big second half of the year after auto sales soared higher than expected in the first six months of 2015.

“A couple of months ago we thought sales would start to level off and maybe pull back, but now we’ve changed our forecast,” Jeff Schuster, Senior Vice President of Forecasting for the consulting firm LMC Automotive, told CNBC.

With the average vehicle in the U.S. clocking in at over 11 years old, we are starting to see many people taking advantage of the relatively strong economy and low unemployment rate to finally take the plunge on a new car.

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Bad news for the parents of teenagers: A new study conducted by InsuranceQuotes.com, which was released on Monday, found that the monthly premium a married couple pays for car insurance can jump by as much as 80 percent once a teen driver is added to the policy.

The good news, however, is that there is some relief in sight for the families of young drivers who meet certain criteria.

“I’ve seen discounts as high as 25 percent for students who maintain at least a B average in high school or college,” Laura Adams, senior analyst for InsuranceQuotes.com said in a statement. “Students and their parents need to proactively request this discount.”

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There’s probably a pretty good chance you’ve heard the myth that red cars cost more to insure than vehicles of any other color.

“For years there has been a notion that color plays a significant part in calculating insurance premium costs, many people believing that red cars cost more to insure because they are linked to aggressive driving or speeding,” a rep for Insurance Information Institute told NerdWallet.com.

As it turns out, however, that rumor is completely false.

Instead, insurance rates are based solely on the make, model and year of your car, as well as its engine size, body type and safety features.

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Allstate announced on Wednesday that it will now be offering auto insurance plans for drivers who pick up passengers via apps like Uber and Lyft.

According to Chicago Business, the brand new Ride for Hire policy will come with a price tag of about $15 to $20 per month and will “provide coverage for drivers who get into accidents while they are on the way to pick up new fares.”

To start, the policy will only be available in Illinois, Colorado, Texas and Virginia, though Allstate hopes to expand into more states in 2016.

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As driverless cars continue to become more and more of a reality, experts suggest that we could eventually see auto insurance rates begin to drop.

A recent study by RAND Corp. found that the increased safety benefits from self-driving cars – which promise to come with a reduced risk of accidents – are likely to lead to “a significant reduction in insurance premiums” down the road.

“So many accidents are caused by human error, if you reduce the human factor, it should cut down on accidents,” analyst Laura Adams of Insurancequotes.com told CBS News. “That will mean fewer claims and should reduce rates.”

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