I think people paying 8K a year is definitely not the norm. I had my own ($14,000) car when I was 19 (5 years ago), no accidents, no tickets, and my insurance was about $50 a month. This was good insurance too, not 15 min insurance. If (young people) have high insurance it's because they also have accidents and tickets.

I know not driving for a while makes your insurance higher, but in general insurance really isn't that expensive if you drive responsibly.