Young drivers often expect to pay much more for their car insurance than older, more experienced drivers. But you shouldn't feel that you have to settle for sky high premiums!
If you compare car insurance with Money Expert you will be provided with an extensive market comparison from 110+ insurance providers - there are affordable options out there, and it is possible to get cheap car insurance for young drivers.
As experts in the car insurance industry, we also have some tips below on how you can go about saving more on your motor insurance, as well as why insurance often costs so much for younger drivers.
Read on to find out how to save money on your young drivers car insurance!
In This Guide:
- Annual young driver car insurance options
- Short term young driver insurance options
- How to save money on vehicle insurance as a young driver
Annual young driver car insurance options
Named Driver Insurance
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Sign up on your parent's or someone else's insurance, without risking their no claims discount.
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Can be used if you are a full licence holder or a learner.
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Get cheaper car insurance than if you sign up for your own individual policy.
One great way to get cheap car insurance premiums is to either become a named driver on someone else’s (like a parent) policy, or to add an older, more experienced driver (again, like a parent) to yours. This has the added benefit of splitting the cost and reducing the cost of the premiums for each driver.
You can legally become a named driver on an insurance policy if you are sharing a car and use it less than the ‘main driver’.
Black Box Insurance
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Insurance premiums will be tailored to you and your driving style.
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Can be used if you are a full licence holder or a learner.
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Get cheaper cover on your own car, instead of getting insured on someone else's.
Another money saving option that is popular among drivers under 25 is what is known as ‘black box’ or telematics insurance.
These policies are based around the installation of a small tracking device in your vehicle. This device measures and records various aspects of your driving, including adherence to the speed limit, mileage and braking and cornering data.
This allows the insurer to put together an accurate and tailored profile of the policy holder and to then work out the cost of the insurance on this basis, rather on the basis of nationwide statistics that show young drivers to be, on the whole, reckless and dangerous.
So, if you back yourself to drive carefully and responsibly, then by having a black box installed and proving this, you can expect to cut the costs of your premiums.
Short term young driver insurance options
Learner Driver Insurance
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Get specialist cover whilst you are learning to drive.
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Lower premiums whilst you get in that crucial practice before taking your test.
Learner driver insurance, also often called provisional insurance, offers cover to a learner driver in an already insured car.
The price varies depending on the duration of cover, as well as variables like the engine size and age of the car.
Provisional insurance cover can last for a day, a month or even a year. For this reason, it's best to shop around and find the best deals depending on how often the learner will be using the car.
Provisional insurance needs to be taken out in addition to a pre-existing policy, as it will only cover the learner driver in the event of a claim.
Student Car Insurance
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Specialist car cover for young drivers who are still students or at University.
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For drivers who have passed their driving test.
Student driver insurance can sometimes be quite expensive, and when you are heading to university this is the last thing you will be wanting to get worried about.
With a specialist student insurance policy, you can cut your car insurance premiums whilst you start looking to build up your no claims discount.
Some student insurance policies may come with certain requirements, such as limits on what cars you can insure, installing a telematics device, or restrictions on how many miles you can drive. Before you take out the cheapest car insurance policy available, make sure you look at all the options and weigh up any restrictions imposed by the policies you can access!
How to save money on vehicle insurance as a young driver
There are a few things you can do to save money on car insurance as a young driver:
Pick the right car
Saving on your insurance starts right away with your choice of car.
Insurers place cars into one of 50 categories based on things like power and engine size. Cars in group one will be the cheapest to insure.
Indeed some insurers will actually refuse to cover young drivers who own a car in the highest categories as they view it as simply too risky.
Keep your car secure
Keeping your car demonstrably safe and secure is another way you can cut down on your premiums.
Keeping your car in an off-road garage, for example, is a great way to do this, as is investing in anti-theft devices like steering wheel locks.
Advanced learning courses
You can improve your driving skills after you pass your test by paying for specialised driving courses, such as the government’s Pass Plus scheme.
Insurers may see you as lower risk if you can provide evidence of completing an advanced driving course, reducing the cost of your insurance policy.
Increase your voluntary excess
When you claim on insurance, the first part of the claim is paid by you.
By increasing this excess, you can decrease your premium. However, make sure that you can afford the amount of excess you choose!
Compare quotes with a price comparison website
If you follow all of the above steps and, above all, drive carefully and keep mileage down, you can dramatically reduce the costs of your insurance as a young driver.
But by far the best way to guarantee that you get the best cover at the best price available is to use a young driver’s car insurance comparison service like ours.
We’ll make sure that you find the exact kind of policy you’re looking for at a price that you can handle, so that you can maintain the excitement you had as soon as you passed your test.
Frequently asked questions
Why is car insurance more expensive for young drivers?
Accidents involving these age groups report more than any other age group in the UK. This is one of the reasons why vehicle insurance is more expensive for young drivers.
Add to this the fact that 20% of all drivers have some kind of accident within a year of passing their test and you have an unfortunate recipe for expensive insurance.
What are the cheapest cars to insure for young drivers?
Group 1 is the most desirable, and therefore the cheapest group to insure. The lower the insurance group a car fits into, the cheaper it will be for a younger driver to insure. We recommend new and first time drivers opt for a vehicle in this group.
See our page on the 9 cheapest cars for young drivers to insure for a list of different options.
Does a young driver need to have fully comprehensive insurance policy?
In some cases, fully comprehensive insurance isn't even much more expensive, and if you're very lucky, it can be cheaper! This is because more high-risk drivers buy third party insurance, pushing the price of those policies up.
Do your research and be sure to use our car insurance comparison tool to check if comprehensive insurance is a good option for you.
What insurance is cheapest for young drivers?
You can easily tweak your search to explore different levels of cover and additional features.
What age is classed as a young driver?
Does the cost of motor insurance go down when you turn 21 years old?
Once you move out of either of these age ranges, you should see a noticeable drop in your insurance premium.
Is insurance cheaper for young female drivers?
Unfortunately, rather than insurance for males now being cheaper, this means that young female drivers insurance now costs more than it ever did in the past. But these costs needn’t be prohibitively high, by taking the above steps, and by shopping around online, you can make sure you get cheap car insurance as a young driver, male or female.
Is car insurance cheaper with a provisional licence?
Once a person has their full licence, they are able to drive alone and therefore the chance they have of making a claim rises sharply.
