How to get cheaper young driver car insurance
There's no getting away from the fact that young driver car insurance is expensive. Depending upon your choice of car, your level of cover and of course your age, it's entirely possible that that insurance premium could work out to cost more than the car.
All hope isn't lost, however, as there are some insurance companies who are prepared to offer 'reduced rates' for young drivers, although this is all relative - your insurance premiums, if you are a young driver, a learner driver and/or just starting out with your first car insurance policy in your own name, will still be fairly steep.
How can QuoteRack help young drivers?
Generally speaking, if you are aged under 21, or in some cases a young driver aged under 25, most insurance companies will load your car insurance premiums according to your age. So a 17 year old provisional licence holder is likely to pay more to insure the same car than a driver aged 18, 19 or 20 who has passed their driving test. At these ages and with these premiums, the incentive for a learner driver to build up a no claims bonus is obvious and can make an enormous difference to a young drivers insurance premium.
Fortunately not all insurance companies impose such large insurance quotes for young learner drivers. The way that QuoteRack works is to send the details that you put into the website to expert insurance brokers who specialise in offering aged under 21 car insurance. So if there is a cheap insurance for young drivers out there, our brokers will do their best to find it for you.
What else can I do to reduce my premiums?
There are some obvious, and perhaps not-so-obvious, steps you can take in order to reduce your car insurance premiums, and some of these apply to all drivers, not just those insuring their first car
For example, avoiding speeding fines and driving 'defensively' so as to avoid having a car accident are common to all drivers.
You could fit a dash cam to your car, as these can prove invaluable to your defence, in the event of an accident.
Car modifications are almost a rite of passage for some young drivers and the temptation to put wider wheels or a louder exhaust on to your car can be irrestible. However, if you tell your insurance company that you've modified your car, they are likely to either to refuse to insure you, or load the premium so as to make the cost prohibitive. If you choose not to tell them, the consequences could be severe and especially in the event of an at-fault personal injury claim against you.
For young drivers especially, having an older, named driver added to your car insurance policy might not seem like an obvious way of reducing your insurance premiums. In many cases, however, it can work in your favour to have your mum or dad added to your policy and is a recognised way of reducing your insurance premiums.
If you have the money available and rather than paying your insurance in monthly instalments, paying your annual premium in one go, up-front, will reduce the overall cost as most insurance companies will charge interest on the premiums that you pay monthly.
More generally, keeping your car garaged overnight, limiting your annual mileage and adding some basic security features to the car will all help.
The factor that has the largest impact on how much you pay for your insurance, however, is your choice of car. Cars are rated and put into groups, which range from group 1 cars to group 50 cars. Choosing a car in the lowest car insurance groups will significantly affect the base price for your car insurance. This goes for all drivers, not just young drivers.
What about fitting a 'Black Box' to my car?
'Telematics' is the term used in the insurance industry to describe the Black Box that is fitted to your car and enables your insurer to check how you're driving. These can help you to save money on your premiums if the insurer can see how well you're driving, although in some cases there are additional restrictions imposed on your use of the car, such as a restricted mileage or a night-time 'curfew' on when you can drive the car at night.
One great way to help yourself with lowering your insurance premiums is to consider the Pass Plus scheme - please use the link below for more information.
Under 25 drivers insurance - resources
Young Driver - Information Download
With due acknowledgement to Essex County Council, you can download their excellent Young Driver Booklet here
ROSPA
Similarly with due acknowledgement to ROSPA, concerned parents can download the Safer Driving Booklet here
Pass Plus
For information about Pass Plus please visit their website for more information.
Advice for Learner and New Drivers
For Government information that will be of benefit to learner drivers, please visit the DirectGov website.
The Money Advice Service gives helpful advice - car insurance for young drivers - top tips.
Martin Lewis's MoneySavingExpert.com offers help too - see under 25's car insurance.
If you are a young driver and you are looking for 'cheap' car insurance, QuoteRack's specialist insurance brokers will help you - just hit the 'Get a Quote' link to complete your details online.
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"For many under 21 drivers and particularly provisional licence holders, they may find that their car or van insurance quote is actually higher than the value of the car."
"We tried to add our 18 year old son on to our policy as a named driver but it was suggested he took out insurance in his own name and earn his own no claims discount from scratch."