A Guide to Car Insurance for Young Drivers

It is perhaps unsurprising that young drivers are faced with sky-high car insurance premiums when you consider the statistics relating to young and inexperienced drivers getting behind the wheel.

 There are several contributing factors which lead to these often enormous insurance quotes. There are figures showing that drivers are more likely to have an accident in their first 2 years of driving than at any other time in their lives.  

Add to this the fact that one in five new drivers have an accident on the road in their first year, a third of fatalities in the UK roads are caused by drivers aged between 17 to 25, and the problems young drivers are more likely to experience with theft, fire and vandalism to their vehicles and it becomes clear why young drivers are seen as such a risk by insurers.

Whilst it is understandable then that insurers charge these huge amounts, young drivers across the country are faced with paying £2500 plus for a 12 months cover, often for cars worth a fraction of this amount.

Unfortunately for young drivers, these costs are for the most part unavoidable and will be for the first few years of driving. There are however some points to be aware of that may help reduce insurance premiums.

After passing your test, you are recommended to avoid bigger engine cars in high insurance groups for a couple of years at least. New drivers are better sticking to cars with small engines that are in the lowest insurance group possible. Whilst these smaller engine cars may not be seen as the coolest cars around, they are almost certainly the cheapest to insure. Avoiding cars with bigger engines for a couple of years is without doubt the easiest way to lower your car insurance costs.

Another way young drivers can lower their car insurance costs is to take part in the Pass Plus scheme. Having already passed your driving test, this scheme is designed to offer new drivers further instruction and experience when driving at night, on motorways and in town centres. Once the scheme has been completed a certificate is awarded and insurers offer reduced insurance rates, sometimes discounting as much as 35% from your original quote. 

A further way to save money on your car insurance is to add a parent as a named driver onto your policy. Whilst you will remain as the main driver of the car, adding a parent can bring premiums down significantly.

One thing you should avoid is insuring a car in your parents name and adding yourself as a named driver. Whilst this will appear cheaper when you search for quotes, it is actually an illegal practice known as fronting. Should you be involved in an accident, it likely that an insurance company will refuse to pay out. Furthermore, you may be charged with driving without insurance.

 A final way to save money on your car insurance is to compare car insurance policies from as many insurers as possible. Price comparison sites such as Moneysupermarket.com make it easy to compare prices from over 100 leading car insurance providers in the UK. This is a quick and easy process and the majority of users do save money.

 Be sure to keep all of this information in mind when it comes time to purchasing a car insurance policy. The potential savings you could make by following these simple points may surprise you!