Insurance for young driver
Discussion
Not sure if this is in the correct forum but looking for some advice.
My son has just turned 17 and bought his first car and as a provisional licence holder the insurance is £300 but it would appear that once he passes his test it will jump to £3k.
My daughter who is 21 and now has 3 years NCB is paying £1k to insure her car but never ever experienced the figures that my son is being quoted.
Next year he will be off to university and won't be taking his car so what is the best way of insuring his car?
Can I insure the car but list him as the main driver?
I know that with the above he would not build up any NCB but with such high rates I am not sure if it is really worth paying out all that money. It may just be better to wait until he is older and in full time work.
Has anyone get any experience/advice they can offer?
My son has just turned 17 and bought his first car and as a provisional licence holder the insurance is £300 but it would appear that once he passes his test it will jump to £3k.
My daughter who is 21 and now has 3 years NCB is paying £1k to insure her car but never ever experienced the figures that my son is being quoted.
Next year he will be off to university and won't be taking his car so what is the best way of insuring his car?
Can I insure the car but list him as the main driver?
I know that with the above he would not build up any NCB but with such high rates I am not sure if it is really worth paying out all that money. It may just be better to wait until he is older and in full time work.
Has anyone get any experience/advice they can offer?
My daughter is going to be 17 soon, doing quotes against possible cars the prices are between £2K (Hyundai i10, VW UP!) and £3K (Clio 1.2)
It's a joke, I don't think there is any way around it unfortunately.
Obviously I will now get a list of replies where people got their 17 year old son "something fun" as their first car and paid £1K.
It's a joke, I don't think there is any way around it unfortunately.
Obviously I will now get a list of replies where people got their 17 year old son "something fun" as their first car and paid £1K.
My daughter turns 17 in the next few weeks and i've been looking at this.
I've had a quote of £151 from my current insurers to add her with her provisional licence onto my shed Peugeot 207's policy which runs till November later this year.
I've also messed about on comparison sites obtaining quotes as if she has a full licence. So far i can get her on her own policy fully comp on a Fiat 500 for £1300 with a black box or some sort of telematics installed.
I'm sure with a few tweeks i could get that down further.
Making the policy fully comp seems to help, as does listing her as a full time school student.
Saying the car is kept overnight parked in the street also helps as does adding myself and the wife as named drivers.
I've had a quote of £151 from my current insurers to add her with her provisional licence onto my shed Peugeot 207's policy which runs till November later this year.
I've also messed about on comparison sites obtaining quotes as if she has a full licence. So far i can get her on her own policy fully comp on a Fiat 500 for £1300 with a black box or some sort of telematics installed.
I'm sure with a few tweeks i could get that down further.
Making the policy fully comp seems to help, as does listing her as a full time school student.
Saying the car is kept overnight parked in the street also helps as does adding myself and the wife as named drivers.
I'll be in the same boat later this year, someone on another learner driver thread recommended these guys: Marmalade - www.wearemarmalade.co.uk/
My daughter just passed last week. She had a car last year and was insured through Collingwood as a learner, had the insurance for just over 10 months and she received a years no claims bonus.
On looking at quotes they ranged from not even insurable, £9k down to £1700.
Without the years no claims bonus the cheapest I was looking at was £2800.
This is on a 2011 1.4 fiesta.
On looking at quotes they ranged from not even insurable, £9k down to £1700.
Without the years no claims bonus the cheapest I was looking at was £2800.
This is on a 2011 1.4 fiesta.
Insurance cost for youngsters is seemingly (very )painful now although disparity between cover on a provisional v full licence is obviously understandable.
Nothing to stop you insuring in your name with your son as main named driver although until he passes his test that will still only put off the much increased premium.
Some companies will allow named drivers an ncb in their own right I believe.
A few years ago now but we had this with all 3 children - not too bad provisional cost and then a drastic hike post passing. All in their name though and whilst I paid we banged on to them about the need to get to 1 year clean - that seemed to work.
All 3 were with Admiral which also gave the full years ncb despite the passed status only applying in each case for a few months.
Best of luck.
Nothing to stop you insuring in your name with your son as main named driver although until he passes his test that will still only put off the much increased premium.
Some companies will allow named drivers an ncb in their own right I believe.
A few years ago now but we had this with all 3 children - not too bad provisional cost and then a drastic hike post passing. All in their name though and whilst I paid we banged on to them about the need to get to 1 year clean - that seemed to work.
All 3 were with Admiral which also gave the full years ncb despite the passed status only applying in each case for a few months.
Best of luck.
I always had to pay for my own insurance when I was growing up. Do most parents tell their kids to sort it out themselves and just a few come on here saying they pay for their child's insurance? I don't have to think about this one way or the other for a good few years yet... but no harm reading these threads and getting prepared ahead of time.
ingenieur said:
I always had to pay for my own insurance when I was growing up. Do most parents tell their kids to sort it out themselves and just a few come on here saying they pay for their child's insurance? I don't have to think about this one way or the other for a good few years yet... but no harm reading these threads and getting prepared ahead of time.
As did I albeit I’m sure it was relatively cheaper then. I’m “ lucky “ ( well I suppose my children are ) that I can afford it - I also paid for their first cars but just told them that was early inheritance.
You need to shop around quite a lot. Just did my daughter's insurance as she passed 3 weeks ago.
Weird tip... If he doesn't need immediate access, start your son's insurance a week or so after he passes his test. I did this and found quotes were 5-10% cheaper (not to be sneezed at for a £1500-£3000 quote). I guess a reasonable number of new passes, full of bravado and enthusiasm, head off immediately after their test thinking they are god's gift to driving skills and wrap the car into a tree.
Limiting mileage to 4000 miles per annum also knocked more than £100 off.
Adding two old fogey named drivers helped too
Maxing out the voluntary excess knocked some off too.
It also seemed better getting a quote direct from the insurers website rather than through a comparison site
We ended up with Admiral, who were the second-cheapest by about £50 (£1335), but didn't require a black box or tracker to be fitted. But it does seem to be very much dependent on personal circumstances – Direct Line wanted over £3k!
Weird tip... If he doesn't need immediate access, start your son's insurance a week or so after he passes his test. I did this and found quotes were 5-10% cheaper (not to be sneezed at for a £1500-£3000 quote). I guess a reasonable number of new passes, full of bravado and enthusiasm, head off immediately after their test thinking they are god's gift to driving skills and wrap the car into a tree.
Limiting mileage to 4000 miles per annum also knocked more than £100 off.
Adding two old fogey named drivers helped too
Maxing out the voluntary excess knocked some off too.
It also seemed better getting a quote direct from the insurers website rather than through a comparison site
We ended up with Admiral, who were the second-cheapest by about £50 (£1335), but didn't require a black box or tracker to be fitted. But it does seem to be very much dependent on personal circumstances – Direct Line wanted over £3k!
Interesting and timely for us, we are in the same boat with an enthusiastic 17 year old determined to pass his test soon.
Does the 'Pass Plus' scheme have a financial benefit to reducing car insurance premiums? I guess it may be a catch 22, if they do this in their own car, so need insurance anyway having passed test but before doing Pass Plus. I am assuming though that Pass Plus is normally taught by a driving instructor. Seems like a good idea whether there is a financial benefit or not of course.
Does the 'Pass Plus' scheme have a financial benefit to reducing car insurance premiums? I guess it may be a catch 22, if they do this in their own car, so need insurance anyway having passed test but before doing Pass Plus. I am assuming though that Pass Plus is normally taught by a driving instructor. Seems like a good idea whether there is a financial benefit or not of course.
My son is off to Uni in September and passed his driving test last October so has been on my wifes policy as a named driver. He wont use the car when he's at Uni so there was no point in him paying a ton of money for not getting an NCB % in the next couple of years, he may as well stay on her insurance til he turns 21 when it should be a touch more sensible and use the funds for his Uni life
My daughter passed on Saturday.
We've arranged cover with Ticker via Confused.com.
£1430 for a 07/57 MINI Cooper with a £645 total excess.
Mrs T and I are on there as named drivers. I thought my recent SP30 - in that MINI, doh! - would mean that wasn't worthwhile. But actually it was cheaper again with me in addition to Mrs T.
Cover doesn't start until after Easter though. If we wanted to start cover right away it was more like £1900. So, very sensible girl, she was happy to wait a couple of weeks or so until cover starts. I basically sat there on Saturday afternoon selecting each date and quoting again until I'd figured out the cheapest price.
Let's hope she hasn't forgotten how to drive by then!
I posted on Linkedin about it actually and it went a bit mad. I understand that insurers perceive someone arranging their insurance immediately to be a higher risk, but I don't see how that can be in the case of new drivers. You can't arrange it in advance - the systems don't seem to let you until you've actually got your full licence anyway and you might not pass of course. But, when you pass, naturally you want to get going.
In her case, it's quicker to cycle to college and there's no parking there for first years anyway. We're away visiting family for Easter. So it's not a major hardship, just frustrating for her I imagine. I feel for the kids who bus into college and could now drive instead but only if they pay through the nose to start their cover immediately.
We've arranged cover with Ticker via Confused.com.
£1430 for a 07/57 MINI Cooper with a £645 total excess.
Mrs T and I are on there as named drivers. I thought my recent SP30 - in that MINI, doh! - would mean that wasn't worthwhile. But actually it was cheaper again with me in addition to Mrs T.
Cover doesn't start until after Easter though. If we wanted to start cover right away it was more like £1900. So, very sensible girl, she was happy to wait a couple of weeks or so until cover starts. I basically sat there on Saturday afternoon selecting each date and quoting again until I'd figured out the cheapest price.
Let's hope she hasn't forgotten how to drive by then!
I posted on Linkedin about it actually and it went a bit mad. I understand that insurers perceive someone arranging their insurance immediately to be a higher risk, but I don't see how that can be in the case of new drivers. You can't arrange it in advance - the systems don't seem to let you until you've actually got your full licence anyway and you might not pass of course. But, when you pass, naturally you want to get going.
In her case, it's quicker to cycle to college and there's no parking there for first years anyway. We're away visiting family for Easter. So it's not a major hardship, just frustrating for her I imagine. I feel for the kids who bus into college and could now drive instead but only if they pay through the nose to start their cover immediately.
Young driver insurance is a very tough market at the moment and there are a couple of insurers whu lure you in with a super cheap policy with a provisional then multiply by 10 when they pass!! but it is an open market. you can take the cheap policy with a prov then cancel and replace when they pass their test.
As mentioned above if you ask for cover 7-10 days in advance you may get a better rate than the same day, adding on repsonsible parents helps
Just sorted my 20 year old daughter's policy and she has gone from Admiral to Gogirl to Ageas this year. no insurers seem to offer any loyalty
As mentioned above if you ask for cover 7-10 days in advance you may get a better rate than the same day, adding on repsonsible parents helps
Just sorted my 20 year old daughter's policy and she has gone from Admiral to Gogirl to Ageas this year. no insurers seem to offer any loyalty
Both my sons were insured with AChoice Insurance, on a learner policy (relatively cheap) which then became a full licence policy costing several hundred pounds more when they passed (most recently in Feb 2024) with a OBD Black Box).
The advantage being they only pay the balance of the first year as a qualified driver to get them to their first renewal with a full years no-claims bonus.
The advantage being they only pay the balance of the first year as a qualified driver to get them to their first renewal with a full years no-claims bonus.
Again some more really good replies to this.
When my daughter passed her test we paid £1500 for her insurance on a 2006 Mini One back in 2021. If we waited until the following day they offered to knock off £100 but she was insisting that she wanted to drive to 6th Form that morning. After a year it dropped to £600 and then under £400.
Shen then changed up to a CX3 which is £1k but it does 60-70mpg so is worthwhile now that she is doing over 300 miles a week.
My son has bought himself a really nice Mito Speciale 0.9 Twinair and I must admit it is a stunning looking first car and it actually drives really well too.
Whether we can get him to hold off for a while after passing is going to be difficult.
We can't add him on to our own cars as we have an iX3, X3 M40d and a Z4 Coupe. There is also no way I'd let him drive any of these unsupervised anyway.
When my daughter passed her test we paid £1500 for her insurance on a 2006 Mini One back in 2021. If we waited until the following day they offered to knock off £100 but she was insisting that she wanted to drive to 6th Form that morning. After a year it dropped to £600 and then under £400.
Shen then changed up to a CX3 which is £1k but it does 60-70mpg so is worthwhile now that she is doing over 300 miles a week.
My son has bought himself a really nice Mito Speciale 0.9 Twinair and I must admit it is a stunning looking first car and it actually drives really well too.
Whether we can get him to hold off for a while after passing is going to be difficult.
We can't add him on to our own cars as we have an iX3, X3 M40d and a Z4 Coupe. There is also no way I'd let him drive any of these unsupervised anyway.
PistonBroker said:
Cover doesn't start until after Easter though. If we wanted to start cover right away it was more like £1900. So, very sensible girl, she was happy to wait a couple of weeks or so until cover starts. I basically sat there on Saturday afternoon selecting each date and quoting again until I'd figured out the cheapest price.
So looks like MSE's advice to buy 20 to 26 days before works.My daughter passed 3 wks ago, already had an Aygo auto. I did ghost quotes before she'd passed to find out which cars were affordable and a few were coming out at around £1700-2000.
the day she passed i had to set her up with insurance and it ended up costing me £2600, without a black box, would have been £300 cheaper with a box.
So much more than I thought it would cost me. I'm constantly hoping that she doesn't have a prang so it comes down next yr with 12 months no claims!!
the day she passed i had to set her up with insurance and it ended up costing me £2600, without a black box, would have been £300 cheaper with a box.
So much more than I thought it would cost me. I'm constantly hoping that she doesn't have a prang so it comes down next yr with 12 months no claims!!
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