Young Driver Insurance

Young driver insurance, otherwise known as new driver or first-time car insurance, is a type of cover that’s specifically designed to meet the needs of those who have recently passed their test.

Unfortunately, the stats are stacked against you. One in five drivers crash within a year of passing their test. This makes new and young drivers particularly risky to insurers, so they raise your insurance costs to account for this extra risk.

That’s why you’ll usually find that telematics insurance is less expensive than other young driver policies. It allows insurers to monitor how well you’re driving, which counteracts the risk.

Car insurance for new drivers between the age of 17 and 20 costs £2,200 on average. Whilst this decreases after 21 years of age, you’re likely to still face a policy costing over £1,000. That’s why it’s so important to call around.

There are a number of ways you can save money on your young driver insurance. This includes:

• Completing extra driving qualifications: courses like PassPlus and RoSPA can help reduce your insurance premiums when passed. Not only will this give you more experience behind the wheel with a supervisor, but it also tells us that you really value your safety while driving.
• Choose a car in a low insurance group: in general, using a car or other vehicle that’s found in insurance groups on the lower end of the scale will help reduce premiums.
• Increase your excess: if you’re willing to fork out more money in the event you need to make a claim, increasing your excess can help reduce your insurance costs. You must always ensure that you’ll be able to pay this off in the event that you need to make a claim, though.
• Drive safely: whilst your first year driving might be an expensive one, driving safely and responsibly will help reduce your premiums over the coming years. You might be surprised by how much NCB will reduce the cost of insurance.
• Consider telematics insurance: if you’re a safe driver, black box insurance can help reduce your premiums significantly – sometimes by up to 60%! Our telematics policies don’t have curfews, giving young drivers more freedom.
• Kit your car out with security features: Thatcham-approved security features like a tracker will help in the event you need to make a claim. A dashcam can also be useful should you need to back up your claim.
• Keep your car in the garage: this will help reduce the likelihood that your car is stolen, which can help reduce premiums.
• Drive fewer miles: we have limited mileage policies that can help you save on your insurance.

With a clean record, you’ll find that your insurance quote will get cheaper each year. There is generally a fairly significant reduction in cost once you turn 20 and for every year following. When you turn 25, there is another big reduction in your quote.

Yes, in general, young male drivers will face higher insurance premiums. This is because young men are statistically more likely to get involved in a serious accident. As insurance premiums are calculated on risk, this drives up the costs of cover for young men.

The best thing to do is to choose a car in a low insurance group that isn’t typically driven by young drivers. Your premium is based on the past claims history of your car too, so if you choose one that’s most commonly driven by young drivers who are more likely to be involved in an accident, this can increase your premium.

Choosing cars that are associated with older, more experienced drivers is a great way to help you save.

There are a number of options you can choose from based on your needs:

• Fully comprehensive: this is the highest level of coverage but can sometimes be the cheapest. It covers you and your vehicle, as well as third parties, their vehicles and their property.
• Third party, fire and theft: this covers damage to other people, their cars and their property, as well as your vehicle in the event it gets stolen or damaged by fire.
• Third party only: this will only cover damage to other people, their car, or their property in the event you need to make a claim. This cover is the minimum level of coverage you must get.
• Black box insurance: essentially, you fit a black box into your car, which monitors how you’re driving and shares the information with your insurance provider. They then use this data to change your renewal premium; safe driving will lower costs, while poor driving will increase them. 
• Student car insurance: this type of cover is designed specifically for students. If you only use your vehicle during or outside of term time, ask about our limited mileage policies as this could help you get a lower premium.

Yes, we can insure you if you’re thinking about getting an EV. Note, however, that young driver car insurance premiums on these types of cars are typically higher than those for petrol and diesel cars, so you might want to consider buying a second-hand petrol or diesel vehicle for the first few years on the road.

Congratulations on passing your test! Call us to let us know and we can change you over to one of our new driver insurance policies.

Even if you drive a vehicle a little out of the ordinary, we can help. As a specialist insurance provider, we’re usually able to cover young drivers where others cannot, even if they’re driving a vehicle that’s a little different from the usual. In fact, we enjoy helping you secure affordable insurance for young drivers where other providers cannot!

This depends on their circumstances. If the teen has purchased a new vehicle and will be the sole driver, they’ll need to take out their own insurance policy on the car. If, on the other hand, they’ll be using a parent or guardian’s car infrequently, they could potentially be added to the parent’s policy as a named driver.

It’s important to note, though, that if a teen is put down as a named driver on an existing policy, they won’t be building up a no claims bonus, which helps to reduce their premium over the coming years. It could also put the car owner’s insurance at risk; if the young driver has to make a claim, this will have an impact on the main driver’s premium too.

Remember that if the young driver is going to use the parent or guardian’s car more than the owner, you must let your insurance company know so they can update the policy. Some insurers will not allow a young driver to be the main driver if the policy is in a parent’s name.

Yes, you can add them as a named driver. Watch out though; whilst putting them on your insurance as a named driver can help save money on their insurance, if they will in fact be the main driver, you will technically be committing an illegal offence called “fronting.”

This can have serious repercussions – your insurance policy will likely be invalidated and possibly cancelled, which can increase your premium in the years to come, and will mean your insurer won’t pay out for a claim. You could also face criminal prosecution for insurance fraud, pay a fine and lose your driving licence.

Getting a quote couldn’t be any easier.

• Call Sterling on 0344 3819990
• Use the online call back service