Young driver insurance tips

Working out the cost – some young driver insurance tips

The amount you pay for your car insurance is called a premium.  These are increasing so it’s important to shop around.

Insurers will ask you for a number of details to assess what your monthly or yearly premium will be. Including:

• personal details, such as age and postcode
• information about the car you’ll be driving
• level of cover you’re looking for
• miles you think you’ll be driving each year
• previous car insurance claims
• criminal convictions
• no-claims bonus – the number of years you’ve been driving without having made a car insurance claim.

This allows the insurance company to build a picture of how ‘risky’ you are. Premiums are calculated based on this.

The higher risk, the higher the premium will be.

Car insurance levels of cover

There are three levels of car insurance cover and one of the first things you’ll need to consider is what kind of cover you want.

• fully comprehensive
• third party
• third party, fire and theft.

If your car if it was written off and you’d struggle to replace it, it’s best to go for the highest level of cover – fully comprehensive. Third party cover may be the best option if your car isn’t worth a lot.

Fully comprehensive cover usually costs less than third party, so it’s worth checking the price of both.

Young drivers’ car insurance is always going to be expensive. But there are some ways to keep your premiums down:

Your choice of car is important

Cars are assigned an insurance group number from 1 to 50. 1 being the cheapest and 50 the most expensive to insure.

Driving a car in a low insurance group is the easiest way to reduce your premiums.

Adding a second, low-risk driver can help

Parents are a good bet, but they can’t pretend to be the main driver – this is called ‘fronting’ and is illegal.

Number of miles driven

You’ll be asked about how the vehicle will be used and mileage you expect to do annually when applying for insurance,

Fewer miles and less frequent use can result in lower premiums. Be realistic and honest!

Shop around for the best deal

Comparison sites are a great place to start, but you can also search online for specialist young person’s car insurance providers.

Once you’ve a couple of good quotes, call an insurance broker and ask them to beat it. It’s free. They’ll do the leg work and call you back.

Find a broker on the BIBA website

Pay upfront

Monthly instalments might sound more affordable, but insurers will charge interest on those payments so they’re more expensive than an annual one-off payment.

Pay a higher voluntary excess

Paying a higher voluntary excess on top of your compulsory excess  can keep costs down for any driver. But it means you’ll end up paying more yourself if you need to make a claim.

Watch-out for unnecessary ‘add-ons’

While breakdown cover is included in some policies and can be useful, it’s often cheaper to buy it separately.

Drive safely

Avoiding accidents means you’ll start to build up a no-claims discount, driving down premiums.

It also avoids getting points on your licence, which will make insurance more expensive.

Advanced driving course

Taking an advanced driving course may reduce premiums. But check with your insurer to make sure you would definitely get a better deal.

Find out more about advanced driving courses and Pass Plus here

Black box car insurance

This is a form of technology that rewards safe driving with lower insurance costs.

Black box, sometimes referred to as telematics insurance policies usually involve fitting a device to your car to monitor:

• acceleration
• braking
• cornering
• miles covered
• what time of day you’re driving

The price of your insurance then goes down if you prove you’re a good, safe driver.

If your driving isn’t so good, there’s a downside. This is because if your risk level increases, your premiums go up – and your insurance could even be cancelled.