hi rosie, i completely agree....... i dont understand the deal here it's like some sort of nightmare. My dad was laughing at the computer screen when he saw my quotes he looked at me and started laughing to then say 'your joking right'? so......i dont know what to do now. Insure the box give me cheapest quote at around £2300 on a low end 1.2 litre but i just read thier terms and conditions and i saw that the cheeky buggers want to install a telematics box into my car as part of the agreement so they can stalk and watch me like a hawk 24/7 to track how many miles i travel, how fast i drive, where i drive......unbelievable, this country has lost it.

I know how you feel and am exactly in the same position. I'm 35 and 1st time driver as passed my test in July 11 and cheapest insurance I can get is £2100 which is ridiculous and this is for a 1.1 car !!!

How on earth are new drivers supposed to get insurance with these costs.

The PAYG or black box insurance quotes are not much difference in price quoted too

Its sooo frustrating

of course i blame government decisions, like i said. I don't read the daily mail neither do my parents. My father is enough evidence for me to know that a hard working man breaking his back for our NHS system in only benefiting public health gets paid peanuts and is stripped to the bone by taxes whilst ganining no promotions throughout his career. He should be retired now poor guy has had back surgery numerous times he works very hard and has a demanding job. He's around 55 now but he wont be seeing the likes of retirement and a pention till he's 66 in this dirt-hole. Take care anyway and thanks for the history lesson on economics =]

Remember that it is not just the costs of the state benefit system, but tax evasion/avoidance is a big issue, plus the imbalances in the UK economy, with too much emphasis on the financial sector. When the banks took massive risks, with silly levels of leveraging, it put the whole of the worlds financial system in jeopardy. Not many people realise how near we were to a total collapse of most of the worlds banks. Some say it was only hours from collapse. This cost the UK government tens of billions both in terms of the bailouts but also in lost tax revenues for many years to come. If you want to blame people, look to Fred Goodwin who is pretty well off, but under his leadership RBS collapsed to the extent that they had to be part nationalised.

The world is changing, as the money moves to the East, plus to other emerging economies. This is why Australia are doing pretty well, as they have vast reserves of minerals and they are ideally placed to supply Asian countries.

So you are doing the right thing in broadening your horizons. Some of the pay levels in Australia are very high at the moment compared to the UK, so that might be worth looking into. They might allow you to take a years visa where you can take up an apprenticeship type opportunity, with a view to something permanent if it works out.

Nb. "The only people that benefit from this country's law and social system are people who sit on benefits and immigrants who have already rinsed this place out of its 'give free money to the lazy' policy" (sounds like you or your parents are Daily Mail readers). I only say this, as the language appears to come from that source. It is only partly true, as there are many on benefits who may have paid into the tax system and then lost their way of earning a living, due to business closure or ill health. The Daily Mail does not often report the billions of taxpayers money that it costs to pay higher rate tax relief on pensions, which was nearly £30 billion in 2009/10.

indeed this country has gone down the drain in almost every aspect and the only people that benefit from this country's law and social system are people who sit on benefits and immigrants who have already rinsed this place out of its 'give free money to the lazy' policy, its too late now, they've done their deeds. This country did this to itself now it's own people have to pay the price through our own blood and sweat......there are so many places abroad i'd rather be and i will admit i dont plan to stay here at all i know theres nothing for me here although i'm doing a masters level degree programme and i will be guaranteed a job i'd rather take that qualification some place else where they will actually reward me for my efforts

Not just about Insurance really is it. My opinion for what it is worth, is that the generation of young people you are part of and those under say 30 are getting a very harsh deal all round. It is not just about Insurance. University fees, house prices that mean that the average buyer is expected to be 44 within this decade, having to retire later so potentially a longer working life than previous generations and less jobs to move into for varying reasons.

If I were 20 now and attending university I would start planning to gain skills that I could use to look for opportunities abroad (outside Europe). The UK and Europe are facing a very difficult period ahead and it is possible that now is the time to look elsewhere. If you were to move abroad, you could gain working skills, might be able to afford to own/insure a car and might be able to buy a house (depending on where you went).

I think it is unlikely the OFT will be able to make Insurers review their premiums, as Insurers base their premiums on analysis of risk. I also think it is unlikely that the general economic conditions will change by the end of this decade. A bit of negative outlook on the UK, but realistic in my opinion. The alternative is to look ahead and decide on a career plan (looking at skill set and qualifications needed) in the UK, which will enable you to earn a living that can pay for everything that you wish for.

thats why i have been looking at insurance gorup 1, 1L bangers but to be honest, it doesn't make much of a difference anymore, i can go up to 1.6L and get roughly the same premium calculated anyway or even 2.2L depending on the car and get the same premium, its all very confusing and very corrupted i also think certain cars, models are black listed by insureres like you said above because they are just attractive to young drivers, rather pathetic, i hope insurance in this country is being looked into because at the moment it's basically theft by law and young and decent people like me are being robbed. I want a car not only because i'd like one but i've waited over 3 years since being 17 + not to mention it will help me commute to university and back as i'm a home student and transport to uni for me is difficult but if i had a car it's easy as pie......i'll take a look at adrian flux but i doubt there will be anything remotely worth it. thank you.

Car is part of the problem. To obtain a cheaper premium, you should really have a car with 1.2 litre engine or less. Don't go for anything young drivers like e.g Vauxhall Corsa and arrange a policy in your name, but include dad/mum as named drivers. If older drivers have access to your car, then it is a safer risk because you won't have the car to yourself. Can't really put the Insurance in your dads name, as it is not his car. May cause you problems with Insurers thinking your dad is fronting for you, plus you won't build up any no claims discount in your name.

Being a newer driver/new to Insurance you are probably looking at a premium of around £2000+ anyway. You might be able to get it cheaper. Speaker to a local Insurance broker, so they can discuss this subject with you and see how you may be able to save some money. There is too much to go into in a forum, so you are best speaking to a decent broker. Adrian Flux brokers are found by some young drivers to be the most competitive for them. If you ever come across a company called Ecar Insurance, you should search the forums to see what people think about them ( a bit negative)

Think about the pay as you drive car Insurances, where you have a GPS box fitted to your car, to check the amount of use and how you drive your car. Google pay as you drive car Insurance for options.

Personally in this situation, I would not own a car and use the money instead to pay for public transport when I need to travel. What is the point of spending many thousands of pounds, when you can save up the money, When you are a little older, the premiums may come down a bit. I believe there is a current OFT review into Car Insurance premiums, particularly for younger drivers. You never know, something may be done about it.

i'm a 20 year old male full time student at university, been in the UK since birth and i've been trying to get insurance for my 1st ever car. I have no history or NCB. I currently own an MG TF 1.8L 16V (135). The comprehensive premiums i recieve from moneysupermaket search comparison are through the roof ranging from minimum £7,000 to £46,000 which is absolutely laughable. So i've tried being a named driver on my dads policy to see how much cheaper that would be and with a recalculation the cheapeast quote is just over £5,000 still ridiculous. By the way, this isn't just something i have stumbled across now i've been searching for insurance for months now and i've tried all tips to reduce premiums and nothing has helped. So then i thought maybe its my car? but is it really? this isn't a turbo or sports engine it's pretty much a standard 1.8 16v rover engine........anyway so i tested some new recalculations online with cars that are supposedly bottom end of the range and in insurance group 1 and on my own name as policy holder the cheapest quote i can get now is around £3,600 and the rest of quotes all being £5,000 and above.......on being a named driver with my father being the policy holder i now get some cheaper quotes of around £2500 roughly which is still very unaffordable (also my dads been driving since the dinosaurs and he has great history)......people are having heart attacks for spending £800 on insurance and here i am with these quotes at minimum. I'm starting to think either something is very very wrong or that this is it and i just can't be driving a car in this country regardless of what the car it is. Its a shame though, being 20 i would have thought i should be able to drive at least something without being sucked of my blood, im only a student, im not rich. Another surprise to me is what about all the 17 year old kids i see driving around in their cars? performance cars at that too? civic R-types, GTI's, turbo's :s back in school i remember lots of kids had cars as soon as we turned 17.....i know they were not rich either. I'm thinking maybe all young drivers just drive without insurance? if this is the case i can see exactly why they'd do so cause there's no way people can afford these insurance prices but who knows, even still im not willing to ever drive without insurance even if lots of people are doing that....so please help if anyone can just help or guide me, thanks.