Car insurance for 18-year-olds

The quickest and easiest way to find cheaper car insurance as an 18 year old is to compare quotes online with MoneySuperMarket. Just tell us a little about yourself, your car and driving history, and the cover you need, and we’ll search the market for deals that meet your requirements. 

You’ll be able to compare policies by the overall monthly and annual cost of cover, the level of protection you get and the excess you’ll need to pay to make a claim. Once you’ve found the deal you want, just click through to the provider to finalise your purchase.

Driving courses such as Pass Plus can be a great option to help you become a better driver – however, according to MoneySuperMarket data having this qualification will not actually make a difference to your car insurance premiums.

That doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying – if you can become a better driver as a result of the course, you’ll give yourself a better chance of avoiding road accidents. This will make it easier to build a no-claims bonus, which can then bring your insurance cost down.

Your parents may be able to help you get cheaper car insurance, as you’ll be able to add someone to your policy – or someone can add you to theirs – as a ‘named driver’. If you’re a young driver with little experience on the road, adding your parent as a more experienced named driver will tell insurers that you aren’t solely responsible for the car. 

This reduces the risk for the insurer, and in turn they’ll often give you a discount. 

Bare in mind that it won’t work the opposite way – if your parents add you to their policy it’s likely they’ll see a big rise in premiums. This is because while adding a motorist with experience can bring the overall risk level down, adding a young and inexperienced to a policy brings the risk level up.

As a result, premiums will also go up for the main policy holder – in this case, your parents. 

Fronting is an illegal practice that sometimes occurs on policies with named drivers. It’s when you falsely claim that the more experienced motorist is the main driver on the policy – to get lower premiums – when in actual fact the main driver is the younger of the two. 

You’ll always need at least third-party car insurance if you’re driving on UK roads – this is true whether you’re a learner driver or fully qualified. However if you’re a learner driver you may not need to be the one to take cover out.

If you’re taking lessons through a driving school they will likely already have insurance in place that covers the instructor, the car and the learner. But if you’re taking private lessons, or lessons with a family member or friend, then you’ll need to ensure you have cover in place.

You may opt for temporary or short-term cover instead, to protect you whilst you’re taking lessons, then take out a full annual policy once you’ve passed your test.

If you’re a student you’ll still need to take out at a least third-party car insurance policy in order to be road-legal. You can still opt for certain policy types, whether it’s telematics, named driver insurance, or temporary cover.

You work hard to earn your money, and we don’t think you should waste a penny of it paying over the odds on your household bills. That’s why at MoneySuperMarket, we’re on a mission to save Britain money.

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You might be wondering if we work with all the companies in the market, or if our commercial relationships with our partners might make us feature one company above another. We’ve got nothing to hide, and we want to give you clear answers when it comes to questions like these, so we’ve pulled together everything you need to know on this page.