Compare cheap car insurance quotes for new drivers
Car insurance for new drivers
Once you’ve passed your driving test you’ll likely be itching to get on the road – and whether you’ve already found your first car or you’re still considering your options, now’s a good time to start thinking about your car insurance.
Do new drivers need car insurance?
Whether you’re a new driver or have been on the road for years, if you own and drive a car, you are required by law to have at least third-party car insurance. If you are discovered using a vehicle without insurance, you could be fined, face court prosecution, or your car could be taken away or destroyed.
There are three main types of car insurance you can consider:
Fully comprehensive insurance protects you, your car and other motorists from any damage you cause. It also covers medical expenses, repairs, fire damage and theft of your vehicle
£ 1,409 per year*
Third-party, fire and theft policies cover repair costs for other people, their cars and their property, as well as your own vehicle if it’s stolen or damaged by fire
£1,560 per year*
The minimum legal requirement, third-party insurance will only cover any damage you cause to other cars and property
£1,959 per year*
Can black box insurance save new drivers money?
Telematics insurance is a good option for new (and young drivers), as - if you drive carefully - you can save money on your car insurance.
Your insurance provider will monitor your driving habits, through either a small black box installed under your dashboard, a plug-in device or an app on your smartphone. Things like your speed, acceleration and braking will be tracked, as well as your location and mileage. Your insurer will then use this information to adjust your premiums based on how you drive.
You can view your black box data on your insurance provider’s website or app, allowing you to adjust areas of your driving and potentially earn a lower premium.
Bases your premiums on when, how well and for how long you drive. Pay-as-you-go car insurance charges a flat rate while your car is parked, and another rate for the miles you drive
The less time you spend on the road the lower the chances are you’ll be involved in an accident. If you can give a lower estimate of your mileage when taking out cover, you’ll likely save some money
If you don’t intend to be driving year-round, an annual policy might not be the best option for you. Consider short-term car insurance for stretches of one to 30 days
Adding another more experienced driver to your policy can save money on your premium. It suggests to insurers that you won’t be the only person driving the car, therefore the assumed risk won’t be so high
There are a few ways new drivers can reduce the price of their car insurance:
Cutting down on how much you drive could save you money. Because you’re not on the road as much, you’re less likely to have an accident
A lump sum almost always works out cheaper than monthly payments because interest is factored into monthly direct debit payments
Smaller, less powerful cars are cheaper, safer to drive and less attractive to thieves and vandals
Parking your car in a locked garage keeps it safe from criminals, making it less likely you’ll need to claim for theft or vandalism
Volunteering a higher excess fee indicates you won’t make any frivolous claims on your policy
Insurers can monitor your driving habits with telematics hardware, so sensible drivers earn lower premiums
Adding an experienced driver to your policy tells insurers it won’t be just you driving, so they’ll reduce the price
As car insurers generally view advanced drivers as being less likely to have accidents, passing an advanced driving course can help cut car insurance costs
"Car insurance can be expensive, particularly for new drivers. Insurance premiums are based on risk and less experienced drivers are seen as a bigger risk. Thankfully, there are things you can do to help keep the cost down such as reducing your mileage and adding named drivers to your policy. It’s also important to shop around – MoneySuperMarket lets you compare policies from over 100 brands, helping you find the right cover at the best price."
- Praksha Patel-Shah, senior channel manager of car insurance
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Car insurance is a legal requirement for drivers in the UK, thanks to the continuous insurance enforcement rules brought in as part of the road safety act of 2006. This means that unless your car is registered as off the road with a SORN, or in the process of being bought or sold, you could be faced with a fine for not insuring your vehicle.
New drivers and young drivers alike generally pay much higher car insurance premiums as insurers see these groups as higher risks of being involved in a road accident – therefore more likely to claim on their insurance policy.
When you take out car insurance as a new driver, be careful about the additional policies you choose – they do bolster your cover, but you’ll generally need to pay more for the extra protection. Depending on your provider, you’ll usually have the choice of:
Telematics cover involves your insurer monitoring your driving habits and adjusting your premiums according to how you drive. They do this through one of three types of telematics tech – either a black box (the most common) installed under your dashboard, a plug-in device or an app on your smartphone. This is particularly useful for sensible new drivers as it offers a way to get lower car insurance premiums as a reward for driving safely.
While driving courses such as Pass Plus or IAM make you a better driver, they won’t always save you money on your car insurance policy. In fact the average person won’t see any difference in premiums whether or not they have Pass Plus on their licence – but that doesn’t mean it can’t benefit anyone at all. Younger or inexperienced drivers might be able to save a few quid, but it’s better to shop around and compare options – this way if insurers do offer discounts you’ll be able to take advantage.
As a young or new driver, you might be able to knock a few quid off your premiums by adding another more experienced driver to your policy – in most cases this will be your parents. This suggests to insurers that you won’t be the only person driving the car, therefore the assumed risk won’t always quite so high. While this can be a good way to get cheaper cover, people sometimes take advantage of this by declaring the older or more experienced driver as the ‘main driver’ – when in reality it’ll be the young or new driver using the car more frequently. This is known as ‘fronting’ and is illegal.
You’re likely to get a better deal on your car insurance policy if you pay an annual lump sum rather than in monthly instalments. This is largely because in a way monthly payments are similar to taking out credit – you’ll be covered in full, but without having paid the full amount yet. Paying monthly can be useful as you’ll be able to spread the cost out, but you will end up paying a little extra overall.
Excess payments refer to the cost of making a claim – it’s essentially how much you’ll need to put towards the total claim cost before your insurer pays the rest. Volunteering a higher excess fee on top of the compulsory amount indicates to insurers you won’t bother making small and frivolous claims.
A no-claims bonus is what you earn when you go some time without claiming on your policy. The longer you’ve gone without claiming, the more your insurers will knock off your premiums as they’ll see you as less likely to make further claims in the future. You might consider not claiming for an accident if the damage done to your car is minor and it would be more sensible to pay for the repairs yourself – let’s say the excess you’d need to pay was more than the overall repair costs. This way you’ll preserve your no-claims bonus as well as being better off financially.
If you’re involved in an accident and you decide not to make a claim, you should still inform your insurer. They’ll keep their records up to date, so they know what condition your vehicle is in and whether this will affect your likeliness of claiming sometime in the future. If you don’t keep your insurer updated, it’s possible this will void your insurance policy so you won’t be able to claim when you really need to.
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