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Young drivers’ insurance helps to protect you financially if you’re involved in a car accident. A policy can cover you for a variety of things, depending on the level of cover you choose, and as a minimum will cover you for:
Costs of any losses or damage you cause to third parties: including other drivers, other vehicles, passengers and third-party property.
A fully comprehensive policy will also cover:
Costs of any damage caused to you or your vehicle
Damage caused by fire
Theft
Young driver car insurance isn’t a specific product you can buy – in fact, young drivers usually take out the same standard car insurance as everyone else. The only difference is that it’s often much more expensive, so you can get certain types of policy extras and addons to help bring the cost down.
Once you’ve passed your driving test and are no longer a learner driver, you’ll need to find some car insurance to get on the road. Drivers in the UK are legally required to have at least third-party car insurance in place, as a result of the continuous insurance enforcement rules brought in as part of the 2006 road safety act.
Unless your car is legally registered as off the road with a SORN or in the process of being sold or bought, you may be fined for not insuring the vehicle. Things are no different for young drivers – who are more likely to cause expensive accidents.
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There are three types of cover to choose from when you buy car insurance as a young driver. These are:
Fully comprehensive cover is the best car insurance policy as it gives you the highest level of protection. It will cover you for a wide range of risks, often at the cheapest price.
Third-party, fire and theft covers your vehicle for theft, accidents, and fire damage as well as other people, their vehicles, and their property.
Third-party, fire and theft covers your vehicle for theft, accidents, and fire damage as well as other people, their vehicles, and their property.
Based on a fully comprehensive policy, here is what is and isn't covered with young drivers' insurance:
Damage to your vehicle
Third-party damage caused by your vehicle
Motor legal protection
Serious or fatal injuries
Vehicles and drivers not named on your policy
Standard wear and tear
Accidents if you're under the influence
Invalid driving licence
Add-ons will cover you for scenarios and costs that are not typically included in car insurance policies. While add-ons like breakdown cover can provide extra peace of mind, they do come with an extra cost that will be added to your policy.
You may need to buy extra cover if you’re driving abroad
You may not be covered if you lose your car keys and need a replacement
This covers the cost of draining the incorrect fuel and refilling with the right fuel
You may not be covered for windscreen damage automatically
This covers anything you leave in your car which is then stolen
If you want to protect your no claims bonus but you need to make a claim
Breakdown cover lets you claim for the cost of calling for roadside assistance if your vehicle breaks down
Courtesy car cover gives you access to a temporary replacement vehicle if yours is out of action
Car insurance prices are usually higher for younger drivers than they are for older, more experienced drivers. This is typically because younger drivers have less experience and are more likely to take risks. As a result, insurance providers see you as more of a high risk, and therefore, charge you higher premiums until you build up your no claims discount and prove you're a safe driver.
There are a few reasons why young drivers' insurance is so expensive including:
Lacking experience as a new driver
Risk-taking behaviour being more common among younger drivers e.g. speeding or driving under the influence
Peer pressure, which is more common among young drivers
Vehicle choice (some cars are more expensive to insure than others so the type of car you drive can affect the cost of your policy)
You can find out more about the why car insurance policies are priced in our guide 'Why is car insurance so expensive?'
Add-ons like breakdown cover cost extra to add to your policy. Consider cutting out optional extras that may be cheaper elsewhere.
Telematics policies, or black box car insurance, give inexperienced drivers a chance to earn lower premiums by showing that they have sensible driving habits.
Paying an annual lump sum for your car insurance may seem like a big outlay, but it typically costs less overall because you pay interest on monthly payments.
One of the simplest ways to reduce your insurance cost is to increase your voluntary excess. Be careful not to increase your excess so much that you can't afford it if you need to make an insurance claim.
Don't be caught out by letting your motor insurance auto-renew at the end of your policy. Prices typically rise every year. Try comparing quotes 20-30 days before your contract ends to stand the best chance of finding a cheaper deal elsewhere.
Insurers will always look at your claims history. You'll naturally build a no-claims bonus for every year you're not involved in an accident and don't make an insurance claim. However, if you can avoid making claims for smaller things by paying for the repairs or replacements yourself, you can continue to build your no-claims discount.
You can reduce the cost of motor insurance by parking your vehicle off the road when you're not using it. The best place to keep it overnight to reduce your insurance cost would be in a locked garage.
Modifying your car can often mean more expensive repair costs, so you’ll likely pay more to cover these.
If you're a relatively new driver, try adding an experienced named driver to your policy as it may bring down your insurance costs. By having an experienced driver also driving the car, insurers may view you as less likely to take risks.
Insurance groups are broad classifications of cars that insurers use to assess risk, car value and other factors. Cars in lower insurance groups usually cost less to insure, and it’s easy to check which cars fall into which insurance groups if you haven’t quite decided what to buy.
It’s unsurprising that so many people are delaying or have delayed learning to drive because of the costs. In our latest Household Money Index, we uncovered that the cost to get on the road has risen to £7,609 for 17-20 year-olds. 35 years ago, the same costs would have amounted to £3,234 when adjusted for inflation, which means the latest figure is more than double the rate you’d expect because of inflation. Car insurance alone – accounting for almost £1,700 of that figure – has risen 27% since 2019, so there’s never been a better time to compare deals to make sure you’re not paying more than you should.
Black box or telematics policies can be one way for young drivers to bring down the cost of their premiums over time. These policies enable insurers to collect data about the way you drive, which can then feed into future renewal prices and reduce the cost of your premiums.
Car insurance companies place cars into insurance groups based on repair costs, their size, speed and power. Cars in lower groups (1-10) are typically cheaper to insure. However, there are many factors aside from the vehicle that will influence your annual premiums.
Vehicle Model | Average premium5 |
|---|---|
FORD KA ZETEC | £595.20 |
KIA PICANTO 1 | £705.12 |
FIAT 500 POP | £708.39 |
VOLKSWAGEN POLO E (55) | £739.73 |
VOLKSWAGEN GOLF S TDI (105) | £747.26 |
5Based on annual price of fully comprehensive car insurance policies, with one driver aged 21 holding a full UK driving licence. Data collected between January 2023 and June 2023
Keep up to date and find out all you need to know with our latest guides.
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Your car registration number and driving licence number
Any no-claims bonus you’ve accrued
When you bought the car and any modifications made
Your expected annual mileage
Whether you’ll use the car for social, commuting, or business purposes
Note: you can still get a quote if you don't know the registration yet
As well as standard comprehensive policies, we can help you find specialised types of policy for specific circumstances, including multi-car insurance and short-term cover:
Standard car insurance won't cover business use, so you need a special policy for work vehicles
This lets you take out temporary car insurance from anywhere between a day and a few months
This car insurance type gives you the option of adding more than one car to your policy
Get the chance to bring your costs down by installing a black box, which monitors your driving habits.
If you’re learning in your own car, learner driver insurance provides cover while you’re practising to pass your test
Some providers offer tailored car insurance for drivers over 50, so it’s worth comparing the whole market
All drivers, including newly qualified drivers, are required to have car insurance when driving on the road
Your excess is the amount you contribute towards the cost of a claim before your insurer pays out the rest. Excess payments are generally divided into compulsory and voluntary payments. Compulsory excess is set by your insurer and voluntary excess can be adjusted by you.
You can learn more about excess in our guide to car insurance excess.
While driving courses such as Pass Plus or IAM improve your driving, they won’t always get you cheaper car insurance. The average driver won’t see any difference in premiums with Pass Plus on their licence but younger or inexperienced drivers might be able to save money.
Yes, you can add a younger driver to your car insurance but it may increase the cost of your insurance.
If the younger driver only uses the car occasionally, it’ll likely be cheaper to add them as a named driver to another driver's policy than buying them a separate policy.
However, you can't declare yourself the 'main driver' if the younger person is the one who will be using the car the most. This is illegal and known as fronting.
Adding someone to your policy as a named driver should allow them to drive your car even if they don’t live with you – but you must always ask your insurer before you try.
Car insurance premiums generally get cheaper every year, providing you don’t get any claims or convictions on your record.
However, insurers will still see you as a young driver until you reach 25 years old, so you will need at least a few years of driving experience before you start seeing a real difference in your insurance cost.
Yes. 17-year-olds learning how to drive or who have recently passed can take out car insurance in the UK.
Yes, you can as long as the main licensed driver is at least 21 years old and has held their full driving licence for at least 3 years.
You'll need L plates on the car and the learner driver must be named on the policy. Be aware, adding a learner driver to your policy may increase the price of your premiums.
Black box car insurance can be cheaper but it depends on your driving habits. If you drive safely, you can sometimes get a discount on your future premiums, but driving dangerously may have the opposite effect.
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