car insurance for young drivers

kingfisherblue

My daughter passed her driving test (first time :j) yesterday. She is 20 and works as a care assistant, so she needed business insurance as she does not have a single palce of work. Insurance for younger and new drivers is notoriously expensive, and although her car is small (Matiz, 1 litre engine), it is only three years old. She wanted a reliable car, as she will be sent to different towns, sometimes early mornings or late in the evening.

Anyway, we searched the comparison sites and contacted the insurance companies that specialise in young drivers. Prices were high, as expected - averaging around £4500. The highest was over £9000 :eek:

I had a look on Martin's motoring section, and even the companies that use a box to monitor driving were a similar price. I looked at the companies with special offers, and Tesco could offer fuully comprehensive insurance for £2925 - so much better than £4500!

Martin also suggested contacting companies that are not on price comparison websites, so we rang Aviva. My daughter thought they would be expensive, as they 'are for older people' :rotfl:. How wrong she was! OK, it's still expensive, but £2180, fully comprehensive, with comparable excesses. The compulsory excess will drop by £100 automatically when she is 21. They will also ensure that she and any passengers are taken home in the event of an accident.

If she had chosen third party, fire and theft, it would have cost £1740.

So a big thank you to Martin :T. I would have assumed that large firms such as Aviva were on comparison sites. And well done to Aviva for not fleecing new drivers as much as other insurers.

xbrenx

Thank you for posting this. My son is still learning to drive but has just got himself a job and is making a wish list of all the things he'll be able to buy. A car is well up there but the insurance may mean he puts that on hold for a while, so it's good to know there might be a way :-)

kingfisherblue

xbrenx wrote: »

Thank you for posting this. My son is still learning to drive but has just got himself a job and is making a wish list of all the things he'll be able to buy. A car is well up there but the insurance may mean he puts that on hold for a while, so it's good to know there might be a way :-)

My daughter bought her car back in April, so once she had taken a few lessons, I was able to take her out for more practice. Her learners insurance was from Collingwood, just under £900 for a year. As she hasn't needed it for a full year, we will get a partial refund. However, Collingwood recommended Insure-the-Box (one of the schemes that has a dashboard box to check your driving - speed, time of day or night, how fast you brake, etc), and although it is supposed to be an affordable way to insure a car for a new driver, it was over £4500 :eek:

I am also on the insurance, for two reasons. First, my daughter received a discount for having a 'mature' driver on the policy - no convictions, accidents, etc and I've held my licence for 12 years. Also, I can use her car occasionally. So when your son does get a car, check how much cheaper it is with a named driver with a good driving record.

Also, surprisingly, it was £30 more expensive to insure the car if kept in a garage rather than on the driveway, so check that as well. I found Aviva and Tesco were both internet prices, but if you ring up, they will try all the variables for you, and will honour the internet quotation. Aviva actually came down further over the phone.

I paid in full (my daughter will pay me back, interest free ), but monthly installments will cost up to 20% more, so your son might want to start saving now