Getting cheap car insurance for first time drivers over the age of 21, 24 or less than 25 is usually difficult and comes with a lot of precautions.
According to statistics, young drivers in the United Kingdom (UK) are more likely to have an accident and make a claim- a headache for many insurance companies. The effect of this accident is usually a sky-high car insurance cost.
With all this in mind, you would agree with me that getting cheap car insurance for first time drivers seems like an almost impossible task to complete but there’s plenty of actions you can take to help keep costs down and increase your chances of getting approved.
You’ve passed your driving test, about to get a car or have a car already and you’ve heard how expensive first time car insurance can be….But don’t jump out of your skin! With the right knowledge, it won’t be so expensive.
From selecting the right plan to choosing the right car, our tips will help you make the best decision.
Why You Need Insurance
With the scary looking price of car insurance for young drivers under 21,24 and 25, you begin to question if you’re ever going to be able to drive your car on the road without fear. You might even be tempted to not act on the idea of insuring yourself altogether, but don’t! This would be a very costly idea. If you get caught without insurance on the road, you will most certainly be convicted of driving without securing third party risks, and will certainly receive an IN10 endorsement on your license(not what you want right now)- it makes getting affordable car insurance in the future even harder.
Why Is Young Driver Insurance So Expensive?
The number of deaths of young drivers between the age of 17 and 24 has reduced drastically (79%) since 1979.Now, that is some good news. However, young drivers are still seen as high risk. According to statistic from the department of transport, 2013, one in four drivers caught over the legal drink drive limit are aged fewer than 25.
DoT stats also shows that first time drivers drive more at night, with 6% of younger driver miles clocked up in the evening, as compared to older drivers at 3%.
Another evident factor that contributes to the insanely expensive car insurance price for first time young drivers is due to young driver’s minimal or complete lack of experience, and records have proven this to be true. Records reveal that 82% of young driver causalities occur on rural roads, where people drive at high speeds, presence of narrow lanes, blind bends, dips and other distractions which can easily ruin the career of first time drivers.
How To Get Cheap First Time Car Insurance For Young Drivers
Driving responsibly and carefully is not enough; you must pick a sensible car too. Depending on the cash at hand, you might not be able to afford an expensive vehicle with badass engine, but whichever car you choose, you must be able to insure it. It is not only stupid but very dangerous to purchase a car or bike with very powerful engine and when presented with big insurance bill-and-you suddenly go broke!. You need to think about and take extra caution when it comes to buying a car-as some cars like Ford EcoBoost engines with low litre engines can produce a fair bit of power. As soon as you’ve seen a car you like, the next thing to do is to do a bit of research and find out what insurance group it’s likely to be in; the lesser the better. It might be worth your time looking to additional driving skills courses, as some insurance companies might offer a discount for first time drivers who must have completed Pass Plus Courses too.
Now that you’ve passed a Pass Plus course and perhaps gotten a god car. The easiest way to get cheap car insurance for first time drivers quote is to go through Young Driver insurance specialists. Why? Because they have dealt with thousands of young first time drivers that are just like you. They will provide you with assistance in getting the best kind of insurance for your ride, and will be able to walk you through things like breakdown cover too. It’s essential to make sure you have the right cover, and going through a young driver specialist is a great way to do that.
Getting Cheap Car Insurance for First Time Drivers
Read our ten top tips to help you find the cheapest car insurance for young drivers.
- Select one of the cheapest cars to insure for young drivers
The price of car insurance is a big factor to be considered when looking for your first car to purchase. Every car on the market belongs to one of the fifty different car insurance (50) groups — the cheapest cars to insure for newbies can be found in groups of 1 to 5. This is very important especially for young drivers with fast cars, which prove to typically more expensive in majority of the cases.
- Totally avoid any car modifications
A lot of us grew up enjoying race movies such as Need for speed, Asphalt etc.-and- so-we crave badass car modification such as body kits and alloy wheels. We want to transform our dull cars to hatchbacks with nitro. However, you must avoid them if you truly want to enjoy the best insurance for young drivers because modifications are notoriously known to increase insurance premiums by hundreds of pounds. Again, this is another important information young drivers who want fast cars or who owns fast cars should know.
- Opt for a black box policy: Getting cheap car insurance for first time drivers
Telematics (also known as Black box policies) uses an app or a small device installed in the car to track driving behaviour and usage. Policies such as these will help you beat down the cost of car insurance for first time young drivers as insurer are able to charge premiums on actual driving behaviour rather than on the popular assumption that every young driver is at the risk of making a claim.
If you are looking for ways to get cheap car insurance for first time drivers. Then you might want to consider trying black box. According to quotes generated by uSwitch between November 2016 and January 2017, drivers aged 17-21 with zero claims could save as high as £1,282 by picking black box insurance over a standard policy.
- It is wiser to Pay per year, not per month
The average car insurance for premium for young drivers running into thousands of pounds, it can be tempting to pay per month rather than opting to pay all in one go. It’s usually better and cheaper to pay for the whole year in advance rather than making monthly payment, if you can afford to. You’ll be totally free from the monthly interest charges-and-save money in the process.
- Think and make move to effectively increase your excess: Getting cheap car insurance for first time drivers
If you decide to pay a higher voluntary excess on top of the compulsory excess you’re quoted- you are significantly beating down the cost of your car insurance. However, you should make sure you will be able to afford to pay the excess if you do have an accident-Young inexperienced drivers could struggle to pay £500 or more after an incident.
Also, statistics have showed that young drivers are more likely to make a claim within the first year of driving, so be aware that you could end up churning out the higher voluntary excess later on.
- Think, make research and decide on the level of cover you need
There are two popular types of car cover– comprehensive car cover and third party cover:
- Comprehensive car cover: is perhaps the most expensive car cover because it covers your car and other vehicles should in case an accident occurs.
- Third party cover: is cheaper because it cover the basics. It covers claims against you if you get involved in an accident and injure another person. Included in its cover is the cost of repairing the other person’s car, but not your own.
You should decide today how often you plan to drive, what you can afford to cover and what type of superficial car damage you might be prepared to live with.
- Never make the mistake of believing third-party is the best insurance for young drivers
It’s far better and smarter to compared quotes with different types of cover before you buy. Statistically, the Association of British Insurers reveal that the average third-party, fire and theft premium is more expensive when compared with comprehensive cover because it’s mostly chosen by younger drivers with a bigger tendency to make larger claims.
It would be totally unwise to go for the cheap or cheapest price alone while sacrificing quality over the price—the result could end up costing you more in the long run.
- Add a named driver, but beware of illegal activity-‘fronting’
Your car insurance costs can be reduced by adding an extra named driver to the insurance policy-it works better if they are older and possess more road experience than you, regardless of their gender, although you should avoid those with points.
Note: it is illegal to put the policy in a parent’s name, with the young driver as a named driver when they are in fact the main driver—this is known as fronting and can cause the insurers to reject your claim.
- You need to increase security and limit risk: Getting cheap car insurance for first time drivers
Taking extra security measures such as adding immobiliser or alarm, will, in most cases help get you a cheaper cover. Also, parking your car in the driveway or garage rather than on the street will make it even cheaper as insurers see this as a greater way of minimising risk.
- Shop in One Year
As long as you have maintained continuous insurance for one year it’s time to begin shopping for a cheaper rate.
Getting cheap car insurance for first time drivers can be an intimidating task. Assistance from your parents can make the process a whole lot easier; however, if you go in alone, be brave and stay strong. Ensuring you have car insurance on your vehicle means you’ve taken a bold step in becoming a mobile adult who is also responsible.
Thank you, it’ll be useful for me as I am a first-time driver now!
Hello Monika,
I am so happy it is useful to you. Kindly spread the love by sharing with family and friends.
If I was living there I am sure these tips will come in handy. Nice share.
Hello Juli,
Some parts of it can still be applied regardless of whatever part of the world you come from.
I have two teen drivers in my house…i needed this.
Lolz. That is nice to know; you can show them this article too.
This will be useful as my eldest son approaches the age where he can learn to drive.
That sounds really interesting Phil.
Car insurance is so expensive, and every year we seem to be getting hit with an increase!
That is why we have come up wih this guide- to make sure our readers get the cheapest car insurance as first timers.
Very timely! My husband just found out our car insurance went up $600!!! ugh
$600? that’s a bit on the high side. Hopefully this post helps him reduce it.
This is an incredible post. Your tips will be helpful to the newbie drivers. Thanks for being so detailed and helping everyone understand the basics
Thank you, Anshul
These are really great tips to save on car insurance. Thanks for sharing
Hello Samir. The pleasure is mine.
Thank goodness I came across this post before thinking of purchasing a car.
I am so glad you feel this way.
Great tips, though do not believe there is anything like “cheap” car insurance..ha ha!
Maybe not the “cheapest” but there are “cheap ones with high quality too”
Interesting points! Shall ask my sister to read this before she contemplates getting insurance.
Yes you can Poorna.
I really wish I had this post when it was trying to get insurance. This is so helpful!
Thanks TT!
Useful information. I know when I started driving my mom’s insurance went up drastically. I also had an accident a month after I started driving so I understand.
Wow, that sounds like a lot of cash. That’s bad news. I hope you are a whole lot better at it now
Now, this is something that I’m searching for quite long, you have described nicely everything related to car insurance. I’m going to share this with my friends.
Hello Koul, I am glad this helped you out a lot.
Luckily my kids are still pretty young and I won’t have to worry about this for a long time. But this was very informative!
Glad you liked it, Emily. You could save up the link for them
The kind of car and paying annually are smart tips that make such a difference! It also may make sense to shift to a different provider over time as your circumstances change.
That is so right, Lara.
Useful info! Will keep it in mind. We have been researching new insurance and I will come back to this post.
That’s a smart move, Lauren. Be sure to subscribe too( thanks)
I am not a young or first time driver, however, our insurance is through the roof. I will explore some of these tips for my baby sister.
Well done.Go Drea!
I have been browsing for insurance so it is good to see the tips put together! Thank you
*smiles*. Pleasure is all mine, Scott
living in NYC (my whole life) I can’t really relate as I”ve never had a car, I barely drive at all! haha – But if I did own a car I would definitely get insurance of course. Thanks for sharing so many useful tips and ideas!! xx Bee
Hey Blake. That is nice;driving is not fun to many people.