Car insurance for young drivers

According to our price monitor ‘Tiger Watch’ *there has been a 40% plus increase in premiums for young drivers aged 17-21 over the last 12 months. However we are here to help, we have a large list of insurers on our panel some of which specialise in young drivers car insurance.

Having a driving licence is a big milestone in a young driver’s life as it provides a new sense of independence, but high insurance premiums can be a stumbling block when it comes to getting on the roads.

Why is insurance often more expensive for younger drivers?

Younger drivers can present a bigger risk to insurance providers as statistically they are more likely to be involved in accidents. According to the Driving Standards Agency:

• 1 in 5 drivers have an accident within their first year of driving.
• Male drivers under the age of 21 are 10 times more likely to be involved in a car accident than male drivers who are older (over 35 years old).
• 1 in every 3 male drivers aged 17 to 20 have an accident within the first 2 years of passing their test.
• An 18 year old driver is more than 3 times as likely to be involved in a crash as a 48 year old.

All this has an implication on the cost of car insurance for young drivers. Insurance providers tend to pay more on policies that are held by younger drivers and as such, they charge this group of drivers more for their car insurance.

Younger women drivers have not historically been penalised to the same extent as younger men but this is likely to change as a result of a recent EU gender ruling that come into effect in late 2012.

For many young drivers a great way of getting round this is to go for telematics insurance. Telematics insurance, which is sometimes known as black box insurance or pay as you drive insurance will involve a tracker or black box being installed in your car. This will record your driving habits such as when you drive, how fast you drive, how quickly you accelerate and decelerate and how far you drive, your premium will be adjusted depending on whether your driving habits are considered good. What the black box records depends on which telematics insurer you use.

Telematics might not be for every young driver and so there are other options available for you. Some insurers generally specialise in car insurance for young drivers, others will give you a good rate for the car you drive or the postcode you live in and there is no harm in getting lots of quotes!

Bringing the price down!

There are a number of things that young drivers can do to help bring their insurance prices down:

• If you own the car you must be the principal driver on the insurance policy but sometimes putting older siblings, parents or grandparents on the policy as a second driver could help you to obtain cheap car insurance for young drivers.
• Start off small. Having a small car will make it easier to find cheap car insurance for young drivers. Insurers aren't too keen on the idea of young or inexperienced motorists driving cars with large engines.
• Likewise avoid modifying your car, even something as small as buying a new stereo can count as a modification and insurers will often charge higher premiums for modified cars.
• Fitting safety devices like immobilisers and trackers can help young drivers find cheap car insurance.
• Don't forget about the approved driving course known as the Pass Plus. Taking it can help bring down the cost of your car insurance.
• Don't forget to shop around: as mentioned above car insurance for young drivers varies from insurer to insurer. Tiger.co.uk provide you with a great way of doing this via our easy to use price comparison quote engine.
• We hope that with our advice you could be better placed to find cheap car insurance for young drivers. To get a young driver car insurance quote, simply click the "Get a quote today" button at the bottom of the page.

Get a quote today!

*Tiger Watch 2011