Car insurance for teens now completely unaffordable?

17 year olds are 'kids' the brain is not fully mature until the age of 25.

That was in response to a number of posters saying 17 year old 'kids' dont need cars. Not all 17 year olds are 'kids' in the same way not all adults need cars.

@Mademetoxic you do realise some 17/28 year olds work right?
my ds is 18 and works full time so has a car he bought , pays for and insures etc Totally self funded as ne works, not everyone goes to uni

For lal those saying 17 year olds don’t need to drive, that depends on where you live
our buses stop at 6pm dont start until 8 and barely a service on a sunday, so ds had to learn at 17 , also ready for when 18 and left college and got a job.
we both work and can’t run him to work as well at all times.

Lessons aren’t going to get cheaper so it’s good to get it out of the way, and it’s relevant and useful for CVs and job applications. My DD (now 18) has a part time job she wouldn’t be able to do without a car (think theme park type of job) and has friends she wouldn’t be able to see much without relying on us for lifts there and back. So yes, it’s expensive, but it’ll be more expensive in 3 years. Now it’s done we don’t have to think about it anymore.

Oh, interesting! Not sure if it was insurance fronting as it was her car which I drove occasionally but she used for work. I also must have had my own policy at some point because I built up no claims as time went by.

What you described sounded like it could be insurance fronting. A long time ago though, presumably you are no longer doing things like that.

https://www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/content/fronting/

@MindHowYouGoes How?

We don’t see learning to drive as a luxury, we see it as a life skill. We lived very rurally when our children were 17. The buses to college were infrequent and unreliable. I didn’t want them to ride their bikes down narrow, unlit country lanes to get to college on freezing cold, rainy Winter days and nights either. We were, also, fed up of driving them to their friends houses all weekend and their jobs. They needed their independence.

When you live in a town or a city, with a bus stop at the end of your road, or shops within walking distance life is totally different.

Answering your points in the sane order -

I don’t see why you’re so concerned about how my dd funds her car. She works pt earning a decent wage while at uni. If she didn’t, no doubt we’d cover what was needed.

Her car IS a luxury and there’s no rule that says car owners must fund their cars themselves. As it is, DD doesn’t NEED to know, understand or experience self-funding her car, neither is it a prerequisite of car ownership. Should the car become unaffordable for us all, it’ll undoubtedly have to be sold. Very very very unlikely, but that’s what would happen in theory.

Driving lessons at 17 are an option, not a rush. An option that is available for my dc.

Why do you presume to know ‘my circumstances’ better than I do? Our decisions about dc driving are not based on being ‘easier or cheaper’, and not a problem that needs you to try solving.

Poster means naming parents on the teen’s policy so their policy but with added drivers. It can save money. I always go on DH’s car as it’s cheaper with me on too even though I rarely drive it.

Very good point about your last sentence. ^^

It does seem.to fall into 2 camps here..Those saying its a.luxuary in the main live in large towns with good youth job opertunitys and public transport . TBH adults of all ages don't really need a car there. Just back from London, public transport. was amazing. The other group which is where we are, very small market town , 1 bus an hour, starts at 8 stops at 6, every 2 hours from 9 on a.Saturday nothing Sunday. DD 16 can't get a job locally, to get to the local.larger town see the bus issues and only work locally is bar/ restaurants. Taxis cost £25 one way so would wipe out a 5 hour shift on minimum wage. Uber dosnt exist. I work.so not always able to drive her, dad blind so can't drive either now and also at the mercy of buses. Ds now at uni passed his test at 18, has a local bar job in the holidays , borrows my car to get there and is on marmalade. Thankfully he will be 21 before his sister lerns so will add him.to my insurance and put her on marmalade. He drives.my fiesta but also his dad's motabiliy car a Honda crv and has done since he passed..when he takes his dad out. Luckily the scheme.covers his insurance, and having 2 driver's when he's home is amazing. Driving is not a luxury unless public transport is good.

Having them as named drivers, you're responsible for any accidents they might have. So it will put your policy up.

Thinking about how much my car costs to run & maintain (and it's the smallest car possible) I don't even see how a young person under the age of 23 can afford to run their own car at all.

Having a car is a luxury. Young teens/people do not seem to realise and only do realise when older and funding it yourself, without the bank on mum and dad. (And your daughter's wouldn't understand this either as you paid for their actual car)

Why was there a need to rush to have lessons at 17? You said yourself that it's a 'want' and not a 'need'

For your circumstances your daughter's would be easier and cheaper to use public transport.

Small engine.
Black box.
You and DH both as named drivers.
Only insure for the milage that the car will be driven.

You can always teach them yourself. I taught DS. I spent time online researching then planned the first few lessons. Then I made him drive everywhere for 3 months. He drove the 11 miles to school ( rural then into the city) and also drove home. We spent at least an hour every evening pottering around the city ( where he took his test) so he had experience of urban driving.
He passed 2nd time. His first test he failed because he pulled up on a curb ( all the cars on the road were parked on the curb) but knew immediately he’d messed up.
We calculated that he had done at least 150hrs of driving when he took his first test.
It doesn’t have to cost a fortune but you do have to have nerves of steel and infinite patience.
I think we only fell out once, he is a quick learner and is easy to coach. We did have great fun though.

Not quite. As I said, my eldest has already had her car for over a year, but only passed in July. She funds it herself.

My middle dd might be a different story though, I grant you that, but we’ll see when that time comes.

Just to point out that in rural areas you need to pay for a double lesson in order to get somewhere with standard road driving. That in excess of £60 round here. The average driver needs 40 lessons apparently so that’s £1200 plus the £23 theory test. Then it’s the £60 test plus the extended session to use the instructors car if needed.
That’s nearly £1.5k before you even get to buying and insuring an actual car. It’s out of the reach of many families sadly. No matter how much they need their own transport compared to those in cities. I think it would boost the economy no end if everyone rurally could drive.

We have two family cars. DS is the main driver on the smaller one but it is not “his “ car. He does use it the most and drove himself to school every day once he passed his test. It wasn’t the plan, but DH had a stroke and wasn’t able to drive for a while. This caused logistic problems because we are rural. The only solution was for DS to drive himself.
He's now on a gap year and is around when I’m at work to chauffeur his dad around when needed. DH can drive again but is no longer confident on unfamiliar routes.
To be honest it has been a godsend, having another driver has taken the pressure off me. Depending on the premiums I am going to put him as named driver on our big car so that when he goes to Uni he will be able to do some of the driving.

When I learned to drive my dad let me borrow one of the cars at home in exchange for driving my younger sisters to after school activities. Most evenings I was taxiing them somewhere.

Although we refer to the car as DS’s we just replaced one of our cars with one he could drive. We had two cars before hand we still have just two cars.

But you are funding their cars as you're paying for their insurance. Without that they'll be driving illegally.
They're in for a nasty shock when they have to pay their insurance themselves when their first year runs out, alongside their MOT, car repairs etc....

Do you know what 1/5 of 67 million is?

@Bridgertonned because on dark rural roads with large agricultural vehicles, pot holes, floods and big vehicles I know what comes out best.

That’s insurance fraud

Also, is shame the opposite of pride? As I don’t see why my dc might feel shame, in not funding their cars.

Like anything else we give them, they feel grateful and then get on with it.

I do see your point to some extent, but I think it’s an odd way to look at a car purchase.