Car insurance for teens now completely unaffordable?

[ginforall]

Teen is nearing 17 so started looking at potential cars and insurance. I can't believe the prices of car insurance, I knew mine had gone up loads this year, but the price for DS to have his own policy is crazy. For DS it's approx on average £4000 a year depending on the car (this is for older cars, small engines eg VW polo). Do you have the car in your name and add the child to your insurance? Does that make it a lot cheaper? Just interested in how other people mange this?

Car insurance is expensive for teenage drivers. They are higher risk so the costs are eye watering. They do need to build up their own no claims though so it’s just a cost that has to be accepted if your teen wants/needs to be on the road. I’d advise paying annually rather than monthly as that brings the overall cost down. Adding experienced drivers with no accidents/
claims also helps. Do a lot of shopping around, basically get quotes from every comparison website / insurance company you can think of.

My DD17 broached the idea of learning to drive but it would have swallowed up her life savings with nothing left for uni so we said no.

We also live in London so DD gets subsidised travel and there's a regular bus service so at the moment there's no need to get a car yet. Compared with the cost of a car, insurance, road tax, CC, maybe ULEZ and the cost of petrol it's not really worth it unless we move out of the city.

If she went out and got a job and saved up herself I wouldn't have a problem.

So you expect parents to do all the running around until they are 30?

Lots go to college/apprenticeships/want to have some freedom.

How exactly do you expect teens that don't live in a city/town to do anything?

Judging by the number of my 6th formers who drive, I'd say no- I don't teach in an affluent area.

I've also got a real issue that the only cars that are insurable are crap tin box cars.

There should be a power to weight ratio or limiters put on safer cars.

Our foster son 15 was talking about learning to to drive. He was joking that he'd get my car, told him theres no way he'd be able to afford insurance on my 'boy racer corsa' . Def not powerful but def linked to 'daft lads'.

Foster son is 15 and we have asked a friend with a garage to start looking out for a little run around that wouldn't have extreme insurance.

@Ducksurprise it's actually more expensive to insure a car that would be considered an 'old banger' due to the higher likelihood that it wouldn't be looked after/higher likelihood of faults that could result in an accident. That's why some companies offer deals with insurers for newer cars - I think Kia used to do it for some of their small, basic vehicles and were aimed at younger drivers. Not sure if any still do but it was a thing when I last bought a car.

@Bridgertonned yes we have also found that. I think they see a lower value car as a risk as the owner won't mind writing it off.

I get why they don't want teens having powerful cars but a tiny car in rural roads is a big risk. I wouldn't want to drive a small car in the roads near me.

As I said, some will need to, majority do not.
We have lived rural/ small market town.
I and they, learned better planning, no hopping in a car.
They rode bikes. DS2, (only uni kid) the year before uni cycled 8 miles each way to his summer job. Did wonders for his fitness.
DS1 worked in hospitality, shifts rural, walked, cycled and lift shared. Still does, sees no reason to drive.
MN is a funny place, say your DC pay their way aged 18..pearls are clutched in horror as they are children but DC are suddenly adults when it comes to driving.

I do feel this issue is really indicative of the decline in the standards of living in the U.K.

Many parents nowadays are massively squeezed by rocketing mortgage or rent costs, food costs and energy costs and can’t afford to help their teens the way our own parents helped us?

Admiral multi policy including the house, four named drivers (each addition reduced the total by around £30 each, including my DC on provisional as the policy holder on their part of the policy to earn no claims - first year on a 1litre corsa now, with 1 year no claims, a 1.9l Peugeot 306 - both policies around the £500 mark as still learning. No clue on what it will be when passing but it'll be his cost to cover HTH

Oh to add, no black box

*But the majority of 17 year olds do not need cars.

With teens starting work at 6am, an Uber or local taxi would probably be cheaper in the long run than car insurance and maintaining/running a car.

Cars are an expensive luxury and people seem to forget this.*

By this argument, most adults don’t need cars. Walk a bit more, use buses where you can and a taxi where you can’t. Send your kids to a local school, get your food shop delivered, commute by bike.

Many moons ago when I started driving I had a cheap car and 3rd party insurance and my parents as named drivers. Made it much more affordable and an incentive to drive carefully as if I crashed my car those repairs were on me.
Id try 3rd party and see how much less that is

My experience pricing insurance for my 17 year old son - inner London was that the actual car (looking at all group 1 automatics) made zero difference to the astronomical price. (£2,800 with a black box). It’s his age and our address that massively affects it. As he will be driving in london on highly congested roads with lots of v expensive other cars. This was borne by comparing third party with fully comp. They cost the same.

It’s pointless saying oh my child pays £1500 for a ford fiesta why is yours £2500 because it’s to do with location. Adding that they have a part time job upped ours so he gave it up 🤷🏻‍♀️

My sons aged 17 and 20 are both learning at the.moment and about to do their tests. We were ringing round about insurance last weekend to see what quotes we could get and it was horrendous..They will be sharing a car (little 1.1 Toyota augo) so can't get black box insurance. The best price was £4600 for the year,.with a £550 excess! It's so difficult.to.know what to do for the best, we live in an area with poor public transport.and.i think it's best to learn when they're still at home.and.have the time and.money but it is all worrying and the cost prohibitive.

I'm late 50s, my family couldn't help me drive, I had to wait until I could (a) afford it and (b) needed to. Early 20s with children in a rural village, 2 buses a week.
Not being able to afford it is not new. The expectation that you learn at 17 is. unless your parents were loaded

@Dixiechickonhols That’s with Ticker. Involves some kind of black box device, so might not appeal to you, but was so very much cheaper than anywhere else.

@Ducksurprise generally curious why you feel a smaller but modern/reliable car is a worry on rural roads?
Smaller engine = less likely to mistakenly drive too fast on twisting roads. Smaller body = easier to manage when passing other traffic on narrow lanes. I say that as someone who had to drive all over Devon in a picanto!

Theres a risk of holding up other drivers on faster routes sure, but that's not on the small car driver to feel undue pressure on, you just have to learn to cope with tailgaters who think that because they know the road they should be able to drive like it's a race track.

I am in my 30s and didn't get help. I did not expect help. It isn't a new thing.

Thank you.

@blondieminx not sure where/when you grew up, but in my relatively affluent market town in the 90s, no one in sixth form had cars. Lots supported to get their licence, but not to have an actual car - named on their parents if they were sensible enough but that was it.

Anyone who had their own car would have found themselves incredibly popular.

We definitely need less cars on the roads!

My parents were teachers, not loaded at all.

I grew up fairly rurally. The bus service is shite. All my friends and I did our driving as soon as we could.