teenagers and car insurance

[strictlycaballine]

I'm asking this on behalf of a family member ...
(didn't know whether to post under teenagers topic or here)

If a teenager (aged 17) has just passed their driving test in the UK and is no longer eligible for reasonable car insurance (with adult in car) are there any affordable options thereafter?

As I understand it, it's going to cost over £4000 to buy fully comprehensive insurance for their ordinary family car and that's prohibitively expensive for the family concerned. He would be willing to carry on driving with a parent in the car (to continue to gain experience) or to drive within certain prescribed hrs (not after 6pm for example) but not sure if those sort of options exist in the motor insurance world?

Does anyone have any advice/ideas please?

Look for companies that fit a smart box to the car (the Co-Op is one company, I think Coverbox is another).

Could they not get the teenager a very cheap second hand car .. I brought a fiat seicento for £495 it had a tiny 1 litre engine and the insurance (3rd party fire and theft) was £50 a month as a new driver..

Also Pass Plus can reduce insurance costs.

I'll be watching this with interest.

My DD will be 17 soon. She wants to learn to ride a scooter or to drive a car. I've told her the main expense that will scupper this plan is insurance costs.

I don't have a car, so no insurance. Her father does, but lives at a different address.

How do people afford it?

I did hear on the news recently about an insurance scheme whereby young drivers agree not to drive between 11pm and 6am, when most accidents involving young drivers apparently take place. I'll see if I can google it. It may be just a proposal?

Ah, X-posted.

Is the smart box to monitor hours of driving?

I think the box monitors almost everything about their driving. They were just starting to come in as my to passed their tests. There's some info about the Co-Op one here.

Wow! Thanks for all the prompt responses - much appreciated!

hellhasnofury had no idea such things existed - thank you - will google

Fairylea that is obviously one option - thank you - but the teenager concerned wants to explore other options first (will show his parents that he is being responsible etc)

OldLady thanks - will google that one too!

linerunner thanks, would be very interested in the limited hours option if your search comes back with anything! Will have a look too!

Will pass all the information on ...really useful .. thanks again

x post

Thanks for link Hell!

Presumably Fairylea you aren't a 17 yr old boy, or you wouldn't have been able to get insurance for a "mere" £600 a year!

Trouble with the boxes, that I can't understand is, how do they know who is driving the car, if it is also a car you drive ? If I had a box fitted to my little old car for ds, then that would presumably not be able to differentiate between me driving it and him driving it ?

Unfortunately fit boys it seems the only way to get affordable insurance is to pass the test asap and then just not drive for a couple of years.....this us bonkers I know but seems the only way it becomes affordable.
Driving an old banger is possible but putting a new driver in a car that's got 12 yr old safety standards and a high risk if mechanical failure seems a bit mad too!

Nope I passed at 25 so I admit I know nothing but thought my experience was still worth sharing even if the exact figures are not the same.

Backforgood thanks - yes - the teenager concerned is a boy - unfortunately in this instance!

Theas18 yes, thank you, that's it exactly! Someone who has just passed their test won't magically become safer at driving (imo) if they stop driving for two years. Surely it is better to capitalise on new-found skills/safest driving techniques and keep practicing - even if it is still with an adult alongside? I would love to know if there is insurance provision for that.
Also, I so agree that driving an old banger is not the safest option either.

Fairylea yes - all info v. welcome He may yet have to opt for old banger option!

The 'old banger' doesn't bring the price down hugely though - the vast majority of the insurance money they will have to pay, is for any damage they may cause to others - the value of their own car is hardly here nor there in the insurers' eyes.

For my kids it has proved better value for them to drive cars that are not associated the cars that young drivers take and turn into hothatches so they've avoid things like older Corsas/Saxos/Peugouts and went for a Skoda. Not cool for sure but the premiums were lower.

oh I see .. that's a good point BackforGood

Hell thanks but his family car is a Fiat Multipla or similar (I think - I'm useless at i.d-ing cars) and still the projected insurance costs are ££££££££££££

his family's

Hell, yes that's the scheme I must have been thinking about - thanks for the link.

My DS passed his test then went to University so did not get a car. When he was home in the summer he got a quote for insurance on my car, a small ford fiesta, for 28 days It was about £330 with an excess of £1000 , He was aged 19 and he did not take it. I think he was more worried about the £1000 excess if he done any damage.

This was a stand alone short term insurance which did not affect mine at all so it was like having 2 insurances on the same car for different drivers.

Hopefully when he comes out of university in 2 years time, insurance will be a bit more affordable, and at least he has got his driving licence so he can get a car then.

I think Young Marmalade do a scheme where a young person can buy a new car including insurance, but that is buying a new car which is expensive in itself.

-ing prices QuiteOldGal! Thanks for Young Marmalade tip - will take a look!

Get a Group 1 Insurance car!

We have a 2010 Toyota Aygo. It cost £500 extra to add DS to insurance as a learner (Total just under £800 for the 3 of us) but the quote was c.£2000 for him, me & DH to drive it once he has passed. Still not great - but cheaper than a lot (with Admiral).
Sometimes newer lower Ins group cars are cheaper to insure than old bangers.
Toyota Aygo, Citroen C1 & Peugeot 107 all the same car. Skoda Fabia also cheap to insure but bigger. Keep the engine to 1 litre MAX.

Newer cars have better safety features and therefore less likely to hurt other people your driving with (statistically young men would tend to drive with other young men) so lots of young people injured or worse other young men tend to encourage other men to drive badly. At the end of this year insurance companies won't be able to charge differently for men and women so - likelihood is that young women's insurance will rise too though they statistically are less likely to have expensive accidents.

the main thing is engine size,you really need1.2 or below.Ds has a 1.2 Corsa and we use insurethebox,his quote was high last year but has dropped by over £1300 to £640 this year and he is the main driver.He also has a limited mileage ,only 6000 a year but it really brings the price down.

Yo get an idea ,look at cars on Ebay and put the registration number into insurance quote websites,the differences were amazing.Cars I thought would be cheap to insure were massively expensive and others not so bad .If you choose a car which is common among young drivers that make will come up as expensive because it may have a poor accident record

Insurance for male drivers meant to come down a bit on December 21st. Its to do with sex discrimination, so females insurances will rise and males will go down , so may be worth waiting until after then for a teenage boy to get insurance.
www.saga.co.uk/money/news/insurance-equality-ruling-for-men-and-women.aspx

Obviously a teenage girl would want to get insured before then.