Young & new driver car insurance
RAC offers specialist car insurance options for young and new drivers. As a newly qualified or younger driver, you’re likely to face higher premiums. This guide gives you more information on the different types of young driver car insurance, and how they could help you keep the cost down.
What type of insurance do young drivers need?
There are several insurance options for young drivers, each offering various levels of cover.
Comprehensive insurance is our highest level of protection. It covers damage to your car and yourself and compensates a third party if you’re involved in an accident.
Alternatively, Third Party, Fire and Theft insurance offers third party cover. It also provides protection for your car if it’s stolen or damaged by fire. But it doesn't cover repair costs for your own vehicle, unlike comprehensive insurance.
Third-party insurance is the minimum legal requirement for driving. It covers damage to other people’s property. But it does not provide any protection for your own vehicle.
Young & new driver car insurance options
We offer a few types of young and new driver car insurance that could help you save money.
Temporary car insurance
If you need to borrow a car and aren’t covered by an existing policy, temporary car insurance covers you for 1 hour up to 30 days.
Black box car insurance
Black box car insurance uses clever technology to monitor how you drive. This data could then help to lower your premium for the next year.
Learner driver insurance
We offer learner driver insurance that can be taken out from as little as a day up to 5 months. That means you can get valuable practice to help you pass your test.
What type of policy should I choose?
Understanding the right car insurance for new drivers can be a confusing process. There are three main cover levels you should know about before committing to an insurance provider. You need to choose the right insurance to suit your needs, and they vary in price. This is why finding cheap car insurance for young drivers can be so challenging.
What is comprehensive car insurance?
Comprehensive car insurance covers damage to yourself, your car as well as compensating a third party if you’re involved in an accident.
What is third party, fire and theft car insurance?
Third party, fire and theft car insurance is third party coverage. But it also covers your car if it’s stolen or damaged by fire. It doesn’t protect against the cost of repairs.
What is third party car insurance?
Third party car insurance is the minimum legal level of cover you need to drive a car. It covers any damage caused to other people's property but not your own car.
Why is new driver car insurance so expensive?
If you’re a young or newly qualified driver (typically aged between 17 and 24 years of age), you’re much more likely to experience high car insurance costs. The reason is simple. Young and new drivers are statistically more likely to be involved in an accident than experienced drivers, so there's a higher risk involved in insuring them. Your level of experience and age are the main factors for pricing up young driver car insurance.
Reasons young & new driver insurance is expensive:
Your occupation
Some jobs will have you spending more time on the road or in areas that insurers deem risky. This is why it’s important to be as accurate as possible when describing your occupation.
Your car or vehicle
The more expensive your car is, the more it will cost to replace; but the older your car is the more unreliable it may be. Even if your car was cheap to buy, insurers will take into account how safe they believe it to be on the road. Insurers will also look at how desirable your car is, and so how likely it is to be stolen or broken into. If your car has a big engine, this can increase the cost of new driver insurance, as it has more power.
Your postcode
If you live in a built-up area the risk of accidents is a lot greater, which can increase prices. However, if you live in the countryside where the roads are quieter, this can typically reduce young driver insurance premiums.
How often you'll use the car
If you plan to use your car every day for work, or commuting, you can expect to pay more than if you just use your car on the weekends.
How to make car insurance cheaper for younger drivers?
New driver car insurance can be expensive, so finding any way to reduce the cost can help young drivers to get out on the road. You’ll find that the cost of car insurance will only dramatically improve once you’ve become a more experienced driver. However, there are ways to get cheaper car insurance for young drivers which our reducing new driver insurance guide covers in more detail.
1. Black box technology for new or young drivers
Having a black box fitted, also known as telematics, could be a cheaper car insurance option for young drivers. Black box car insurance is so popular because it provides feedback on your driving style and then rewards new drivers based on how safe their driving is.
2. Pay annually for your new driver insurance
If you can afford to pay the annual premium for your young driver insurance in one go, it can save more than paying monthly. This is because there are no additional monthly interest payments which can add up.
3. Increase the voluntary excess on your new driver insurance
When you’re getting a quote for young driver car insurance, you’ll be asked how much you’re comfortable to pay should you need to claim. This is called voluntary excess. If you increase the amount you pay towards this, you’ll find that your overall premium will decrease. Voluntary excess is only paid when you make a claim on your insurance.
Increasing your voluntary excess can reduce the cost of young driver insurance. But it’s important to make sure you could afford to pay the amount if you did need to make a claim.
4. Add a second driver
If you add an older, second driver to a young driver car insurance policy your premium may come down. This is because a more experienced driver will be using the car for some of the time. It’s important that the second driver does use the vehicle, so you don’t invalidate your insurance. If a young driver is added onto a more experienced driver’s policy (as a second driver), but the younger driver uses the car more frequently than the named driver, you could be committing fraud. This is called fronting and it’s illegal.
5. Ensure your car is safe and secure
The safety of the vehicle is determined by how it’s stored when it’s not being driven and the level of security the vehicle has. If it’s fitted with an alarm, immobiliser, or another validated security device, it may help to reduce your young driver insurance costs. Find out more information on the official Thatcham’s alarm categories.
Young & new driver car insurance FAQs
If you hold a full driving licence or provisional licence, you can be added onto your parents’ existing policy. However, when you become a named driver on your parents’ insurance you can’t be the most frequent user. It’s illegal for you to be a named driver on a more experienced driver’s policy if you plan to use the car more than they do.
A way to help combat the expense of young driver insurance is to have yourself added as a named driver on your family’s car. You must not use the car more than the primary driver on the policy, as this could be classed as fraud. To add someone to an existing policy you’ll need to ring up your insurance provider.
If you’re already an RAC Black Box customer and you wish to add another driver, you’re able to do this online. If you have a standard RAC Car Insurance policy, you can add another driver here.
The cost to add a named driver onto an existing policy will vary depending on the insurance provider.
If you’re already an RAC Black Box customer and you wish to add another driver, you’re able to do this online. If you have a standard RAC Car Insurance policy, you can add another driver here.
Car insurance for young drivers is particularly expensive due to the risks associated with younger or less experienced drivers. Which car you choose can also impact the price significantly due to increased risk and costs of repairing the car if you have an accident. A powerful car, with a bigger engine and a fast acceleration will typically cost more than a modest mid-range car.
Each new car model is assigned an insurance group from 1 to 50 – the lower the grouping, the cheaper the car should be to insure. Cars in the higher groupings tend to be performance vehicles which are likely to cost the insurer the most when it comes to claims. It’s certainly worth bearing in mind which insurance group any new car falls into before purchasing.
Having no, no claims discount (NCD) says to an insurer that you either have very little experience driving and haven’t been able to build any NCD up, or that you have claimed recently and lost any NCD you previously had. Either could mark you as a bigger risk to insurers than other road users.
Age and driving experience both affect the price you’ll pay for your insurance. So if you’re an older first-time driver, you won’t pay as much as a younger first-time driver, but you’ll usually pay more than a driver who passed their test a while ago.
No, there’s no legal requirement for young drivers to have a black box – but it can help reduce the price you pay. Insurance usually costs more for younger drivers, and having black box insurance can help you reduce that cost over time.
If you passed your test less than a year ago, you’re considered an inexperienced driver, and if you’re under 25 you’re considered a young driver.
Page reviewed by: David Buxton