Insurance and learner drivers
Insurance and learner drivers
Author
Discussion

wickedtopspeed

Original Poster:

134 posts

203 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
quotequote all
Good Morning,
Does anyone have any advice on what makes and models of cars are deemed suitable, from an insurance company viewpoint, for both learner, and young drivers.

Just trying to work out what I should be looking for, for the kids.

Many thanks

Geffg

1,347 posts

135 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
quotequote all
Anything small really. I’m doing the same for my daughter. Just looking round for a cheap fiesta / ka / Clio etc. Getting quotes of around £210 to insure for her as a learner and around £1200 once she passes her test.

CarCrazyDad

4,280 posts

65 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
quotequote all
wickedtopspeed said:
Good Morning,
Does anyone have any advice on what makes and models of cars are deemed suitable, from an insurance company viewpoint, for both learner, and young drivers.

Just trying to work out what I should be looking for, for the kids.

Many thanks
Anything small?

Polo, 107/C1, Clio etc?

Dimebars

1,084 posts

124 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
quotequote all
Insurance for learners is reasonably cheap on the basis that they're constantly supervised

It's when the test is passed that the fun begins

limpsfield

6,678 posts

283 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
quotequote all
Dimebars said:
Insurance for learners is reasonably cheap on the basis that they're constantly supervised

It's when the test is passed that the fun begins
This is the thing.

When they pass that's when you start really paying - my son had a black box policy for at least a couple of years.

The car then was 1.0 VW UP which at least seemed relatively insurance-friendly.

wickedtopspeed

Original Poster:

134 posts

203 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
quotequote all
Thanks for the replies.

andybracing

159 posts

203 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
quotequote all
I would say that a small car is the worst way to go, insurance companys go on historical data, so going against the norm is the best way for cheap insurance, most kids have a corse/fiesta etc, and they get crashed alot.
Not many youngsters drive a 7 series.
Its what i had aged 17, and my insurance was way cheaper than all my friends in small cars, the fuel bills not so much. Mind you this was a while ago, so things may have changed.

Draxindustries1

1,657 posts

53 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
quotequote all
andybracing said:
I would say that a small car is the worst way to go, insurance companys go on historical data, so going against the norm is the best way for cheap insurance, most kids have a corse/fiesta etc, and they get crashed alot.
Not many youngsters drive a 7 series.
Its what i had aged 17, and my insurance was way cheaper than all my friends in small cars, the fuel bills not so much. Mind you this was a while ago, so things may have changed.
Most insurance companies don't like much over 1.4 litre for new drivers. The premiums go from expensive to ridiculous. The BMW would be okay if it was a 712 or 714..

RicksAlfas

14,559 posts

274 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
quotequote all
If you already have a suitable car for learning on, you can use this policy to tag on to yours:
https://www.veygo.com/learner-driver-insurance/

We found it very useful as it was flexible. One day, one week, one month etc.

I found Hastings Direct with a black box was cheapest once our son had passed. This was on a Clio 1.2. (Surprisingly with 100bhp!).

PistonBroker

2,724 posts

256 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
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Only way is to try the various comparison sites, tbf and, as another poster has said, it can be worth thinking outside the box and trying the next model up. E.g. a small-engined Focus over a Fiesta.

My Dad's giving up his MINI Cooper so I've convinced him to let my daughter have it next year. I've run some quotes as if she's 17 already and passed her test and they're coming out at £900-odd. A MINI One was only about £100 less.

I know I can trust her with a relatively pokey car for a beginner. But my youngest will be getting something with less power, regardless of insurance value for money. I've seen him in a kart!

cobra kid

5,600 posts

270 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
quotequote all
Sorry to hijack the thread...my daughter turns 17 on New Years Day (first baby in the county in 2006!) and obviously will be able to start learning then.

The mention of black boxes raises this question for me - are they for cars that will be driven solely by her or by wife as well? We have a Fiesta that my wife drives and my daughter will learn in that and then possibly be insured on it if/when she passes.

limpsfield

6,678 posts

283 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
quotequote all
cobra kid said:
Sorry to hijack the thread...my daughter turns 17 on New Years Day (first baby in the county in 2006!) and obviously will be able to start learning then.

The mention of black boxes raises this question for me - are they for cars that will be driven solely by her or by wife as well? We have a Fiesta that my wife drives and my daughter will learn in that and then possibly be insured on it if/when she passes.
Congratulations!

I suppose it depends if they are the main driver - but maybe not.

When my son passed, I set him up as the main driver to start building up some NCD. I was on as a driver too, but the black box insurance alternatives were the cheapest (by about £1,000 I think).

Best thing to do is run some quotes and see.

As previously mentioned, when they are still learning, costs are not as high as they have a qualified driver with them. First couple of years after the test are the expensive ones in my experience.

VS02

2,420 posts

90 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
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Draxindustries1 said:
andybracing said:
I would say that a small car is the worst way to go, insurance companys go on historical data, so going against the norm is the best way for cheap insurance, most kids have a corse/fiesta etc, and they get crashed alot.
Not many youngsters drive a 7 series.
Its what i had aged 17, and my insurance was way cheaper than all my friends in small cars, the fuel bills not so much. Mind you this was a while ago, so things may have changed.
Most insurance companies don't like much over 1.4 litre for new drivers. The premiums go from expensive to ridiculous. The BMW would be okay if it was a 712 or 714..
Sorry, got to echo Andy’s post and say you don’t always know.


I’m a young driver (19) and when I was 17, I had a 1.0 60ps VW Polo, but a Mercedes E240 that I inherited was cheaper to insure… ans a Ford Fiesta ecoboost was more than double

These are quotes I got recently on cars for your comparison




Audi A6 4.2..

The


Honda Civic Type-R




VS


Kia Ceed 1.4



Volkswagen Golf 1.6 TDI




So Andy’s got a point. Just shop around

LuS1fer

43,543 posts

275 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
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My son turns 17 in January and so I've been running some quotes and have arrived at the following conclusions:

1. Any purchase cost has to be offset by the cost of VED. Older cars have higher VED, newer ones can be zero or £30. Calculate the offset as it can be £1000 extra, over a few years.

2. Old cars are generally more expensive to insure - less security and safety/injury. Example: a nice 1999 Seat Ibiza is nearer £1300 a year to insure compared to around £750 for newer cars.

3. There are several cars I looked at which fall into that bracket (prices will vary on your geographical area) - Swift SZ4, Twingo SCE70TCE90, Daihatsu Copen and one I'm keeping close to my chest as it's a bargain for what it offers. Using a comparator like Go Compare allows you to keep going back and changing the car.

4. Adding an older second driver brings down the premium.

5. Insuring several days ahead will drag down the premium. Insuring on a Friday is more as they have the whole weekend to go mad. Insure ahead from the Monday and I saved £120 on my daughter's insurance.

This may not be true for everyone but I did do a quote on him as a learner driver, me supervising and it was still just under £700 so i think it better if he passes his test first.

Edited by LuS1fer on Tuesday 29th November 14:33

lost in espace

6,616 posts

237 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
quotequote all
My daughter just passed and we got a 2008 Cooper, £1100 on a black box with Ticker. In a whole month there was 1 day when it was £100 cheaper to insure so check all the days! It was this or a newer Up, with higher purchase price and lower running costs. She dented it within 24 hours, so I am kind of grateful I went for a cheaper car.

My son is 17 in Feb, thinking about getting an older C1 for him to have on his own policy from his birthday just to get started on the NCB and have him drive me in it whenever we go out. My daughter can tell him how to pass the test and drive to these new standards, hopefully with a quick pass and few lessons.

RicksAlfas

14,559 posts

274 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
quotequote all
cobra kid said:
Sorry to hijack the thread...my daughter turns 17 on New Years Day (first baby in the county in 2006!) and obviously will be able to start learning then.

The mention of black boxes raises this question for me - are they for cars that will be driven solely by her or by wife as well? We have a Fiesta that my wife drives and my daughter will learn in that and then possibly be insured on it if/when she passes.
The black boxes tend to be for new driver's own insurance policy. e.g. My son has his own car with a black box. It connects to his phone so only measures his driving. When I take the car it doesn't measure mine.

In your case the Fiesta will presumably be insured in your wife's name with your daughter as a named driver so I don't think a black box would apply.

LuS1fer

43,543 posts

275 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
quotequote all
Oh and remember not all comparator sites are the same. Go Compare offer the £250 excess insurance for free, Mony Supermarket tends to be slightly cheaper for the same policy etc.

anonymous-user

84 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
quotequote all
Might be hopelessly out of date now but when I was 19 my insurance on a 1600 Westfield was 200 and change which was 1/5 what all my friends were paying driving 205's and Fiestas... more interesting than the usual dross if the kid is into cars...

Pedro25

418 posts

60 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
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Just got my 17.5yr old a Kia Picanto 67 reg. No bluetooth or cd player so less of a distraction for her. Insurance a grand with mum and I as named drivers but fully insured in the teenagers name as policy holder. Still has some Kia warranty for 2 years to run, that will do her whilst she now learns to drive properly!

alscar

10,018 posts

243 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
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All our 3 children had Fiestas - 1.2 / 1.25.
All insured with Admiral individually and then my eldest took over as the policy administrator rather than me and they got a multi car policy.
As other replies obviously until test passed , premiums are relatively ok and then upon passing just prepare for a painful hike.
No black boxes.
Adding us as named drivers helped reduce premiums.
All policies held in their own name so no fronting issues and the ability to start to earn NCB whilst under supervision.