Car insurance for new drivers

The best way to find cheap car insurance is to search various different tiers of insurance on multiple comparison sites. 

There are some sites that just look at insurance for young drivers, but, we'd recommend using these in tandem with as many different comparison sites as possible, as prices will vary depending on a whole host of factors such as age, location and car make.

Thinking about the way you present yourself to insurers can also help lower costs. Consider the following tips when requesting quotes from car insurance providers:

Adding an experienced driver to the policy can help bring costs down

Adding a more experienced driver to your car insurance policy can knock off £100s. If you’re a young driver living with your parents this could be your Mum or Dad – but it can also work for new drivers of any age. Just make sure it's someone you know, who might realistically drive the car.

Premiums are based on how risky you are perceived to be, so by adding extra, more reliable drivers to your policy, you should bring the average risk down.

This trick is all about trial and error: sometimes adding one family member to your policy will bring the price down, but it another won't.

Important: Never misrepresent who the main driver is. This is fraud and could invalidate your insurance and result in a criminal conviction. 

Try tweaking your job title to get a cheaper quote

If you’re employed, using the right job title when applying for car insurance can lead to considerable savings.

This is because the algorithms insurers use consider some jobs safer bets than others. For example, a 'PA' would often get cheaper insurance than a secretary.

So, if your role could realistically be described in multiple ways, test them all out and go for the cheapest option.

Try our Job Picker tool to see if you could benefit from this trick. 

Agreeing to pay a higher excess could reduce the cost of your insurance

Your 'excess' is the fee you agree to pay your insurer in the event that you have to make a claim. You can usually set this when taking out your policy, and if you agree to pay a higher excess, it can make your premium cheaper. 

You should only do this if you know you’ll be able to afford it. You never know what might happen, and choosing an extremely high excess with the assumption that you’ll never have to claim could mean you’ll have to shell out more in the long term. 

Consider short-term car insurance

• Pay annually. Paying once a year rather than each month tends to be cheaper.
  
  
• Park car in secure location. If you're able to park your car off road on a drive, or better yet a garage, let your insurer know. This can drop the cost of your insurance.
  
  
• Do an advanced driver course. Other than polishing your skills, sometimes completing one of these course can help you seem less risky to your insurer – meaning you'll get access to lower priced policies.