
Young Drivers' Insurance
Tips, discounts, cashback & more
The cost of car insurance for under-25s had dropped a bit in 2020, because of coronavirus, as lockdown has meant there've been fewer claims. But, with the average car insurance cost for a 20-24-year-old over £900/yr, premiums are still eye-wateringly high. Use our step-by-step guide to find out how you can cut costs.
Aged 25 or over? Head over to our main Car Insurance guide.

Tip Email
FREE Weekly MoneySaving email
For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes simply sign up today - it’s spam free!
10 ways to cut young drivers' car insurance costs
Here are our top car insurance cost-cutting tips for young drivers that can save you £100s.
Tip Email
FREE Weekly MoneySaving email
For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes simply sign up today - it’s spam free!
How to find the cheapest car insurance
Once you know the basics from our top 10 tips for cutting costs, it's time to follow the steps below.
Warning: No matter how tempted you are to say someone else is the main driver, or to pretend you have no points, or to deliberately underestimate your mileage to get a cheaper premium – don't. You must be completely honest or it could invalidate your insurance and even lead to prosecution.

Firstly, visit the comparison sites as these zip your details off to a number of insurers' and brokers' websites to find the cheapest quotes. As no single site captures the entire market and prices vary, combining a number of sites is the best way to make a saving. It's best to use all four, but if you don't have time, we've ranked them in order of the sites that most often return the cheapest quotes so you've the best chance of bagging the top deal.

First try Confused.com* as our analysis shows it gives the cheapest quote for the majority of people.

If you move on to MoneySupermarket* next it'll boost your chances of getting the cheapest quote as it was the second-best site.

Thirdly, get a quote from Compare The Market* as it's the next best at returning a cheap quote.

Then try Gocompare* (next best) as it'll mean you've covered all of the big four comparison sites to increase your chances of a cheap quote.
Try to nail down all the quotes
If you still haven't found a deal you're happy with, or want to push the envelope, there are some more options to try. Try QuoteZone* if you have time – usually takes about five to 10 minutes.
Comparison sites let you compare 100s of insurers quickly but they don't capture the entire market as some large competitive insurers only offer their products directly.
So benchmark your cheapest comparison quote against prices offered by Direct Line*, as you won't find them on a comparison site, unless you go direct.
Buy a new motor insurance policy directly from Post Office and you will get Roadside and Recovery vehicle based cover free for a year.
Once you've tried the comparison sites, it's time to check specialist young driver policies to see if they undercut them. If you are a careful driver who doesn't cover many miles and drives during off-peak hours, you could see a reduction in the premium.
Pay how you drive (telematics)
Despite some confusion, Telematics is not an 1980s games show hosted by Noel Edmonds (that was Telly Addicts!). Telematics is a type of motor insurance policy which prices your premiums depending on how you drive.

A device inside your car monitors your actions behind the wheel. So the better you're driving, the less you pay.
Remember, telematics policies have more aliases than a rap group. If you're looking at "black box", "smart box", "pay-as-you-drive" or "usage-based" insurance then you're looking at a telematics policy.
The black box feeds data back to your insurer, which takes this into account to reward you, with money back on your premiums, if you can prove you're more Driving Miss Daisy and less Fast & Furious.
Specialist providers to consider
Several providers offer telematic products. Here we've listed a selection of the best around.
Direct Line Drive Plus. Direct Line DrivePlus* is only available for drivers with a full licence, and aged 25 or under. A discount is given upfront (which can be lost if you don't drive appropriately).
Drive Like A Girl. Another policy aimed at 17-25-year-olds who avoid driving overnight (this time between 11pm and 4am) is Drive Like A Girl. It's not just for girls, it's open to boys too – but show you can "drive like a girl" and you could get money back. It's also open to all ages.
Insure The Box. With Insure The Box, you can pick either a 6,000, 8,000 or 10,000 mile-per-year policy for your premium, and then you can earn extra miles by driving safely – or buy more online if you need to during the year.
Here, GPS or tracking devices monitor how you drive. Of course, even then, the price still depends on your personal risk profile.
Co-op. Motorists aged 17-25 who get Co-op's* young driver insurance will have a box fitted to their cars to monitor their acceleration, speed, braking, cornering and what time they're driving. You can pay upfront for the year or by direct debit.
But to gain a discount before buying, download the Co-op young driver app to your smartphone and drive 200 miles over at least 10 different days to get a driving 'score'. You'll then receive a link via email and any discount (up to 20%) will be automatically applied to your online quote.
The price of the insurance (and the amount of discount) can vary, depending on how well the car's been driven. The better you drive the more discount you're likely to get, and continued bad driving could see your insurance cancelled.

Learner driver insurance
If you're a learner, it often means being added to parents' or friends' car insurance as an additional driver which can up the cost, and put no claims bonuses at risk.
However, it is possible to get specific policies just for the provisional driver which protect this, for example via Marmalade's Learner Driver* insurance.
With Marmalade's New Driver* insurance you get the insurance policy alongside low-risk new or nearly new cars on a two to five-year hire purchase or personal contract plan.
This can bring the insurance cost down dramatically, but obviously, you're buying a car at the same time. Do the numbers very carefully before signing up, though it can work out cheaper in the long run for some.
Marmalade's New Driver* car policies also include telematics devices. The cost savings for good drivers are built into your starting price, so it can be increased if your driving is poor.
Tip Email
FREE Weekly MoneySaving email
For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes simply sign up today - it’s spam free!
By now you'll know the cheapest provider, yet you may be able to cut the cost even further. The list below takes you through a variety of options to improve your deal.
Cashback websites
These sites carry paid links from some retailers and financial services providers; in other words, if you click through them and get a product, they get paid. They then give you some of this cash which means you get the same product, but a cut of its revenue.
Don't choose based only on cashback, see it as a bonus once you've picked the right cover.

Those new to cashback sites should ensure they read the Top Cashback Sites guide for pros and cons before using them.
Things you need to know before doing this...
- Never count the cash as yours until it's in your bank account. This cashback is never 100% guaranteed, there can be issues with tracking and allocating the payment, plus many cashback sites are small companies with limited backing, and you've no protection if anything happens to them.
- Withdraw the cashback as soon as you're allowed. Money held in your cashback site account has no protection at all if that company goes bust, so always withdraw it as soon as you're eligible.
- Clear your cookies. While it shouldn't be a problem, if you've used comparison sites beforehand, there is a minor risk that the cashback may not track due to cookies – so it's good practice to clear those first (read About Cookies).
Haggle on your car insurance
The car insurance market is very competitive and companies are desperate to retain business – but never just auto-renew.
Insurers love auto-renewing, as it's a fine for apathy where they hoick the premium knowing you'll pay. If a policy has automatically renewed, getting out of it usually means charges and fees, so don't get caught out.
Once you've got your overall cheapest price, get on the phone and try to haggle as your renewal is a starting point. There's often massive price flexibility, but be fully armed with the screen scrapers' cheapest quotes and any available cashback first.
The first port of call should be your existing insurer. If it can beat or even match the best quote it saves the hassle of switching policy. If that doesn't work and you're still in the mood, take it to a broker. For more haggling tips, read the full Haggle On The High Street guide and The top 10 firms to haggle with.
Have you used this guide's techniques to save on your car insurance? If so, please feed back on the price you found in the Young Drivers' Insurance Savings forum discussion.

Coronavirus car insurance cost-cutting
Many of us are using our cars much less than normal, whether that's because we're furloughed from work, working at home or just not going out as much due to the lockdown.
Yet it's led to many asking whether they still need car insurance, or if they can just cancel. Others have asked if there are ways to cut costs without going that far. We've help for both scenarios...
Young drivers' car insurance Q&A
How to complain about your insurance provider
The insurance industry doesn't have the best customer-service reputation and while a provider may be good for some, it can be hell for others. Common problems include claims either not being paid out on time or at all, unfair charges, or exclusions being hidden in small print. It's always worth trying to call your provider first, but, if not, then…

Free tool to help you complain
This tool helps you draft and manage your complaint. It's totally free to use, and it's offered by Resolver, a firm we work with to help people get complaints justice.
RESOLVER – FREE COMPLAINTS TOOL*
If the company won't help, Resolver also helps you escalate your complaint to the free Financial Ombudsman Service.

Spotted out of date info/broken links? Email: brokenlink@moneysavingexpert.com
Clever ways to calculate your finances