Why is car insurance for young drivers so expensive?

Car Insurance for a young or inexperienced driver is always going to be more expensive than an older or more experienced driver would expect to day. This is simply because young drivers are more like to have accidents and claim on their insurance policies. This costs insurance companies money so they set their rates to reflect the extra risk they carry when insuring a young or inexperienced driver.

Those are the facts and nothing is going to change them, so we need to look at how young drivers can get on the road at the minimum of cost to start to build up their driving experience and the that essential thing “no claims bonus”!

To start off with, young drivers need to be realistic about the vehicle to choose. It’s no good setting out with the intention to buy an Escort XR3 or a Sierra Cosworth, the cost to insure such vehicles would probably be more than the car is worth. It is better for young drivers to go a vehicle that has a low car insurance group.

Another thing which can help to keep the cost of insurance down is the choice of cover. Comprehensive cover is obviously the most expensive and is necessary for vehicles worth around four thousand pounds or more, but if an older car is chosen that is only worth a few hundred pounds, it would be acceptable to only take out third party only cover or fire and theft as well. Any damage to your actual vehicle would not be covered, but the cost saving on the actual insurance cover may make this a worthwhile risk to take.

How else can the cost be kept to a minimum? Think about how many miles you will travel in the car, a lot of insurance companies will today offer limited mileage discounts if you accept to restrict the number of miles you will travel per annum. If you do opt for comprehensive cover, consider taking a higher voluntary excess, this will cost you more in the event of claim that is your fault, but you need to way up the risk this carries in relation to the amount it knocks off the final premium.

Last, but not least, avoid those big flash alloys, whale tails and mega stereo systems that cost more than the car. You must disclose all modifications to insurers to be properly insured and this sort of added extra will inflate your premium.