Young drivers insurance is often expensive, and new drivers are likely to have a pretty torrid time of things. Their age alone makes it unlikely that they have much in the way of an income, yet:
- they need to find the – not inconsiderable – funds to pay for their driving lessons;
- they have the expense of buying their first motor car;
- they need to scrape together the cash to keep it topped up with fuel; and
- to top it all, they face the prospect of especially high premiums for their motor insurance.
Here at GSI Insurance, we might not be able to take away all the financial grief in arranging your first motor insurance, but we may certainly suggest ways in which you might lighten the load. Here are some of your options.
Telematics
As children of a technological generation, why not take advantage of some of the latest kit being used by insurers to get first-hand, real-time reporting on drivers’ competence?
Telematics is a form of on-board “black box” technology which is able to provide immediate feedback on the way you are driving, when and where you are driving, and how safely you are driving. This takes a lot of the guess-work out of any insurer’s equations.
Rather than taking your word for it that you intend to drive safely – or, more usually, not taking your word for it and loading your insurance premiums accordingly – insurers now have the technology to see for themselves just how you are doing and any real insurance risks you pose.
Quoting research conducted by the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA), Telematics News reported on the 15th of March 2016 that the number of motor insurance policies based on this black box technology has increased by more than 40%.
Since it allows insurers to monitor precisely the driving habits of their customers, the most careful of them are qualifying for discounts of up to 25%, says the report.
Curfews
Statistics show that many accidents involving younger drivers happen during the hours of darkness.
In order to reduce the risks – and therefore keep premiums down – therefore, some insurers insist on a curfew for younger drivers. These curfews might or might not be backed up by real-time monitoring through telematics.
If you agree to a curfew as a condition of your young drivers insurance, however, it is important that you stick to it, since driving during those hours when you have agreed not to might result in your invalidating the cover altogether. And then, of course, you are likely to find yourself in considerably hot water.
Levels of cover
Younger drivers – perhaps more than any other age group – are likely to consider carefully the level of insurance they need.
Third party cover, of course, is the barest legal minimum, and third party, fire and theft or comprehensive cover are other alternatives. Although the temptation might be to go for the lowest level of cover – in the belief that this is the route to the cheapest premiums – this might not always produce the desired result. Paradoxically, comprehensive insurance might often prove a more economical buy than lower levels of cover.
Further reading: Young Drivers Insurance Guide.
