FAO Those who are young drivers

How much is your car insurance? I’m looking to get a car for uni but my insurance is ridiculously high £2400 with black box, is this possible? Aren’t first time driver insurance like around £1000? Idk help

What car is it? I payed around 1400

How much is your car insurance? I’m looking to get a car for uni but my insurance is ridiculously high £2400 with black box, is this possible? Aren’t first time driver insurance like around £1000? Idk help

Hey!

Car insurance for first-time drivers is absolutely crazy! £2400 does sound extremely high though. I think mine was around £1,500 for my first year. But, it all depends on what car you have and where you live though. A friend and I tested out each other's addresses because we were confused why mine was significantly cheaper and it was all because of where he lived.
Have you checked out comparethemarket? That's where I've found my insurance every year and it's a great comparison website.

Also, taking a car to university is a massive pain so definitely think about whether it's worth it or not.

Courtney - Official Student Rep

I’ve just tested it the different address where I live and it’s significantly cheaper. Why does your address affect it so much?

hey some advice - if u can also put both ur parents on the insurance and u just as a named driver. if they have a clean licence then it will take the quote right down. also if u can try to find one without a black box they arent great

Mine’s about £1500, no black box, 2017 Hyundai i10. Both of my parents are on the policy, and I’m just a named driver. I’ve been driving for over a year now x It’s usually cheaper if one of your parents or both are on the insurance. Look at 1L engine cars too as that might make a difference, compared to 1.3 and 1.5 l which are usually more expensive to insure, but as another user said it could be to do with where you live etc too x

If you are the main driver then that is what should be on the insurance, not you as a named driver. It is called fronting and you could find yourself uninsured and then have trouble getting insurance again. If you are not the main driver then you won't be earning no claims years..

They use it just as much as I do to be honest x It’s cheaper to run than the other two. I understand what you’re saying though, but they probably use it more than me so I’m not the main driver of it. Even more so now with me not being at college. So they added me to it once we could, if that makes sense? X Think it needs to be changed sooner or later but at the moment I’d say my mum uses it the most.

If your parents are the policy holders and genuinely the main user of the car with you as named driver that is fine.

One odd thing is insurance companies don't have to prove fronting, they can basically just say they suspect it and slap a higher premium on or cancel.

Yeah that’s right, we got it before I even turned 17 and I used to car share with friends to college (so I’d only drive some days, more eco-friendly haha!), so my mum is the main driver of it. I use it more than my dad I would say, however.
Really? Wow. I’d heard stories about people’s insurance being voided with black boxes due to things like speeding being late for college, and I’d heard of fronting but never insurance companies completely cancelling for it. Definitely opened my eyes, thank you We will definitely be changing it once I start commuting to University as I’ll need it everyday pretty much.

I suspect families under one roof tend to get away with it more, but trouble starts when kids move out to their own for uni ect and still do it...they have breakdowns far from home, get MOTs in weird places ect, and if the insurer consults the police it's pretty easy to see where a car has been getting used/stored. I'll admit i don't really know they investigate it, but they're sneaky and they've heard it all before, they're lovely on the phone when you arrange the policy..but when you come to make a claim it's different, everything you say is under scrutiny and they're actively looking for flaws so they can avoid paying you.

I'd never go for black box for the same reason, so so many stories of people being cancelled out the blue and there's generally no appeal. I do a fair bit of morning driving and have had to make maybe 4-5 emergency stops in the last year, all justified, but a blackbox would almost certainly kick me off for that, they don't care whether it was my fault or whether an incident actually occurred.

Genuinely thanks for all of the information even if you’re not 100% x No, I definitely don’t think me nor my dad would want to risk it as soon as I start University. From what you’ve said, it’s definitely not worth the risk.
I know, it’s awful, my dad was against getting one from the get-go because although the insurance is cheaper with them it could easily come back to ‘bite you on the arse’ effectively. My auntie’s a teacher and she’s had a girl in tears before as she was speeding as she’d overslept for college with a black box, and they completed voided her insurance. No discussion or anything.
Mornings are definitely the worst eh? x Would it make a difference if you had something like a dash cam to prove it was a genuine incident, do you think?