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Frequently Asked Questions

Young Drivers Car Insurance

After the initial thrill of passing your driving test, your mind will doubtless turn to your first motor car. There is certainly a lot of choice, with vehicles of many different shapes, sizes and prices to pick from.

One of the biggest obstacles for young drivers is the frequently prohibitive cost of car insurance for young drivers, a legal requirement for all UK motorists.

Insurers charge higher premiums for young drivers because of the higher risk of being involved in road traffic accidents due to a lack of experience, with even higher costs incurred for younger male motorist so they are not able to get a cheap first car insurance

But it`s not only your age that insurance companies look at when calculating your premium. There are a number of other factors, like your occupation, where you live and where you keep your car overnight.

The car that you are considering driving also plays a big role in determining the cost of your driving insurance. It`s tempting for young drivers to pick the flashiest, most powerful that they can reasonably afford. However, this route is likely to be very expensive to insure.

Motor insurance companies work to the group system devised by Thatcham, The Motor Insurance Repair Centre. The higher the group number the car falls into, the more it will cost to insure. The value, availability of spare parts, performance, engine size and age of the car are factored in to determine a final grouping. Some insurers opt to use a different system to Thatcham`s but they tend to go on roughly similar principles.

Choosing an older, less powerful car of low value is strongly advised. It`s frequently also cheaper to insure a diesel vehicle than a petrol-powered equivalent, so it is an option which should be considered.

Whether or not the car that you drive has been modified also has a big influence on the cost of your new driver insurance. Modified cars can frequently cost much more to insure than factory-specification counterparts. There are a number of reasons to explain this, including increased performance and risk of causing a road traffic accident (if the modification causes this), increased appeal to thieves (particularly in the case of upgraded sound systems) and the high cost of replacing parts.

Simply opting to not declare any modifications to your insurer is not an option: making tweaks to your car and failing to inform your insurance company has the potential to invalidate your insurance policy. Therefore, driving an unmodified vehicle is highly advisable for younger drivers who would prefer not to shell out on insurance.

A good security system will also help a cheaper insurance policy, so if you can try and get a car with a device approved by Thatcham, or consider investing in getting one fitted.

When it comes to buying your young drivers car insurance policy, it is a good idea to start your search online, with a car supermarket comparison website. They will allow you to quickly and effectively compare the price and features of policies from many different insurance companies, so you can decide which option suits you best. Further information on young drivers car insurance can be found at-

www.gocompare.com/car-insurance/young-drivers.aspx