I really feel for young drivers these days, especially the boys, and I struggle to get my head round the fact they are made to pay far more than their car is worth just to be legal.

Yes, young, inexperienced drivers ARE more likely (1in 5 in the first 2 years) to have some kind of incident in the first few years but not ALL of them will.

What's the answer?

I don't know, but perhaps a radical rethink of the motor insurance industry is needed?

Basic legal 3rd party cover at a basic (read cheap) price so you can add the niceties if you want to?

The same cover included in the price of VED or fuel?

Debate open.....

check their testosterone, lower level = a discount!

I think it's fair as it is, unless they start restricting the power of cars for young drivers I think it's fine to charge large amounts.

Equality,

i thought they were no longer going to be allowed to price by gender!

Or was that just another flying a kite news story.

When a new driver/rider i paid at least 6 weeks wages for insurance on my car and 4 weeks wages for my bike, and so i should have because i was reckless.

Car insurance has never been cheaper than recently if you buy wisely.

My kids do not pay a fortune and nothing like as much as i had to in the 1970,s

Tough love and hammer the young,

it encourages them to work if Mum & Dad or the Grandparents do not give in to them.

Neds do not worry about insurance and stuff like that anyway, so thats insurance can be generally high to those happy to pay stupid prices.

george

Edited 27 June, 201213 yr by sk4gw

Why should we care? They've got everything else!!

Free education, their looks, youth, someone else

paying to keep a roof over their head, all sorts of cool gadgets we didn't have,

the internet, someone else cooking them food, someone else doing their washing,

someone else lending then a tenner until never, teachers that don't cane you,

and many many other cushy little numbers. Don't know they've been born most of 'em.

Sod 'em. Paying expensive car insurance is about the first time they

have to pay for anything. (That's assuming the bank of mum and dad don't cover it)

What's the first thing they do once they have got on the road?

Noisy music, car full of drooling baseball cap wearing bellend mates,

racing their saxo or whatever against anybody who'll take the bait.

Damn right they are a bigger risk, too bad if they don't like it.

See how they cope with mortgages, utility bills, public liability insurance,

TAX (the big one), house repairs, water rates and all the other things grown ups

have to swallow on a daily basis.

I'd certainly swap places with them and only pay a couple of grand insurance

bill once a year, I'd be loaded!

Welcome to adulthood.

In my job as an EMT I go to many motorcycle accidents, they are a large percentage of deaths on the road... (not ness the motorcyclysts fault) you know the only group greater?

young , newly qualified drivers.....

I was the same. I was an idiot.

now i've grown up......

insurance is statistics... if they are going be a massive risk to themselves and other people (including me and the poeple I love) then I dont care if they are priced off the road....

selfish.. meh, maybe... but I have seen some seriously idiotic things in my 4 twelve hour shifts on the ambulance since saturday... especially in the really bad weather weve had....

example... I was comming down the A road to my house, monsoon conditions..... slow enough to stop within the distance I can see (thats the IMPORTANT statement) and round a corner came someone, not speeding approx 60 mph, but way to fast for the flooded road, he hit the water, lost control, and came onto my side, head on toward me (I had STOPPED by this time) but couldn't move left because there were trees there... he just managed to slow and turn before he hit me head on........ young man....

I get this all the time..... they are the same people who flash me and give me grief if I overtake them in a perfectly safe and controlled manner, by the book ... no speeding ect...

people who think they are "driving gods" ... and always right.... they deserve the high premiums..

*rant over.

note: not all young people are like this....and rightly shouldnt be made to pay..the way to do it, is the black box system, already available. it records their driving, and is monitored and scored, if they really are a good safe driver, they are rewarded with reduced premiums!

its the same for all of us... my DSA ADI qualification, my diplomas in driving for work ect , my lack of claims ect , add to my record, so I can insure a vRS for £340....

when I was a young idiot, my insurance for my fiat uno turbo was £1800 !!! it reflected my experiance, and accident rate...

all justified.

Tbf im not sure how many crashes young people have are due to having powerful cars, most young people with powerful cars tent to look after them more and are less likly to risk damaging their pride and joy compared to some idiot in a 1.1 saxo with a maaaaaahooosive exhaust who will 9times out of 10 drive like a tit

Young peoples unsurance is a joke anyway my vrs is only 100quid deerer to insure than my polo which had a third of the power (58hp)

Maybe changing the actual driving test idea would be better? Maybe a graded system where learners are examamined over a longer period of time, rather than just a pass or fail test over about 15min of driving

The amount of people i know that have past that i would trust with a pair of saftey sisscors never mind a car is unreal

The power limited thing doesn't hold much water either in reality. We've a friend with a 1.0 Micra (is there much slower out there?!) paying £3k in his first year - I paid less on my (for a first car) quite powerful 100bhp Fabia..

I agree with Stu though - it cost MORE to insure my TDi Golf than it did both my RX-8 231 and my 330d. Where's the logic there? Both RWD, both more powerful/faster but cheaper to insure.

I'm a fan of the German (?) system of insuring the car not the driver personally - faster the car, higher the insurance. Would also like to see universal adoption of substantial discounts for IAMs/RoSPA style exam passes too.

When a new driver/rider i paid at least 6 weeks wages for insurance on my car and 4 weeks wages for my bike, and so i should have because i was reckless.

Car insurance has never been cheaper than recently if you buy wisely.

My kids do not pay a fortune and nothing like as much as i had to in the 1970,s

Any tips? Currently looking for my brother, struggling to get prices cheaper than 12 weeks of his wages and thats the first i`v heard anyone say its cheaper these days for young drivers!

Agree they should group cars and encourage cheap low power cars until some claim free motoring, and experience is gained.

Nephew paid as much on a cheap Corsa as they would on something with a 1.8 sporty lump in. Makes no sense.

Also not sure how the EU ruling on sexism and ageism comes into play here. Women and the elderly arent allowed cheaper insurance, so surely this will help lower young drivers premiums?

Multi car policies bring the cost of young persons insurance down alot .. saved £2000 on mine fully comp. Means my parents can drive my car although i cannot drive theirs, if any of us have an accident none of the others are affected.

Agree they should group cars and encourage cheap low power cars until some claim free motoring, and experience is gained.

Nephew paid as much on a cheap Corsa as they would on something with a 1.8 sporty lump in. Makes no sense.

Also not sure how the EU ruling on sexism and ageism comes into play here. Women and the elderly arent allowed cheaper insurance, so surely this will help lower young drivers premiums?

As always, it's in the stats. They can't load your premium simply for being female, but if they have hard stats that females in Corsas crash more than males (or have bigger accidents and cost more, or whatever) then your nephew would be getting a better deal than his hypothetical female twin sister.

Equally I've seen friends of mine get insanely cheap insurance quotes on exotics once they've passed their test, seemingly because the stats say it's a safer risk. 17yo crashing a Micra? 10 a penny, charged through the nose. 17yo crashing a Skyline? Probably happened once, ever, cos they can't afford to drive them so gives a relatively cheap premium (not necessarily cheaper in absolute numbers, but better "value for money" relative to the cost for a £500 Micra if you like). Obviously none of them have ever been in the position to take it up, but everyone goes a bit mad once they pass their test and gets quotes for dream cars, and some were surprising in how little they cost.

matt1chelski

I never said that it had never been cheaper these days for,

'young drivers'!

It might read like that to you but i never said that.

I said

'my kids do not pay a fortune' & the

'If you buy wisely' bit.

*Cheap for oldies tho*

Use Specialist Brokers if the Comparison sites are being stupid with quotes,

but do honest online comparisons & do them in the middle of the night, or on a bank holiday or when ever, if you get a good 'Buy now' then buy then,

because they like to get sales ans stay in the top ten etc

I dont 'Front',

but you need to look at if there is 'one' Experienced Low risk named driver going on the policy & if its a commuter or a sit at home car parked on a drive or not etc etc, limited milage and all the rest.

(Drive is not always automatically cheaper than on Street parked')

Top tip for your Brother is,

Simplest way to get Insurance for less than 12 weeks wages is 'Earn more per week'

george

Edited 27 June, 201213 yr by sk4gw

Er, it already is. U25s account for something like 10% of all drivers, and 25% of all "at fault" claims costs.

Insurance is crazy though just a quick comment.... the microcar which is 505cc (theres one around where i live) is more expensive to insure for me than the monte by £100... im 19 and the monte will be around 800 in september and the microcar is 900... thats only something like 25bhp its crazy... insurance is by no means cheap and i know some people my age who do drive like total prats, i admit i dont always drive perfectly but i know the limits and not to be wreckless but all in all i do agree that insurance is high but its for a reason and driving sensibly and not having accidents will reward in the future (i know some accidents cant be helped but the majoirty can through being observant)

...i know the limits and not to be wreckless...

So you deliberately have accidents

I hope mean 'not to be reckless'

Pavement 'Mobility-disability Scooters' @ 4mph or the Bigger Class that does 8mph with orange lights and Number plates the says 'DAD 1'

should be paying £10,000 annual insurance and not getting issued with Free Tax Discs,

&

any Renault Twizy will i hope, not be getting Motor Cycle road tax and low insurance, just because they will be another PITA.

rant over.

george

Edited 28 June, 201213 yr by sk4gw

Young drivers are supposedly more of a risk than someone who has had a licence for 10 years but..

A new driver has up to date knowledge, and still has what their instructor taught them firmly embedded.

A driver who has had a licence for 10 years will more than likely have developed bad habits (using a mobile phone or eating/drinking) whilst driving as well as the numerous other poor habits that seem to develop with complacent experience.

Even if they have held a licence it does not mean they have actually been driving regularly.

it seems these drivers are considered a lower risk to insurance companies which may not be so.

It would seem there is no quick or simple answer.?

I don't thinki there is a massive amount that can be done, young male drivers are a high risk. That's a fact.

The only way to drop the price is to drop the risk.

But maybe there should be more flexibility in the system. Maybe they should have options to volunteer thing like these -

Restricted power, ok not applicable for many

Restricted speed. ie. limit the car to 70 (73?) I know people will argue that has it's own risks

Restrict to daylight driving only

Restrict carrying passengers to immediate family, so no racing around with your mates.

Graded licenses along the lines of the m/c schemes. If you want a fast car you'll have to sit some sort of advanced test.

Ok nothing is perfect and these things have to be enforced but unless there are some options to reduce risks then the insurance costs will stay higher than the fines for a lack of insurance.

So you deliberately have accidents

I hope mean 'not to be reckless'

yeah, sorry im half asleep :p

only scuffs ive had are parking but everyone has them occasionally

Also in response to Aspman, i looked at that for mine such as not driving during certain times but in the end it didnt make much difference like the black boxes they put in costs money and depending on mileage its not always the best option. Also i considered doing pass plus but when i asked my insurance they said it made no difference so i didnt do it seeing as it was over £100 to do and wouldnt make a similar saving on my insurance. I dont think that insurance will ever be fair on some people but if peopleshop around they generally find a better deal or the best that can so its down to leg work on the driver in most cases.

Why should we care? They've got everything else!!

Free education, their looks, youth, someone else

paying to keep a roof over their head, all sorts of cool gadgets we didn't have,

the internet, someone else cooking them food, someone else doing their washing,

someone else lending then a tenner until never, teachers that don't cane you,

and many many other cushy little numbers. Don't know they've been born most of 'em.

Sailing close to grumpy old git territory , haven't had a landmark birthday recently have you ?

The problem here that isn't really being discussed though is the numbers of young drivers who simply cannot afford the insurance quotes so therefore go without... Surely if the premiums were lower more of them would have insurance and there would be less 'risk' to the insurance companies having to pay out through the policies of those hit by uninsured drivers???

The insurance companies really are taking the mickey with some of the premiums as I think they see young people as a soft touch.

I'd rather have lower premiums for young drivers to get them on the road with insurance and a greater spread of risk than the current si****ion.

Earn more per week lol, if only it was that easy. His looking at £2500 for a corsa 1.3cdti which compared to some isnt mental. There is some real strange ones, corsa vxr is £2200?! How much that would be honoured when tried to take it out I dont know. My brother in law just got his first car, £2000 for a punto, 3 weeks in he gets a latter saying they messed up and want £5000 extra!

As lots have said, young drivers are a risk, but at the same time, we all have to start somewhere. I moaned about £1300 on my nova SR 6 years ago lol

hi guys. Well, insurance is sick. I am 18 years old male. I am not saying that I'm expierienced driver, but i don't think that insurance for Felicia, which costs £300 can be about £4000. 'Young' doesn't mean that i will drive like a ******* moron. I was checking insurance on my dad's 1.8T Octy, it was £15000 if i'm not mistaken, after that, i checked insurance on Audi A8 or S8, can't remember, it was £10000. Now i passed my test, insurance for Audi R8 is about £10000. Where is 'system' in that? Someone said couple of grand a year? - couple grand a year is cheap mate. Inurance for 1L Polo is close to £5k. It's not something I can earn working part-time. I still have my college to go to and course work to finish.

I passed my theory test back in March. Have you ever looked at it? There is questions like:- Why can't you park there (and picture included)? Well, I really don't care WHY i can't park there, i just know that i can't. Most of the questions was about something that would not help me in real life. Another question was, what to do if there is accident and motocycle is involved. I would probably call ambulance, because i'm not a doctor.

Fair enough, charge me £5000 for insurance, but if i had no accidents, refund me 50%, but NO! it is not good for insurance companies. One thing is that

young drivers are involved in accident, but other is whether it was their fault.

And 'more expierienced drivers' are not better. They have no idea what is indicator used for, and that in roundabouts you have to look on your right for other cars.

Edited 28 June, 201213 yr by hunker7

At 17 i paid £1300 for a micra on insurance. At 22 i was paying £650 on a primera SRi it was at this point i had a crash. Not my fault a polish lorry driver hit me. Took them 10months to reclaim my excess back from him. I had the primera for 2.5 years and never crashed. My insurance rocketed to £1280 then to £1700 on a 1.8almera tino MPV ffs! Its now £1100 on my octy 1.6 ive been drivin since 2004 & will have 8yrs no claims soon & one crash not my fault. Been charged pretty much what i was when i started driving. Im 25yr old now

Before a car i had scooter, all road expereince & i never crashed that once either. & at 15 i passed a 5 day driving course with bsm set up by my school.