New research has revealed younger drivers, and their parents, can pay nearly nine times more when adding a learner driver to a car insurance policy. On average, learner drivers can save over £2,000 by opting for temporary learner driver insurance by the hour instead of being added to a policy.
Temporary car insurance is essentially a standalone policy. Young drivers can get insured by the hour whenever they want to practise in the family car, and parents are able to protect their no-claims bonus.
The average cost to add a learner to a parent’s annual policy worked out to be £2,253. As costs continue to soar, learning how to drive can set Brits back almost £4,000.
According to the Driving Standards Agency (DSA), learners need around 44 hours of lessons to pass their driving test. In addition, it’s recommended that drivers complete an additional 20 hours on average, of supervised practice, outside of lessons to help their confidence ahead of their test.
Through a price comparison website, it would cost a family living in Bristol £498.99 to insure a 2011 Vauxhall Astra Active. Adding their 19-year-old son to the policy as a named driver, who is learning to drive, would cost an additional £1,292.65, pushing their premium to £1,791.64.
If the same learner driver opted for temporary learner driver insurance instead, and got insured by the hour, at an hourly rate of £11.39, it would cost the young driver £227.80 to complete the additional 20 recommended hours, outside of his lessons.
Darryl Bowman, from car insurers Cuvva, said: “So many learner drivers are paying over £2,000 to be added to their parents' car insurance policy when there are more cost effective and smarter ways to get practice time behind the wheel without breaking the bank. With household expenses spiralling out of control, there is a great opportunity to save.
“Tailored, temporary cover specific for learner drivers works out a lot cheaper as you only have to pay for the time needed instead of being added as a named driver to the family’s annual policy, which doesn’t make sense as you are only practising occasionally. As the policies are separate, should an accident happen, the car owner’s policy and no-claims bonus are not affected.”
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