Car insurance for a 17 year old

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My eldest will be 17 later this year and already the talk is turning to driving lessons/cars etc. Unfortunately the insurance for a first driver is astronomical so I was just wondering if anyone else had been through the same and if they could recommend an insurance company or broker that specialises in young drivers.

Ta.
 
Hacker said:
My eldest will be 17 later this year and already the talk is turning to driving lessons/cars etc. Unfortunately the insurance for a first driver is astronomical so I was just wondering if anyone else had been through the same and if they could recommend an insurance company or broker that specialises in young drivers.

Ta.
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When I was 17 the best place was usually Quinn direct! Was the same for my brother too... Was a few years ago now though! But worth trying!
 
ozyboyross said:
When I was 17 the best place was usually Quinn direct! Was the same for my brother too... Was a few years ago now though! But worth trying!
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Thank you, I'll give them a go!
 
Been there, the trick is to get them insured whilst on provisional on a month to month basis. Google provisional driver insurance. It was abot £30 pm for us but it stops as soon as they pass the test.
Once they pass the test you need a big cheque book.............girls are cheaper than boys.
 
Quinn was cheapest for me when i passed at 18 (2 years ago) After the first couple of years it changes with no claims though
 
Admiral might be worth a look if you've a few cars in the household. A few people fronted when I was learning and going for my own policy etc. Wouldn't recommend it though...

The bonus accelerator policies are a bit of a scam but I did use them for a couple of years and I'm just under £800/year (will be lower next year) for a decent car.

Some say go for a classic car as you can go to specialised insurers but whether that's practical is another matter.

Look for cars that you don't see 17 year olds wrapping round trees.

Consider (I never would!) the tracking box stuff. Didn't seem much cheaper when I looked into it and I valued the freedom to drive my own car when I damn well pleased and how I damn well wanted to.

Another thing I would suggest (though it won't affect insurance prices just now) is a dash cam. I've got one in my car, one of the chinese copies of the roadhawk (if you're interested pm me and I'll provide a link) Cost around £50 and has GPS and detects impacts. It's not a roadhawk but it does the job. Could be useful to counter people blaming you for accidents which could save you money in the long run.
 
quinn always come out cheap on a provisional but beware when they pass there test they seriously hike up the premium
also based in ireland and stopped trading for a bit a little while ago so have a quick google
co-op with a black box fitted seem to be the best i have found lately
2 years ago my son started out with admiral and after 20 months had two years ncd under his belt and runs around in a nice little peugeot 106 gti for reasonable money
 
prety sure Quinn are in administration... try adrian flux...
 
I am 17 now and the quotes I'm getting are ridiculous. The first thing you need to consider is the car itself, older cars, and cars not popular with young drivers are usually cheapest.

I am considering buying an old beetle, looking at around £1800 fully comp. This will come down even more especially with Admiral multi-car, make sure you look at this (obviously if you have multiple cars).

Also, don't just look at the websites, give them a ring and try to haggle a bit. If you personally have been loyal to one insurer for the past few years try and use that to your advantage.

Hope this helps, also, you havent mentioned if its your son or daughter turning 17, prices vary more than you would think.

Joe
 
admirable said:
Been there, the trick is to get them insured whilst on provisional on a month to month basis. Google provisional driver insurance. It was abot £30 pm for us but it stops as soon as they pass the test.
Once they pass the test you need a big cheque book.............girls are cheaper than boys.
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Not for much longer, December sees the EU Gender Equality Directive come into force,so from then on, all other factors being equal, the sex of the driver will make no difference to the cost of insurance premiums.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Not for much longer, December sees the EU Gender Equality Directive come into force,so from then on, all other factors being equal, the sex of the driver will make no difference to the cost of insurance premiums.
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it has brought down premiums for young males it appears at least it has stopped those annoying Sheila's wheels adverts
bet the female of our species is not wanting equality on this particular area lol
 
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older cars are not always cheaper to insure we have just changed our daughters car and she is 17 passed her test 9 weeks ago. went from a W reg to a 06 plate and her insurance went down she is with Admiral multi car her insurance went down, even tho the new car is a 1.4 not a 1.0. son is going on to the same today as he picks up his new car tomorrow. but it would seem that boys are far far more expensive to insure no matter what, son 19 and £1500 more to insure him.
 
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Don't go for the usual type cars youngsters have. It's awhile ago since I past my test but at that time Nova's/Corsa's were the car you saw most youngsters in.

Insurance would have been £1500 for me then. So I went for a Volvo 440 (full spec) and it was only £500 at the time. Also look at something that can be insured under classic/specialisted insurance that has a club that can be joined.

At 21 I had a Pontiac Firebird and paid less than £900 a year to insure when friends struggled to insure their corsa's and 205/6's for less than £2000!. Partly as I was a member of the American Auto Club UK, which helped lower the prmium with Adrian Flux (i think at the time)

Think out the box!
 
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If you get the insurance in your son/daughter's name and then add yourself and/or other half as a names driver that can have a decent effect in lowering the premium and it's totally legitimate as opposed to you insuring the car and having them as a names driver ;)
 
Russ77 said:
If you get the insurance in your son/daughter's name and then add yourself and/or other half as a names driver that can have a decent effect in lowering the premium and it's totally legitimate as opposed to you insuring the car and having them as a names driver ;)
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This, usually lowers it to about the same level too.

Avoid jap cars, very expensive on insurance for no good reason. They want to double my insurance for the sake of an extra camshaft, and I've been driving for nearly 10 years. :wacky: (1.6 16v single cam civic to 1.6 16v dtwin cam civic, same age same bodystyle!)
 
When my eldest passed his test 3 yrs ago and we were searching for a car, we were looking to get him a mk5 Fiesta 1.25, but the condition of the cars and the money they wanted for them weren't that good to be honest. We ended up getting him a Focus 1.6 Zetec for less money, lower miles, much better condition and even with the extra cost in insurance still saved money. Overall cost till wasn't cheap mind you. My mate at work had recently bought his son VW Polo Diesel. He was put on their multicar policy for about £1400 but proceeded to write the car off 3 days later. Insurance comapny (Admiral) paid out and he now has a Mk5 Fiesta 1.25 and the cost to add him to the multi car policy until renewal in November was only £700 fully comp. Dread to think what it will be come renewal time though.
 
Thanks for all the feedback, very helpful. I should have mentioned that my eldest is a boy.

(y)
 
One more to add, I used Elephant when I first had insurance and did the 10 'bonus' policy to get no claims quicker.
 
When i was learning a couple of years ago we used collingwood learners to get short term insurance while i had a provisional license.

If your son wishes to have his own car then things will be very expensive. If you just want him to be able to drive your car things can be a lot lot cheaper. Some companies can offer an open drive policy if you call them. This is a policy where anyone with a license is able to drive the car. Regular drivers need to be named, but casual drivers (such as a son when it is your car) aren't named and that makes the policy a lot cheaper.
 
I'm 21 now been driving for 4 years, with provisional insurance before that, even on my little mini the price is only just starting to fall with my last renewal (Around £500 in April) It seems to be more about how cheap the insurance will be rather than what car you want to get, which is a shame for a lot of new drivers.
 
Lynton said:
prety sure Quinn are in administration... try adrian flux...
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I am with Quinn and don't know anything about them being in administration
 
Quinn were in administration, but I think now they are fine. Always got horrifically high quotes from quinn anyway
 
I believe Quinn went into administration over 2 yrs ago when my son was insured with them. I reckon they must have been taken over by another company as my son's insurance was still valid and they sent him a renewal at the end as well. Their quotes still come up on insurance searches.
 
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