It has long been the belief that older cars are better suited to young and first-time drivers as they have already proven their worth on the road. However, new research suggests this may not be the case after all, and a brand new supermini could save a 20-year-old over £1,000 in insurance costs.<\/p>\n
A study from Be Wiser Insurance – one of the country’s leading insurance brokers – has revealed that the cheapest car for under-21s to insure right now is a one litre Volkswagen Up!, with the average price for a 17-year old coming in at £3,000 per year.<\/p>\n
This figure may still seem steep, considering the average cost for an adult in the UK is £594.84, according to the AA insurance index. However, a 17-year-old looking to insure a Ford Fiesta three years older than the driver would cost around £4,000, with the price even higher in some areas of the country.<\/p>\n
Stuart Jenkinson, from Be Wiser, said the figures suggests new cars are a more viable and affordable option for young drivers looking to insure their first car.<\/p>\n
“New cars are likely to attract lower premiums for a number of reasons, such as better security and safety systems which reduce the chances of theft or injury in the event of an incident," says Mr Jenkinson. “Insurers also base their prices on how cars are driven and new cars are generally driven less aggressively than an older one.”<\/p>\n
Keep it basic<\/strong><\/p>\n However, Be Wiser isn’t suggesting young drivers attempt to insure brand new, high-spec cars, as they would be unlikely to find a company that would offer cover. In order to achieve the savings, youngsters need to keep to cars that fall into the lowest insurance brackets – vehicles that have smaller engines and come with basic features.<\/p>\n Mr Jenkinson says there are several measures young drivers can take in order to keep their insurance costs down. It is easy to let the appearance and performance of a car to tempt you into buying it, but high-performance vehicles, and those with modifications, can drive insurance costs through the roof.<\/p>\n Be honest<\/strong><\/p>\n Although the costs of insuring a young driver can be enormous, it is very important that youngsters resist the temptation of putting a parent down as the main driver, when in reality there are not, and parents must never insure a car in their name for a child. Both of these practices are known as ‘fronting’ and this is now classed as fraud, which means if caught, the parent or child faces a hefty fine or, in some cases, time in prison.<\/p>\n “It’s tantamount to fraud if you’re saying you’re not the main user when really you are,” says Mr Jenkinson. "If the insurance company discovers they have been lied to or misled they can refuse to deal with any claim.”<\/p>\n Posted by Perry Murray<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It has long been the belief that older cars are better suited to young and first-time drivers as they have already proven their worth on the road. However, new research suggests this may not be the case after all, and a brand new supermini could save a 20-year-old over £1,000 in insurance costs. A study […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5857,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[531],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-expert-tips"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n