any tips for getting insurance for a first time driver? (UK)?

Question

any ideas about which cars are the cheapest to insure/cheap companies etc? thanks:)

Answer 1

Tesco have always come out cheapest when I have got my quotes.
Or you can try www.confused.com

Answer 2

Sorry if this is a little off-topic, but here goes.
Have you yet got your full licence?
My step-son has had several lessons and a failed test. He has paid for a little Fiesta 1100cc, bought in my name, which I insure, he is a named driver. I have an excellent relationship with my insurers, 23 years with no accidents, and a clean licence. I am taking him out in the evenings and weekends for the next few months, to get him not just through a test, but to hopefully make him a safe, considerate driver for life, as I consider myself to be. Can a family member do this for you?
After he passes, he will do the 'Pass-Plus' course which includes motorway driving, and gives a reduction in insurance. Are you taking this/have you already?
Then I'll try my company (morethan.com) for him, and see what they can do. Make sure the car you buy is a basic, small engined, non-modified little shopping-basket. A 1.0 litre VW Polo, a Ford Fiesta 1100, a Peugot 106, that sort of thing. Ask for a limited mileage policy - as few as you can manage, and expect the excess - the amount you pay in the event of any claim, to be rather more than the car is worth!
Don't have a stereo in the car - it makes it a target for thieves, and will distract you for the first year. Use a Krooklok, or similar, a high-visibilty arkward impediment to stealing the car, (a bar that locks the steering wheel to the brake pedal) along with, if not an approved immobiliser, then a simple hidden switch that interrupt the ignition enable curcuit, somewhere just under the dash.
Cost £1, twenty minutes fitting, might keep you the car. The simplest car alarms cost under £20 now, and won't hurt to have on board.
Good luck.

Answer 3

Virgin are quite good. Try moneysupermarket.com for comparison purposes. A low powered car will be cheaper to insure, but expect high rates for the first year or so. So companies advertise that any named driver can accrue No Claims Bonus, so the car could be insured in an older driver's name and the new driver a named driver on that policy. There are loads of combinations available, it's worth shopping around.

Answer 4

When I first passed my test about 3 years ago at the age of 29 my car was considered to be a sports cars with a 1.8 litre injection engine.

The ONLY company that would insure me were elephant.co.uk.

I have since upgraded my car to a much sportier 3.0 litre and had another one stolen/unrecovered in between and my premiums are still near enough the same.

When my car was stolen they were very helpful and sorted everything out very quickly and in a very nice manner. I was back on the road very soon.

Even now if I do an online quote with any different companies they are way off my current deal with elephant.co.uk, some over £2000 more !!!!

Answer 5

Go for something low powered, like a Cinqucento or a Corsa, Ka or the like. Try confused.com for some quotes.
You'll need to build up a track record in your own right, so being named on someone else's policy is not always a good idea.

And, by the way, always tell the whole truth on any application. More than one has found that being economical with the truth has come back to bite 'em when a claim is made. Could be done for fraud and find yourself without insurance!

Answer 6

the best advice i can give other than ask an insurance company is to find a car and get quotes before you actually purchase it.
Go for a car thats not too new or too old, choose a car thats not that popular like hot hatch's for example fiestas but try an estate car. A vauxhall frontera for example although the short wheel based are 2 litre sports models they are actually classed as an estate which lowers the premium, or it did for me and i would certainly recommend ASDA insurance cheap to begin with, do introductory offers and even discount if you have children in the car on a regular basis. they're underwritten by Norwich union so makes them even good in a claim. waffled abit but hope it helps.

Answer 7

OK I passed my test 6 months ago,i had an Audi A4 and was paying about £900 TPFT through confused.com i have just changed my car, and still with no no-claims bonus i have just got a Subaru impreza 2 ltr turbo. now most quotes i was getting were for about £2500 to £3000 but i then found www.ecarinsurance.co.uk, they are an online only insurer and they quoted me £1450 and in with that i got breakdown cover and windscreen cover! the policy is still TPFT but they halved the price wanted by most other companies!

Answer 8

Hi. I would suggest getting a quote from direct line. iv just recently got my own car and have insured it with them for just over £300 (im 21 & female). Thats for a Ford Ka.
Also you should go onto a site that compares prices from lots of different insurance companies and finds the cheapest for you (confused.com is one of them)

Answer 9

you could get insured with direct line as a named driver but you can still earn yourself no claims discounts which will help reduce your costs in years to come.

as for what car to buy, get a little 1 or 1.2 car as not only are the insurance costs cheaper but its also cheaper for road tax and cheaper to run.
the link below shows you some group 1 insurance cars.

Answer 10

I found that Tesco was the cheapest for car insurance for me when i started to drive as for the type of car it should be a low power i.e mine is a 1.3litre the begger the engine the higher the cost. go onto confused.com and they will do a search for you and you can pick the best insurance.

Good Luck it is so hard the first time,

Answer 11

go for something people don't try to 'do up' (i wanted a corsa and found the insurance quote £200 more expensive). don't modify it, find something with a mobiliser, park it on a drive or garage, put parents or other people that have a few years no claims as other named drivers and lower the amount of miles you will do, all this will lower it, hope it was helpful!