Car insurance for learner drivers

If you, or a family member, is a learner driver and needs to take out car insurance, here’s what you need to know.

Car insurance for provisional or learner drivers is designed to cover drivers who have a provisional licence. This means they have not yet passed their driving test, so have not got their full driving licence. 

Insurance is a legal requirement in the UK, and having provisional driving insurance means holders of a government-issued provisional driving licence can learn to drive on the road legally.

You can practice driving in the UK with either friends or family, or a qualified driving instructor.

You need provisional driving insurance if you plan to drive in any car other than with a paid professional driving instructor, such as if you're taking private driving lessons, or learning to drive in a family member’s car.

If you do choose to learn to drive using your own car, you will need to take out learner driver insurance. However, if you're driving in someone else's car, then their policy will need to cover you. Some insurance companies will require this person to be over 25.

You can still be fined without a full driving licence... You can be fined up to £1,000, and also receive 6 points on your provisional licence, if you don't have the right supervision with you whilst learning to drive.

Provisional driver insurance, also known as learner driver insurance, can be far more expensive than standard car insurance. 

This is because:

If you intend to drive regularly then specialist car insurance for learner drivers might be the best option, as the providers specialise in insuring drivers in the same situation as you.

Always shop around before committing to any one particular way of learning to drive.

If you have a provisional licence, then you can start driving, but to qualify for learner driver car insurance there are some provisos: 

Why you may not need provisional driving insurance...  You don’t need provisional or learner driver insurance if the only car you drive is your driving instructor’s

It will depend how long it takes you to learn to drive. Learning to drive can be a long and intensive process. 

Some experts recommend you take around 45 hours of professional driving lessons before you take your test, and the cost of these can add up as lessons can be £25 or more a session. 

But there are ways to save when learning to drive:

The best way to achieve long-term savings on your car insurance is to take out your own policy while you are still driving on a provisional licence. 

This means you will be able to start building your no-claims bonus before you have even passed your driving test, so your premiums should drop steadily each year as long as you don’t make any claims.

Taking out provisional licence insurance means you it will be in your own name. This allows you to avoid the risk of damaging your friend’s or relative’s no-claims bonus, this could happen if you were to make a claim as a named driver on their policy.

Some car insurance providers are more willing than others to take on provisional drivers.

That means if you have family or friends willing to help you, first check how much insurance might charge to add you as a named driver

But remember, as well as increasing their premiums the policyholder may also lose their no-claims bonus if you have an accident while driving.

A warning about provisional car insurance and fronting Some parents take out a car insurance policy and declare themselves as the main driver, adding a young driver as a named driver. This is despite the fact that the child will be driving the car more than the parent, this is known as 'fronting' and is illegal.

The type of car you drive will often have an impact on the amount you pay for insurance – but with provisional driver’s insurance most policies will cover you for any car up to a certain value or insurance group (usually a value of £20,000 or around insurance group 30). 

This is great if you want to learn in your parents’ car and then you can choose a cheaper car to insure once you’ve passed your test. 

When you are looking for cheap learner driver insurance, make sure you have ticked the box for provisional rather than full licence if you’re buying or comparing policies online. 

Once you’ve passed your test you may be considered as more of a risk. This is because you are no longer required to be accompanied at all times by an experienced driver, and can drive on motorways.

By shopping around it's possible to get learner driver cover for the equivalent of a couple of pounds a day. The best learner driver insurance is one that offers good value and sufficient cover for your needs, without too large an excess.

When you get your full driving licence you may not immediately want, or be able to afford, to buy a car. 

This doesn’t mean you can’t drive at all. You can choose to take out a temporary car insurance policy using someone else’s car, as long as you have their permission. 

If you are only planning on borrowing a car you can also compare quotes for short-term or temporary car insurance.

When you do come to buy your first car it may be worth taking out a group car insurance policy if people in your family drive and own cars. 

This is called multi-car insurance and might also be suitable:

You can get learner driver insurance for a car you own, although you will need to drive the car with someone who has passed their test, is over 21 and has been driving for more than three years. You will need to check with your insurer first.

If you're lucky enough to have your own car and want to get insured as a learner driver, you can simply take out an insurance policy as normal, making sure to inform your provider that you are yet to gain your full licence. 

Just remember:

When learning to drive in your own car, remember:

A provisional licence in the UK is £34 if you apply online, or £43 by post. You can apply online or buy post from the Gov.uk website 

You will need: 

You’ll get a confirmation email from DVLA after you’ve applied and your licence should arrive within one week if you apply online. However, it may take longer if DVLA need to make additional checks.

Learning to drive can be costly, so here are some ways to cut the cost of learning to drive a car.

Pro: if you have regular lessons you can cut out the need for learner driver insurance, as the lesson fees cover the cost of them being insured on your behalf. 

Con: the cost of getting professional lessons can add up quickly, with many instructors charging between £25 and £35 an hour.

Pro: if you have family or friends willing to accompany you in their car on a regular basis, you could save on driving lessons. 

Con: you will need to be added as a named driver on their insurance policy, and you may take longer to pass your test.

You may need to plan a few months in advance where you know you'll be available to take all of your lessons. Otherwise, there is the risk that if you don't keep up your driving lessons regularly, you'll fall behind in some of the things you've learnt.

Whoever is supervising you must:

If in doubt, always check the law before getting out on the road.