Beginner driver insurance

work2013

Hi, I will be receiving my learner permit and starting driving lessons over the coming weeks.
I was wondering what the cheapest/best option would be regarding getting insured.

My mum has a 1.9 L golf and my brother is a named driver for the car on her policy. Glennons insurance is her insurance provider.

Should I look at getting named as a second driver under my mums policy ? Is that possible ? Is it expensive / best option ?

I read in another thread that aviva do a beginners insurance deal but the 6 month accompanied driver insurance is applicable only if the car is under aviva insurance.

What would you recommend I do ?

Thanks.

ProudDUB

If you plan on using your mothers car to learn how to drive, the only option is to be a named driver on her policy. I added on my 26 yr old niece to my policy for only €120. It would have been quite a bit more if she was just a teenager. Only your mums insurance company can tell you exactly how much it will cost to add you to her policy. If you are a named driver on someone elses policy, you don't get to claim any No Claims Bonus, even if you have no accidents in her car while you are driving it.

Yes, you have to be an Aviva customer to avail of their deal. If your mums insurance is up soon, it may be worth her while to switch to Aviva to take advantage of their deal. However, you have to do your EDT lessons with Aviva too. You wouldn't be able to pick your own driving school or instructor.

The other option is to buy a car & tax & insure it yourself. That would be a lot more expensive upfront, but at least you start building up your no claims bonus from the get go. That mean that you start to make major savings on your insurance, sooner rather than later. No one here can tell you exactly how much the insurance would be. It all depends on the kind of car you buy, how much it is worth, where you live, your age etc etc. The best way to get a general idea, is to go to a website like Carzone.ie. Select the cars that suit your requirements and budget. Then ring up the insurance companies & and start getting quotes for those cars.

Most learners would learn to drive in someone elses car, as a named driver on their policy. That is generally the cheapest way to do it.

work2013

€120 sounds very cheap. My family have been with the same insurance company which includes our house/car insurance for the past 20 years so hopefully we can negotiate a reasonable price for myself as a second named driver.

What cost can I expect for a 20 year old male as a named driver on a learners permit - 1.9L golf ? cheapest price ?

ProudDUB

It is quite low, but everyone is different and every ones cars and circumstance are different. My car is a 2007 Ford Focus. It is probably only worth about 4,500. It is also parked up at night in a part of the city that is considered low risk. I also don't have any other leaner drivers on the policy. All of that keeps my policy quite low.

The circumstances of your mothers policy may be quite different to mine. Her car will cost a lot more to insure than mine, if it is a lot newer (and therefore more valuable) than mine is. There is no way for anyone here, to predict with any degree of accuracy what you may expect to pay. Only the insurance company itself can do that. We can give anecdotal stories of what we pay, but that is about it.

work2013

You're right. I will have to wait and see what kind of price the insurance company quotes us. Thanks for the advice again !

work2013

Just to ask another quick question. Is it assumed that someone learning to drive gets insurance and practices with a sponsor or could one simply take lessons only ? I'm asking because in the case that the insurance costs more than 1k, I'll have to consider if we can afford that. What is the likelihood of it costing that much ?

I'd be curious as to how many learner drivers take lessons only and practice in the meantime without insurance.

Alanstrainor

work2013 wrote: »

Just to ask another quick question. Is it assumed that someone learning to drive gets insurance and practices with a sponsor or could one simply take lessons only ? I'm asking because in the case that the insurance costs more than 1k, I'll have to consider if we can afford that. What is the likelihood of it costing that much ?

I'd be curious as to how many learner drivers take lessons only and practice in the meantime without insurance.

I would like to think that people driving without insurance is a relatively low occurrence. The sheer stupidity of doing so would prevent most.

If you are going to be a named driver, then all you can do is wait to get a quote from your mums insurance. Since there is an existing policy, it would make no sense for your mum to cancel her policy in the middle of it and change company.

work2013

The plan is to get insured for the months i'll be taking my lessons so I can practice in the meantime. So hopefully that would only take about 6 or 7 months then I can take the test. I'd imagine 6 months insurance (it thats possible) would be under 1k. Once I get my full license I probably won't drive until I can afford insurance.

ProudDUB

work2013 wrote: »

Just to ask another quick question. Is it assumed that someone learning to drive gets insurance and practices with a sponsor or could one simply take lessons only ? I'm asking because in the case that the insurance costs more than 1k, I'll have to consider if we can afford that. What is the likelihood of it costing that much ?

I'd be curious as to how many learner drivers take lessons only and practice in the meantime without insurance.

I would say very few. Not only is illegal, the consequences for you if you get caught are bad.They are are even worse if you are in an accident, or you cause a crash that is your fault.

Most people learn how to drive in someone elses car, on someone elses policy, as most (but not all) leaner drivers can not afford to buy, tax and insure their own car. They would do their practice driving with their sponsor, in that car, as that is the only car that they are insured to drive. Their sponsor does not need to be the person who owns the car. It can be any full licensed driver, who has had their license for at least two years.

If you can not afford the cost of insurance, I'd advise you to put off learning to drive, until you can afford the insurance. If you only take lessons and you have no car to practice your driving in, the odds of you passing your test are pretty slim. You would be just wasting good money.

work2013

Thats a good point. As mentioned above, I will see if its possible to get insured up until I do my test. So that may be 6-7 months of insurance. I'm just not sure if they would offer insurance for 6 months as opposed to annual.

FueledByAisling

Op I've had my permit since feb, driving my moms 1.9l diesel '12 golf too. I'm under her policy for six months with AXA for 300, I'm 19 if that makes any difference

work2013

That seems to be good value. Are you the only named driver on her car ? I got a quote of 318 for 5 months on my mums policy under allianz. But my brother/father are also named drivers on the car.
The downside for me if I get insured for the golf is that I wont have much practice time with it since its always going being used by someone else in the family.

work2013

For anyone thats interested, I ended up getting 6 months insurance for 309euro on the 1.9l golf.