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How can I save money on car insurance for 17-year-olds?
While car insurance is expensive for 17-year-olds, there are things you can do to help shave the pounds off:
- Shop around for the best deal
- Add an experienced named driver
- Take an advanced driving course
- Limit modifications to your car
- Build up your no-claims bonus (NCB)
- Buy a car in a lower insurance group
- Increase your voluntary excess
- Be accurate estimating your mileage
- Pay for your policy in one go.
- Shop around for the best deal by using our comparison service. We can scour the 132 insurance companies we work with for the best car insurance for you.
- Adding an experienced named driver to your policy can sometimes help lower your price because it reduces the time you’ll spend behind the wheel. This limits the risk for insurers. You should only add drivers who’ll actually drive the car, otherwise this is seen as ‘fronting’, which is illegal.
- Taking an advanced driving course such as Pass Plus, is a great way to show your insurance provider you can be safe on the road. This could result in cheaper car insurance.
- Limit modifications to your car as they can increase insurance costs, especially performance-based modifications. Avoiding or limiting unnecessary changes to your car can help keep costs down. If in doubt, speak to your provider first to make sure your changes are covered.
- Build up your no-claims bonus (NCB) to get discounts. For every year you don’t make a claim, you’ll build up your NCB, which insurance providers use when considering discounts to your policy.
- Buy a car in a lower insurance group. The car you drive will affect the price you pay for insurance. Cars are grouped 1 – 50 and generally the higher group your car is in, the more you’ll pay for insurance. Things like the engine size can influence which group a car falls into, so you might want to look at smaller, less powerful cars as an option.
- Increasing your voluntary excess can reduce your premiums. An excess is the amount of money you pay towards the cost of the claim. You may have a compulsory excess that you must pay to claim and a voluntary excess that you can set. However, you must be confident you would be able to pay the excess, should you need to claim.
- Be accurate estimating your mileage. The average yearly mileage is around 6,5002. Consider how much you’ll actually drive your car and what the length of your journeys will be.
- Pay for your policy in full if you can afford to. Some insurers will let you pay monthly but this can ending up costing up to 15%2 more than if you pay for the policy in one go.
Find out more ways to cut the cost of your insurance.
2Based on Confused.com data January - September 2021
Need more help?
Can a 17-year-old pay insurance monthly?
Yes, you can pay for 17-year-old insurance monthly. This can make the payment more manageable, but most insurers will charge you an admin fee or interest for doing this. So, if you can afford to pay it one you go, you’ll pay less.
Can I get added to my mum's or dad’s insurance?
If you’re driving your parents’ car, they can add you as a named driver and this can be a good way of keeping costs down. Or you can get them added to your policy as a named driver. However, your parents need to be aware that if you make a claim, it will affect their no claims bonus.
It’s also important that any named driver on a policy isn’t the main driver of the car. ‘Fronting’ is illegal and could invalidate your policy.
Types of car insurance
Black box car insurance
lets you prove you’re a safe driver, and save money on your policy, even if you’re inexperienced or seen as high risk.
Classic car insurance
offers cover for owners of classic cars. For insurance purposes, a classic car can be any car that’s older than 15 years.
Business car insurance
covers you if you use your car for work, including travelling between offices or across the country.
What our car insurance expert says
Getting your first car insurance policy can be expensive – insurers have no record of how you drive so they might see you as a higher risk. Adding a named driver like a parent or guardian to your policy might help bring down the price – but only add people who do occasionally drive your car.
Car insurance expert
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