Car insurance for 18 year olds

The day you turn 18 is a memorable day for you because you've now reached a milestone in your life. You are legally an adult and can from this day onward make your own decisions and do not require anyone to sign on your behalf. However not everything is good news and when it comes to car insurance, it certainly isn't.

Many young adults get the shock of their lives when they obtain a quote to insure a second hand car that they've just purchased. They might have bought an old banger for £1000 but the premiums to insure the vehicle is as high as £3000. Does that sound familiar? Well, let's face it, you're not alone!

If you've been wise though, you would already be holding a driving license for a year now since you are allowed to drive at seventeen. This would mean that by now you would have a whole year's driving experience together with a full year of no claims bonus (NCB) which would entitle you to a massive discount for your 18 year old car insurance quote.

However if you haven't been pro-active enough, you will have to face up to the fact that car insurance for young drivers like yourself is quite expensive since you are still inexperienced and regarded as very risky by the insurance industry. But don't lose hope just yet as there are ways to bring your car insurance down and make it more affordable.

Things you should try

• Repeat after me - I will not buy just any car, I will buy a car that falls into the lower car insurance groups (Group 1-10)
• Use a car insurance comparison website like GoCompare/Confused/MoneySuperMarket to check for quotes before you actually buy the car
• Once you've got some quotes in, put onto the application form that you've done the Pass Plus course to see if that lowers your quote
• Then add things like an alarm/immobiliser or tracker device to see what difference it makes
• Try going for third party only (TP) or third party, fire & theft (TPFT) instead of a fully comprehensive policy
• Increase your voluntary excess
• Add any of your parents to your policy but remember that they need to be named drivers and not the main driver/policyholder

Now that you have an idea of how much you're likely to pay for your car insurance, it's time to check out the insurers which are not listed on the comparison websites. Here they are:

• Direct Line Car Insurance
• Aviva

When you've received a decent quote, make sure that you haven't lied on the application form, that is, if you've said that you have a built-in tracker in your car, install one if you don't currently have one etc.

If the quotes are still expensive, then you will either have to take the plunge or don't drive at all. Remember that you won't always be an eighteen year old driver with a BIG FAT HIGH RISK sign on your forehead and things will change over time and your premiums will become much lower than what you're getting now provided you drive safely. It's the stupidity of some young drivers watching too much of Formula 1 that's caused the jump in quotes for others in the same age group but once you've established yourself to the insurers that you are not like them, you'll be treated differently.