The thought of starting your driving lessons can be a terrifying prospect. You don’t know how you are going to perform, whether or not you will get on with your instructor and whether or not you will ever develop to a competent enough level to be eligible to take that dreaded driving test.

Then there are costs to consider, with lessons regularly costing in excess of £20 per hour nowadays. These costs don’t relent when you eventual pass your test; only intensifying as you have to consider things such as car maintenance costs, fuel expenses, road tax and perhaps most importantly of all car insurance.

Running costs have grown significantly in recent years, with MoneySupermarket claiming that rising fuel costs alone have forced over 60% of motorists to alter their driving habits. However, new and young drivers have been penalised more than most and this is due to these car insurance prices.

So, with this is mind when is the best time to start driving?

Why is car insurance so expensive for new drivers?

Let’s start by examining the reasons why car insurance prices for new drivers are so expensive and why certain groups are targeted more than most.

Insurance companies calculate premiums based on the statistical risk of a claim being made over the duration of the policy. Newly qualified motorists and learner drivers are obviously far less experienced than more established drivers and therefore fall into a category which is statistically more likely to be involved in accidents in the eyes of insurers. It might seem unfair to categorise all new drivers as being the same, with some obviously being far more capable and level headed than others. However, this is simply how it works. Don’t forget that Formula One drivers such as Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button would still have been classed as being a high risk policy holder just like any other new motorist when they first past their test regardless of their skill levels.

Age is another consideration, with young drivers under the age of 25 usually paying close to £3,000 per year compared to the national average of £921. Again this is down to statistics, with all of young drivers being handicapped by the ‘boy-racer’ stereotype which hangs over this group in the eyes of insurers.

When is the best time to start driving?

Just because young drivers are set to pay significantly higher premiums than most doesn’t mean that they should delay driving until they are past the age of 25 because there is another element which is almost as important as age in the calculation of premiums.

This element is experience; and the more experience that you can accumulate over the years, the better. Insurers will analyse how much experience you have by taking a look at the year in which you passed your test, and most importantly the number of years no-claims discount which you have to your name. This latter factor is so significant because it not only indicates how long you have been on the road, but also providers the insurer with a huge indication as to how likely you will be to make a claim. MoneySupermarket.com recently claimed that no-claims discount accumulation can knock as much as 30% off the total cost of a car insurance policy.

It is therefore advised that you begin driving as soon as you can afford to pay for lessons as experience levels are just as significant as age.

Accumulating no claims for less

New and young drivers are regularly advised to opt for a vehicle which is classed in the lowest car insurance group possible in order to benefit from the cheapest premiums. However, the car insurance market is currently in a bit of a mess and many new and young drivers simply can’t afford to pay for insurance on any type of vehicle.

Insurers have recognised this and have therefore introduced a new type of car insurance policy which is called ‘pay-as-you-drive’. This does exactly what the name suggests; with motorists paying an insurance charge for each mile that they complete with the number of miles completed being recorded by a black box which is placed in the vehicle. This obviously helps to avoid the often sky high initial premium charges; hence making driving affordable for this victimised group of motorists.

Those who take out a pay-as-you-go car insurance policy will also be eligible to accumulate no-claims discount, even if they only complete 10 miles over the duration of the year. This really is a nifty way to circumvent the system and taking out this type of policy could well help make conventional policies affordable in subsequent years.

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