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You must have a valid insurance certificate covering you for third party liability. Before driving any vehicle, make sure that it has cover for your use or that your own insurance gives you adequate cover. You MUST NOT drive a vehicle without insurance.
Car insurance, much like navel fluff, is dull but unavoidable. Don't be a 'blithering idiot', don't leave home without it. Plod will not look favourably upon you if you do.
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2pass has a vast panel of car insurance providers specialising in all areas of the car insurance market. See our selection of the major UK insurers we work with who will help you find the most competitive insurance.
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Types of Insurance
Third Party:
This is the most basic insurance type, and is the minimum coverage that allows you to drive legally. Any damage you do to a ‘third party’, ie someone or something that is NOT YOU or YOUR CAR is covered, but for a pittance extra you can get Third Party Fire and Theft (see below). All other policies retain this Third Party component as their basis.
Third Party Fire and Theft:
Third Party Fire and Theft (TPFT) is the basic insurance package favoured by younger learner drivers on their first or second provisional licence, and people who prefer not to pay for fully comprehensive insurance. You are – obviously – insured for ‘Fire’ and ‘Theft’, ie if your car ‘catches’ fire or is stolen. Third Party means that your passengers are covered, and any people, property or cars that you might hit are also covered. Your car is NOT covered. Either are YOU. TPFT is the cheapest way of building up your No Claims Bonus before changing over to the significantly more expensive ‘fully comprehensive’.
Fully Comprehensive Insurance:
This is the ultimate in insurance, adding you and your car to the TPFT package. Thus Fully Comprehensive Insurance (FCI), or "full comp" is also more expensive. Having a full driving licence (and having it for more than two years) helps keep premiums
down.
Why is Insurance for Learner Drivers so high?
Insurance companies know that new drivers are a bigger insurance risk than any other motoring group and here are the facts to prove it:-
Because of these factors insurance premiums are very high for the new driver. However there are ways to cut your insurance premium
Follow these TEN tips to reduce your premium.
TIP ONE
Young and newly qualified drivers can boost their no-claims bonus by taking an additional test
calledPass Plus. Some companies will credit people who have passed Pass Plus with an
extra year's no claims bonus. Companies who offer a discount for Pass Plus include Admiral,
AGF,
Churchill,
Co-operative,
Direct Line,
Eagle Star,
Ecclesiastical,
General Accident,
Guardian,
Highway Motor Policies at Lloyd's,
Norwich Union,
Pearl,
Privilege and
Royal SunAlliance. Always check to see if your own insurance offers a Pass Plus discount.
Example Case
Ray age 18, passed his test six months ago and wants to buy his first car. His age and lack of
experience are likely to go against him when he's looking for insurance.
To help bring the costs down, Ray could take his Pass Plus exam. Although this would cost him
around £100, he could easily save more than that on his first year's insurance alone.
How much could Ray save? It would normally cost Ray £1700 for fully comprehensive cover on
his 1992 Ford Escort 1.4 LX. By taking the Pass Plus test, Ray could reduce this to £1500, a
saving of £200.
TIP TWO
Drivers who don't have full no-claims bonus can build their bonus up quicker with a policy from
some companies called Bonus Accelerator. This policy runs for 10 months rather than the usual 12. At
the end of those 10 months, provided no "fault" claims have been made, you get a full year's
no claims bonus. So, somebody starting out with zero no-claims can build up to the
maximum five years no-claims bonus in just four years.
Be Careful if you choose this scheme You usually have to stay with the same insurance company throughout, in order to build up your maximum no-claims bonus. Companies don't usually allow you to carry a 10 months policy over from one company to another, so please check before you sign up for this type of scheme.
TIP THREE
Buy a smaller-engined car.
If insuring your prospective car is proving too expensive, consider buying a car with a smaller engine. Remember that buying a cheaper car will not make a huge difference to your premiums.
If you or your spouse buy a second car, you may be able to get an introductory bonus on the
new car. This means that your insurer may give you the same no-claims bonus on the second
car as you have on the first, provided you insure both cars with the same company. It is best
to check this with your insurer first because not all companies offer this facility, and the
conditions for introductory bonus vary between companies.
TIP FOUR
Taking a higher Voluntary excess ( The amount of money you have to pay the insurance company if you have to make a claim) than the standard £100 could give you a substantial discount on their
premium.
TIP FIVE
Declare your mileage! Telling your insurer how many miles you do, especially if it is below average,
they do in a year, and simply let the salesperson plug in an average of, say, 12,000 miles. That's 230
miles a week. If you do less than that, you could be missing out on potential savings by not letting
your insurer know.
TIP SIX
TIP SEVEN
If you have access to a garage or driveway at night, use them. Using off street parking, rather than
leaving your car on the street will attract a discount with most insurers.
TIP EIGHT
Insurers prefer prevention rather than claims, so vehicles fitted with an engine immobiliser or alarm
may qualify for a discount. The devices which qualify for a discount vary from insurer to insurer, so
make sure you check before getting any device fitted.
TIP NINE
If your a man consider becoming a woman:-)
Women can often get cheaper car insurance than their male counterparts.
Why is this?, especially when guys often moan about ‘women’ drivers. The
answer is that statistically speaking women are seen as better drivers. Although male drivers often
find this hard to believe, the facts are derived from the collection of claims data over several years -
decades in fact by car insurance companies.
However, despite the fact that women are statistically seen as better drivers, they generally have the
same number of accidents as men. It is the severity of the accident that is very different between the
sexes. Typically an insurance company has to pay out a lot more to fix a car when a man has had
an accident - the car has to be extensively repaired or even written off. Women’s accidents tend to
require less repair because their accidents are often caused by bumping into somebody, reversing
into the garage - that type of thing.
TIP TEN
Go and get a on-line quotation from the 2pass Insurance Providers
2pass has a vast panel of car insurance providers specialising in all areas of the car insurance market. See our selection of the major UK insurers we work with who will help you find the most competitive insurance.
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The following is a list of excuses compiled from insurance companies all over the world.
1) Coming home I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I
don't have.
2) The other car collided with mine without giving warning of its
intentions.
3) I thought my window was down but found that it was up when I put my
hand through it.
4) I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way.
5) A truck backed through my windshield and into my wife's face.
6) A pedestrian hit me and went under my car.
7) The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times
before I hit him.
8) I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law,
and headed over the embankment.
9) In my attempt to kill a fly I drove into a telephone pole.
10) I had been driving for forty years when I fell asleep at the wheel
and had an accident.
11) I was on my way to the doctor with rear end trouble when my U-joint
gave way causing me to have an accident.
12) To avoid hitting the bumper of the car in front, I struck the
pedestrian.
13) My car was legally parked as it backed into another vehicle.
14) An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car and vanished.
15) I was sure the old fellow would never make it to the other side of
the road when I struck him.
16) The pedestrian had no idea which way to run, so I ran over him.
17) I saw a slow-moving, sad faced old gentleman as he bounced off the
hood of my car.
18) The indirect cause of the accident was a little guy in a small car
with a big mouth.
19) I was thrown from my car as it left the road. I was later found in a
ditch by some stray cows.
20) The telephone pole was approaching, I was attempting to swerve out
of its way, when it struck my front end.