Young drivers are just plain different. There is no escaping that, it’s just true. If you are a young driver looking for cheaper car insurance in the UK, then you’d best get used to it.

They drive different cars, they drive them differently, have more accidents, and tend to want insurance as cheap as they can get it, without worrying too much about the nice details, such as if they have an accident will they be able to stay in a particular type of hotel.

They are also less likely to have kids of their own, so often it’s just them to worry about.

Students, in particular, like to drive at weird hours, often want to travel abroad, or drive a friend’s car. They’re also more likely to be renting vans and moving their few posessions from bedsit to bedsit.

Young drivers are more likely to drive after drinking too, and they generally take more risks, well, young MALE drivers, in particular do.

So, some companies hate them and others just avoid them. A lot of companies deliberately make up a premium so high as to put the young driver off. It’s ok. They didn’t want your business. They just gave you that price to keep everyone happy, oh, and to make sure you didn’t buy a policy from them.

Other companies love them, though. Companies like Endsleigh, for example.

Young drivers tend to drive less expensive cars, they rarely have priceless antiques stolen from a car park, they are much less likely to drive their car to work (or just to work in general, some might say), and they are much less likely to “lose” their golf clubs.

So, as long as the price is right, an insurer who understands young drivers can make a lot of money from them. Just so long as they put all the right exclusions in, and encourage better driving habits. Norwich Union, for example, have used their little black box to offer a discount to young drivers who only drive during the day. That alone cuts out a huge proportion of the claims.

Overall, then, if you are a young driver, looking for cheap car insurance, you will need to shop around. i.e. get as many quotes as you can, and check the small print. You don’t want to find out you are not covered for transporting your band’s equipment, after you’ve just driven the lot down a hill and crunched into a tree!