Why Is Young People's Car Insurance More Expensive?

by: Mathew Cooper

You're 18. You've just passed your driving test. You've got your dad's old car and the keys. Still though, there's one more thing you need before you get on the road for the first time - insurance.

Unfortunately, young people's car insurance is a little unfair. Often - well, always - it's substantially more than what an average driver would expect to pay. There are a few reasons for this. You may not agree with them but your only available form of protest would be to not buy insurance. Which would be illegal, get you arrested and get your car taken off you. So probably not a good idea.

Anyway, moving on; one big reason that young people's car insurance is more expensive is because you don't have an established driving history. However, as mentioned, if you pass your driving test at 25 you'll still get a cheaper insurance than an 18 year old. Why? Because of statistics.

Insurance is, for the most part, based on your risk as a statistic, rather than as an individual. Newly qualified drivers get charged more because the statistics say that in the first two years of passing your test, you're far more likely to have an accident. One in five will have one in their first year on the road.

Of course this doesn't explain why younger people have to pay more than older people. Again, the answer is statistics.

According to statistics published by the Association of British Insurers in 2008, 18 year old drivers caused an average of 50 collisions a day. The ABI claim that an 18 year old driver with a year of experience (so someone who was pretty quick off the draw on getting their license) is still twice as likely to make a claim on insurance than a 30 year old driver with the same length of experience.

Then there's the fact that nearly a third of fatalities on UK roads are caused by young drivers between the age of 17 and 25. Without dwelling too much on that morbid figure - and without being too callous over it either - it's worth considering that fatal accidents tend to be very expensive ones. Beyond the cost in human life, an insurance company will generally have to pay for compensation, repairs/replacements, as well as possibly legal costs.

On a less tragic note, young drivers are also statistically more likely to experience theft, fire and vandalism on their vehicles. Why, no one knows - but the figures are there and they equate to more claims on insurance in the end.

One of the reasons that's often put forward for the statistics is that teenagers and other young drivers are more likely to have passengers when driving than older drivers. It's not a huge stretch of the imagination to assume that most people who pass their driving test at 18 - and have a car - will end up giving lifts to their younger or less mobile friends.

Anyway those are the reasons. It may seem unfair if you're an 18 year old, sober, sensible driver and you never make a claim in your life. The only thing you can really do is get a policy where you can start building a no-claims bonus ASAP.