Learner Driver Insurance

Which is the best Learner Driver policy for me?

Do you own your own car?

Top Tips for Learner Driver Insurance

So you’re learning to drive? What are the best insurance options for Learners?

Read our handy Learner Driver Insurance guide to find out!

Congratulations – you’re at least 17, you’ve got your provisional licence and you’re learning to drive – exciting times, freedom and independence are just around the corner!

But in the meantime before you pass your driving test the insurance choices can be daunting, that’s where we come in with some practical help.

Borrowed Car or Own Car?

Don’t worry if you haven’t got your own car – many learners like to supplement paid-for driving lessons by practicing with their parents. And Zoomcover Learner Borrowed Car is designed for exactly this situation.

What is Learner Borrowed Car Insurance?

• It’s temporary insurance which allows you as a Learner to practice driving in someone else’s car
• It doesn’t have to be a parent’s car – it could be another family member such as a grandparent or an elder brother or sister, or it could be a friend’s car
• And the great news is that both you and the owner get complete peace of mind : because any claims you may make whilst driving should not affect the car owner’s No Claims Bonus!
• What’s No Claims Bonus? NCB, sometimes called No Claims Discount (NCD), is a reward (in the form of a discount off their premium) given by insurance companies to drivers who don’t make a claim on their annual insurance
• How big can NCD be? It can make a huge difference – sometimes NCB earned over several years could result in a discount of 75%!
• Why is my parent’s NCD of any interest to me? Because if you were added to your parent’s annual insurance policy as an additional driver whilst you learned to drive and you subsequently had an accident, then your parent’s NCD would be affected (and possibly completely lost).
• And it might take them a few years to build it back up to the max again – cue very unhappy parents ☹
• On the other hand, if you had an accident in your parent’s car under your own Learner Driver policy, your parent’s NCB would be unaffected ?

Ok, got that – what if I want to learn to drive in my Own Car? Presume I need Learner Own Car Insurance?

Correct! And that leads to another decision you need to make : Option 1 – should you buy Learner Own Car Insurance now and then annual insurance once you’ve passed your test, or, Option 2, should you go straight for an annual policy now?

What are the pro’s and cons?

Time for us to nail our colours to the mast – here at Zoomcover we don’t sell annual insurance – we believe customers want more flexibility than that, so we specialize in providing temporary or short-term insurance which our customers can tailor to their needs.

So our (admittedly not completely unbiased!) answer to the question is that you should consider buying Learner insurance while you’re a Learner, and move on to annual insurance, possibly with a black box type policy, once you’ve passed your test.

Why, what’s the rationale?

• Because they have to be accompanied, Learner Drivers are statistically safe drivers. And often when Learners do have a bump it’s as a result of them stalling at a roundabout or a junction and as a result being rear-ended by the car behind – in insurance circles this is known as a Non-Fault claim because it’s the driver behind’s responsibility to always remain a safe distance back. So the Learner’s insurance company would be able to recover their outlay from the other driver’s insurance company. For these reasons, insurance companies can offer Learner Driver insurance relatively cheaply.
• But it’s a different story when Learners pass their test and go out driving on their own – the statistics show that unfortunately this is when they are most likely to be involved in an accident. And the proportion of Fault to Non-Fault claims increases massively too. Consequently insurance companies charge far higher premiums for newly qualified drivers.
• But could I go straight for annual insurance as a Learner and then when I pass my test I’ll tell my insurer and they’ll adjust my premium? Yes, that could be a good option, as long as you’re aware that you may see your premium rocket when you start driving solo!

Any other benefits to Option 1?

Yes – flexibility. You can buy our Learner Own Car insurance in 1 month chunks. You can buy as many or as few as you need, meaning you’re not making any long-term commitment.

And to Option 2?

Yes – you’ll start earning your own NCD as soon as you take out your own annual policy, so this option could provide a faster route to high No Claims Discount (as long as you don’t have any claims!)

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