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The spiralling cost of tutored driving lessons means that private lessons are a more affordable and increasingly popular way for newcomers to get some much needed on-road experience. But you’ll need the right cover to do it.
Finding the best car for learner drivers to practice in, or learning to drive at your own pace, used to mean having to be added to the owner’s existing cover or paying for an annual learner driver policy.
With the obvious lack of driving experience, most learners have, these options often come with a hefty price tag.
One way to reduce the cost of insurance for learner drivers, and get flexible cover that suits your own situation, is with short term car insurance.
All learner insurance policies from Tempcover come with comprehensive cover as standard, an upgrade from the third-party only cover most annual insurers will offer if you add a learner to your policy.
While no one can ever guarantee an incident-free drive, one thing we can protect with learner insurance is your existing No Claims Discount.
If the worst should happen, you don’t have to worry about affecting your existing insurance, because it’s a separate standalone policy. There’s no increase in your premiums for letting a learner use your car, and if they have an accident, your No Claims Discount won’t be affected.
This means that should they be at fault for an accident, you’ll be able to claim for damage to your own car, as well as any damage to third parties, so everyone is covered:
The best way to put your mind at ease while using your car for teaching purposes is to get learner driver insurance that offers comprehensive cover.
Many parents and family members are worried about letting someone learn in their car. Naturally, there is a risk involved in letting a learner driver use your car, and when you consider the increase in your annual premiums, for a lot of people it’s not worth the risk or expense. That’s where short term learner cover comes in.
Insurance for learner drivers is the ideal solution for many newcomers to the road. You can expect to get a policy if you are 17-25, and have been a UK resident for a minimum of 12 months. To get a quote for learner insurance, you’ll need:
Not automatically, no. If you’re a learner driver, you won’t be covered under the car owner’s existing insurance, unless they formally add you to their policy. Though this will push up their premium significantly. But learners can opt for their own separate, temporary learner driver insurance policy on the vehicle instead.
Yes. Any learner driver will have to have insurance cover, whether you do want to add them to your existing policy or not. But if you’d rather eliminate the risk, you could consider specialised car insurance for learners instead, through a temporary policy.
If they’ll only be practising in the car for a matter of weeks or months, getting a learner driver their own annual policy would be a waste of money. You could add them as a named driver on an existing policy, but that would then increase premiums by a lot. Because of this, short term car insurance for learner drivers is usually the cheapest and best value option, because you can have it terminate as soon as you’re done training.
Like other temporary car insurance policies, short term learner driver insurance will allow you to borrow and practice in a friend’s, parent’s or other family member’s car.
Provisional insurance is available from just 1 day, or monthly up to 3 months, so whether you need that last bit of practice before your test or you’re getting behind the wheel for the first time, you can select a policy duration that fits your needs.
Private lessons are incredibly useful for learners, not only for their practical test but also their theory exam. The downside of private lessons is you need to make sure that they fit around both the learner and car owner’s schedule.
The means it’s important to have car insurance for learners that’s flexible and works for everyone because you don’t want to pay for cover you don’t need or use.
You may want a little bit of extra practice before your driving test, in which case, paying for a years’ worth of cover when you only need it for a week is big waste money and effort. With a learner driver insurance policy, you only pay for the time you actually require it.
A contributing factor to what makes insurance for learner drivers great, apart from what it offers, is the simplicity of the process. The best learner driver insurance policies enable you to get a quote in minutes. Whether you need cover to start instantly or in a months’ time, the process is delightfully straightforward.
There are some rules in place about who can provide private driving lessons. As a learner, you’re not allowed to drive a car without supervision. Any driver can supervise you as long as they are over 21 and have held a full UK driving licence for at least three years (and as long as they do not have a DR coded conviction within the last 5 years).
They do not need to be the person who owns the car; you just need to have the vehicle owner’s permission. If even as a learner, you’re lucky enough to have your own car, the person teaching you may need to get temporarily insured on your vehicle if at any point they are going to be driving your vehicle. Don’t worry though, they can get daily car insurance or up to 28 days cover if you’re planning more lessons.
The average cost of a driving lesson is £24, and the DSA (Driving Standards Agency) recommends around 47 hours of practice.
If everything goes smoothly and you pass the first time, the total cost of lessons for a learner will be £1,128. A large sum as it is, but if you need extra lessons and take longer to learn, the cost soon mounts up to thousands and thousands of pounds.
With that cost in mind, many learners find private practice an affordable and flexible option, to give themselves a boost alongside their professional training.
Private lessons should never completely replace lessons with a professional. Not only are learners gaining unbiased and certified training, but they also drive in dual control cars, the safest way to be on the road with a new driver.
They are however a free and flexible option, which allow learner drivers to develop their skills at a time and pace that suits their schedule.
