Provisional Car Insurance for Young Female Drivers

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With young women car drivers likely to be the worst hit by anti discrimination legislation being imposed by the EU this year presents a final opportunity for young women drivers (particularly teenagers) to build a driving record whilst premiums still are weighted in their favour.

Currently young womens car insurance can be half the cost of a male counterpart, but once the new rules are implemented at the end of 2012 premiums cannot be cheaper purely on the basis that it is a woman rather than a man applying. Why not benefit from the current situation and use it to build a driving records (and hopefully a no claims bonus) over the next twelve months?

Who offers the cheapest young female provisional driver insurance

We find that frequently the cheapest provisional drivers insurance for young women is available through the moneymaxim Car Insurance Panel. We see quotations start from under £500* (even on the day the driver is celebrating their 17th birthday) but its worth bearing a few guidelines in mind.

The cheapest premiums we see are often from Collingwood - they specialise in provisional driver only policies - so once you pass your test you will need to cancel the policy and start with a new insurer - Collingwood will supply evidence of no claims for your new insurer though. They also insure one parent on the policy free of charge (subject to underwriters acceptance), but no more - so if you add more to your quotation you will not find their quotation displayed.

Other companies who are competitive are the female focused insurers like Diamond, Diva, Insure Pink, Its4Women and Ladybird - but you can find they offer cheaper premiums if more than one mature drivers with a good record are added to the policies. So to get a real feel of all the options you might want to run one quotation through our system - the first with more than one additional driver, and the second with just one (who would need to be a parent).

Be aware that with these policies premiums are almost certainly going to rise once a test is passed (and they can jump dramatically!) - you can use our system to model a quotation as if you are a full licence holder, but it will only be a guide - and premiums are likely to move around a fair bit as the new rules approach.

I don't want to see my premiums rise when I pass my test

Try iKube (either visit their website or call them on 0844 346 0402) - they offer good rates for young female learner drivers and they promise not to increase rates once you have passed your test. They have a high success rate in attracting under 21s partly on price, but also on the other features their policies offer. They offer both female and male learner drivers a discounted provisional car insurance package in return for a promise to stay off the road between the hours of 11pm - 5am (when statistically young drivers are at a higher risk of having an serious road accident).

Their other advantage is that future iKube premiums are based on the way your car is driven. Statistically this is likely to mean that young women will benefit - as they tend to drive in a more measured way than men.

iKube offer both fully comprehensive learner driver insurance or third party fire and theft cover, with FREE cover for named drivers (subject to underwriting approval), discounts for safer driving and FREE breakdown insurance.

Other policies that are likely to 'benefit' women drivers

Once sex cannot be used as a factor to access the likelyhood of a claim its probable that the insureds driving record will play a bigger part - that will mean claims will be penalised more heavily, and no claims records rewarded more - but that is an issue with a new driver - as there is no way normally of a young driver proving that they are driving safely.

However both the iKube policy and the Co-operative Insurance can help as they do measure drivers habits.

They both use a tracker fitted in the car to identify whether the driver is a higher or lower risk than the average - as we would bet that on average women will be lower. Co-operative Insurance look at factors such as acceleration and braking, cornering and the speed of the vehicle as well as the time of day the vehicle is being driven.

Drive in a safe manner and you'll a get Safer Driving Discounts (although premiums can go up if car is not driven safely). They also offer a massive 50% no claims discount after just one claim free year - so they could be the way of maximising the benefits of a claim free first year on the road. The Co-operative say that young drivers save £556 on average using their policy (based on online independent research by Consumer Intelligence during August 2011).

It is worth remembering though that with both the two schemes above its the car rather than the driver thats being tracked, so can be unsuitable if its a car shared around the family.

Young Female Provisional Driver wanting to use another drivers car?

Provisional Marmalade

Extending the existing policyholders own insurance policy may the easiest way to allow a learner driver to practice in a car owned by someone else, providing the insurer is prepared to add the learner to the policy (many insurers who focus on 'safe' drivers will not do this), and the car in question is not a sporty model. However this does potentially put an existing no claims bonus in danger. These are now of considerable value given the recent rise in base premiums, and many experienced drivers feel this risk is too great.

Many find a better alternative is to use Provisional Marmalade who provide cover for provisional drivers driving someone elses car from under £3 per day - which can be really competitive - the learners cover can be purchased by the month and if there are any unused months when the new driver passes their test a refund will be given. To qualify the car used must have an insurance rating of ABI Group 32 or less and be valued at less than £20,000. This maximum grouping covers the vast majority of family cars that are suitable for a learner driver to practise in.

Also run a quotation through the moneymaxim Car Insurance Panel and look out for the Collingwood policy mentioned above they are happy for the policy to be used as an add on to protect the car owners own no claims bonus.

Spreading the cost of a Female Young Drivers policy

Beware the cost of paying monthly! Costs can vary massively - some insurers charge an interest rate of over 30%. If the best priced policy is one which charges a high interest rate consider applying for an interest free credit card - either to pay outright for the policy or to do a balance transfer if you have already paid for it on another card. See the moneymaxim guide to interest free credit cards for more details. The card applicant will need to be over 18 with a reasonable credit rating.

And finally....

If you need more help in finding young female drivers provisional car insurance please do call our customer service team - we are experienced in helping teenagers, those in the their early twenties, or even more experienced learner drivers (and of course parents!) in finding car insurance.

(* Quotations through the moneymaxim car insurance panel for a female learner driver on her seventeenth birthday living in Berkshire wanting comprehensive insurance (excess £200) started from £499 - quotations obtained 4th Jan 2012)

Article Date: 4th January 2012

More information can also be found on our sister website Young Drivers Car Insurance - Female Learner Drivers Policies

This information is based on journalistic investigation and research. It is not financial advice. Any information should be considered in regard to specific circumstances. Any suggestions followed up are done so at your own risk and your own research is key.