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Should I buy Short Term or Annual Learner Driver Insurance?

We explain the reasons you might choose short term learner driver or an annual policy.

There are many options open to you when you are looking to insure a car for a learner - running quotations through both the short term and annual insurance comparison services we offer and referring back to this guide will help you work out which is may work out best for you.

The key features that you should take into account are as follows:

Is the car already insured by a parent or friend?

If this is the case it's worthwhile checking with the existing insurer to see if they will extend cover. It can be more flexible. On the other hand it does put their no claims bonus at risk. Also many insurers will not allow provisional drivers to be added, particularly if their target market is safe, middle aged drivers with low claims histories.

Get a Short Term policy, especially if the forecast test date is within three months.

For

• Flexible - cover from a day to six months is available
• Can cover vehicles owned by the learner or borrowed from friends and family
• Can be extended easily

Against

• Can be more expensive than annual policies for periods of 3 months +
• Does not allow a no-claims bonus to be earned

Buy an Annual Learner Driver Insurance policy

For

• Works well for cars owned by the learner, and uninsured elsewhere (although if you run a quotation through our system and are offered prices from Collingwood this can also be used to covered borrowed cars - call them quoting the reference number from your quote to arrange)
• Can result in a no claims bonus being earned - these are not recognised by all insurers so can be of variable benefit, but the Admiral Group who are major young drivers insurers do.
• Some companies offer reasonable ways to spread the payment

Against

• Some policies have to be cancelled when the test is passed, others will increase the premium significantly at that time to reflect the higher risks.
• Not good for short periods of insurance.

Need more help? Don't hesitate to call the MoneyMaxim team on 0118 321 8197 who will be happy to discuss your options.

This content was last reviewed on 16/10/2023

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