Can you insure a young driver on a parent's car policy?

Young drivers have a couple of options to save money against the price of getting their own full annual policy:

• Getting added as a named driver to a more experienced driver's policy
• Getting temporary learner insurance on a family member or friend's car.

Let's start with adding a young driver to a parent's car insurance policy.

The parent - referred to as the 'main driver' - can use their experience on the road to reduce the cost for their son or daughter - referred to as the 'named driver'.

There are some limitations to being a named driver, though, and you could miss out on building your no claims bonus. So have a proper think before committing.

Main driver

Age is a really important factor insurance companies look at when working out how much your car insurance will cost.

Experienced drivers, over the age of 25, tend to pay less for car insurance because (statistically) they have fewer accidents and are less likely to make a claim.

Insurance tends to be more expensive for drivers under 25 because they are more likely to get into an accident and have to claim. Around 25% of all claims are made by drivers under 25.

This means it usually works out cheaper to add a young driver to the policy of a parent (or more experienced driver), instead of going it alone with their own full insurance policy. (FYI: it's probably cheapest of all to get your own temporary policy - more on that coming up 👇)

By the way, insurers also look at lots of other things when working out home much you should pay for a policy, including your:

• Vehicle
• Job title
• Claims history
• Postcode
• Annual mileage
• Car modifications

There are downsides, though.

Named drivers are limited on how much they can use

Adding a young person as a named driver will probably save money compared with getting their own full policy, but could limit the amount they can drive.

This is because if you're listed as the named driver, but do most of the driving, you could be committing insurance fraud known as "fronting" - which is illegal. (Read more about this here)

If you're caught fronting, your car policy may be invalidated which could make it harder for you to get insurance in the future. 😕

Read more about fronting here.

Named drivers can't usually build up a no claims bonus

Some insurers offer a discount on your car insurance policy for each year you drive without making a claim. This is called a no claims bonus (or no-claims discount).

Usually, insurers only give proof a no claims bonus to the main policyholder (although a handful of insurers allow named drivers to build up a bonus too but often the discount can only be used with the same company).

Although it might be cheaper to be added as a named driver compared with getting your own full policy, you could be missing out on building up years of claim-free driving.

In the long term, a good no claims bonus could help make your car insurance cheaper - so it's worth weighing this all up.

Young drivers can get cheaper insurance by adding a named driver to their policy

It works the other way too!

Adding an experienced named driver, such as a parent, to your policy could reduce your overall risk level and help you get a cheaper car policy.

An experienced driver with a good driving history is statistically less likely to get into an accident.

This makes them cheaper to insure since they're less likely to make a claim.

As the main policyholder, you'll be able to get proof of your no claims bonus from your insurer.

This could help make buying car insurance cheaper in the future 🎉

Temporary car insurance could be cheapest for young drivers

While you can reduce your premium using named drivers, it could be cheapest to simply get a temporary insurance policy like Cuvva:

• Temporary car insurance for borrowing or lending a car in minutes.
• Learner driver cover for driving lessons, getting practice in with a supervisor, or taking the driving test.
• Drive away insurance for getting your new car home from the dealership.
• Temporary van insurance for moving home, dropping things to the recycling centre, or carrying a heavy load.

And it only takes a few minutes to get a quote.

Saving money on your car insurance

There are a load of other clever ways you could reduce your premium without having to add a named driver to your policy.

We've got a whole guide with our 21 top tips on how to reduce your car insurance premium. Check it out!

And because we love a bargain so much, we wrote a whole separate guide about getting cheaper insurance for young people.