As long as you have the owner’s permission, and you’re accompanied by a suitably qualified driver (aged at least 21, full licence for at least 3 years) then you should be ok to borrow a car for driving practice – but you still need to think about the insurance.
There are 2 main options :
ask the owner/main user of the vehicle to add you as a named driver to their annual insurance policy, or
buy short-term Learner Driver insurance in your own name.
There are pro’s and cons of each method :
getting added to an annual policy may not be possible (if , for example your parents had a policy specifically for drivers aged over 50), may be expensive (especially if the insurer adds a hefty administration fee each time it amends a policy), and may not be convenient (for example if you wanted to practice on a Sunday morning you may have difficulty contacting the insurer). Also – and this could be a contentious point – any claims that you have as a Learner WILL affect the No Claims Discount that the vehicle owner may have accrued over the years. On the positive side though, normally you would only have to do it once – although you’d need to contact the annual insurer again when you pass your test, and they may either refuse cover or impose stringent terms at that point.
short-term Learner insurance is much more flexible – you can either buy cover as-and-when you need it (say a couple of hours at a time), or you can buy a block of cover aimed to last as long as you anticipate it will take you to past your test. If you buy too much cove, for example if you bought 6 months of cover but managed to pass your test after 4 months then most companies will refund you a portion of the un-used premium (be sure to check the exact details in their terms – they may add a cancellation fee). Learner insurance is also more convenient – you arrange it yourself online and pay with your debit or credit card- and, crucially, any accidents do NOT typically affect the No Claims Discount of the vehicle owner.
You need to tread very carefully here. If you state that another person (eg. a parent or older relative) is the registered keeper and/or the main user of the vehicle when that is not in fact the case, then you could be guilty of Fronting. Insurance company claims departments are very switched on to the risk of Fronting and will investigate claims involving young drivers very closely to ensure it is not taking place. If they do find you to be guilty of Fronting then you some or all of any claim that you make could be declined, and you may have difficulty in securing any further insurance cover for your vehicle.
f you own a car then it needs to be insured, whether you use it or not (unless it’s SORN).
You have 2 main options :
Insure the car on an annual policy. This can e very expensive, with average premiums in the £1,500 – £2,000 range. You may be able to reduce this if you select a policy which comes with a Black Box (also called Telematics Insurance). This is a device which is fitted to your car to collect data about how your car is driven, such as acceleration, corner speeds and braking. That data is then converted into a scoring system (such as a mark out of a hundred, or a Red-Amber-Green traffic light system) which determines the ongoing cost of your insurance. Telematics policies for young drivers can reduce average premiums to around the £1,250 – £1,500 range for new drivers, although this of course depends on how, when and where you use your car. Black box insurers can be particularly sensitive about night-time driving, with heavy surcharges for use between 10 at night and 6 in the morning, so you might want to have a close look at their terms if you are planning to go down this route. You will also need to remember to tell your insurer as soon as you pass your test – they may change their terms at this point, so its a good idea to ask them in advance whether your price changes when you get your full licence.
Insure the car on a specific Learner Driver policy until you pass your test – at which point you arrange annual insurance on it. This can be a cheaper policy in the short-term, if you bought cover for a month say you could expect to pay around £75 – £150 per month, but you could probably reduce these figures by more than a third if you signed up for say 5 months instead of just 1 month. Of course when you start learning to drive you don’t know how long it’s going to take you to pass your test, so make sure you check the cancellation terms of the Learner Driver Insurance provider.
Again you’ll need to check with the individual provider, but typically Yes, Learner policies are submitted to the Motor Insurance Database (MID).
Don’t forget though that there will almost always be a delay between incepting a Learner policy and it being uploaded onto MID, so you should always make sure you have your insurance documents to hand when you are driving. Fortunately this usually includes electronic copies of documents, so it’s usually just a case of remembering your phone!
A Learner can only drive when supervised by a person who is at least 21 years old and has a full valid driving licence, which they have held for at least three years.
However, most Learner Driver Insurance policies require the accompanying driver to be older than this – many will only provide cover if the accompanying driver is aged 25 and over, whilst with others it’s 23 and over – so its vital that you check your own individual policy details first to see which limit applies to you.
When you are supervising a learner driver, you have the same legal responsibilities as if you were driving. For example, the drink drive laws and the ban on using mobile phone apply to anyone who is supervising a learner – you are deemed to be in control of the vehicle.
Most people can start learning to drive when they turn 17. In readiness for this, you can apply for a Provisional Licence when you are at least 15 years and 9 months old.
You can start driving a car when you’re 17, or 16 if you get, or have applied for, the enhanced rate of the mobility component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
As long as you have the owner’s permission, and you’re accompanied by a suitably qualified driver (aged at least 21, full licence for at least 3 years) then you should be ok to borrow a car for driving practice – but you still need to think about the insurance.
There are 2 main options :
ask the owner/main user of the vehicle to add you as a named driver to their annual insurance policy, or
buy short-term Learner Driver insurance in your own name.
There are pro’s and cons of each method :
getting added to an annual policy may not be possible (if , for example your parents had a policy specifically for drivers aged over 50), may be expensive (especially if the insurer adds a hefty administration fee each time it amends a policy), and may not be convenient (for example if you wanted to practice on a Sunday morning you may have difficulty contacting the insurer). Also – and this could be a contentious point – any claims that you have as a Learner WILL affect the No Claims Discount that the vehicle owner may have accrued over the years. On the positive side though, normally you would only have to do it once – although you’d need to contact the annual insurer again when you pass your test, and they may either refuse cover or impose stringent terms at that point.
short-term Learner insurance is much more flexible – you can either buy cover as-and-when you need it (say a couple of hours at a time), or you can buy a block of cover aimed to last as long as you anticipate it will take you to past your test. If you buy too much cove, for example if you bought 6 months of cover but managed to pass your test after 4 months then most companies will refund you a portion of the un-used premium (be sure to check the exact details in their terms – they may add a cancellation fee). Learner insurance is also more convenient – you arrange it yourself online and pay with your debit or credit card- and, crucially, any accidents do NOT typically affect the No Claims Discount of the vehicle owner.
You need to tread very carefully here. If you state that another person (eg. a parent or older relative) is the registered keeper and/or the main user of the vehicle when that is not in fact the case, then you could be guilty of Fronting. Insurance company claims departments are very switched on to the risk of Fronting and will investigate claims involving young drivers very closely to ensure it is not taking place. If they do find you to be guilty of Fronting then you some or all of any claim that you make could be declined, and you may have difficulty in securing any further insurance cover for your vehicle.
f you own a car then it needs to be insured, whether you use it or not (unless it’s SORN).
You have 2 main options :
Insure the car on an annual policy. This can e very expensive, with average premiums in the £1,500 – £2,000 range. You may be able to reduce this if you select a policy which comes with a Black Box (also called Telematics Insurance). This is a device which is fitted to your car to collect data about how your car is driven, such as acceleration, corner speeds and braking. That data is then converted into a scoring system (such as a mark out of a hundred, or a Red-Amber-Green traffic light system) which determines the ongoing cost of your insurance. Telematics policies for young drivers can reduce average premiums to around the £1,250 – £1,500 range for new drivers, although this of course depends on how, when and where you use your car. Black box insurers can be particularly sensitive about night-time driving, with heavy surcharges for use between 10 at night and 6 in the morning, so you might want to have a close look at their terms if you are planning to go down this route. You will also need to remember to tell your insurer as soon as you pass your test – they may change their terms at this point, so its a good idea to ask them in advance whether your price changes when you get your full licence.
Insure the car on a specific Learner Driver policy until you pass your test – at which point you arrange annual insurance on it. This can be a cheaper policy in the short-term, if you bought cover for a month say you could expect to pay around £75 – £150 per month, but you could probably reduce these figures by more than a third if you signed up for say 5 months instead of just 1 month. Of course when you start learning to drive you don’t know how long it’s going to take you to pass your test, so make sure you check the cancellation terms of the Learner Driver Insurance provider.
Again you’ll need to check with the individual provider, but typically Yes, Learner policies are submitted to the Motor Insurance Database (MID).
Don’t forget though that there will almost always be a delay between incepting a Learner policy and it being uploaded onto MID, so you should always make sure you have your insurance documents to hand when you are driving. Fortunately this usually includes electronic copies of documents, so it’s usually just a case of remembering your phone!
A Learner can only drive when supervised by a person who is at least 21 years old and has a full valid driving licence, which they have held for at least three years.
However, most Learner Driver Insurance policies require the accompanying driver to be older than this – many will only provide cover if the accompanying driver is aged 25 and over, whilst with others it’s 23 and over – so its vital that you check your own individual policy details first to see which limit applies to you.
When you are supervising a learner driver, you have the same legal responsibilities as if you were driving. For example, the drink drive laws and the ban on using mobile phone apply to anyone who is supervising a learner – you are deemed to be in control of the vehicle.
Most people can start learning to drive when they turn 17. In readiness for this, you can apply for a Provisional Licence when you are at least 15 years and 9 months old.
You can start driving a car when you’re 17, or 16 if you get, or have applied for, the enhanced rate of the mobility component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
