Young male drivers can expect to pay 40% more for car insurance than their female counterparts, new research has found.
The average premium for a 17-year-old single male living inside the M20 and driving Ford Fiesta 1.3 is an astonishing £2,841. A similarly aged female would pay almost £1,200 less on average, as the tables below show.
Considering the hefty premiums being charged, it is absolutely essential you take the time to shop around for a cheaper quote. The Association of British Insurers estimates that you can save 35% by comparing as few as five insurance providers.
Cover for a younger male
| Provider | Annual Premium | Excess |
| Churchill | £2,841.30 (Incl. Online Discount) | £400 |
| Norwich Union | £5,533.00 | £320 |
| Thames City Insurance | £5,784.08 | £250 |
| Endsleigh | £5,842.26 | £600 |
| AutoDirect | £5,981.22 | £250 |
Student, 17 year old single male living in M20 (driving Ford Fiesta 1.3, 6,000 miles a year with 0 years NCD, car parked on road). Source: moneysupermarket.com Cover for a younger female
| Provider | Annual Premium | Excess |
| Churchill | £1,654.80 (Incl. Online Discount) | £400 |
| Tesco | £1,785.00 (Incl. Online Discount) | £400 |
| Direct Line | £1,864.80 (Incl. Online Discount) | £400 |
| Virgin | £2,020.20 (Incl. Online Discount) | £400 |
| Auto Trader | £2,843.13 (Incl. Online Discount) | £250 |
Student, 17 year old single female living in M20 (driving Ford Fiesta 1.3, 6,000 miles a year with 0 years NCD, car parked on drive). Source: moneysupermarket.comChoose your car carefully: The car you drive will have a dramatic impact on your insurance premiums. And it’s not just the value of your car that determines your cover costs, but various other factors like performance, engine size, and so on.
Take the time to gather a number of quotes for each of the various car models you are considering buying to get an idea of what you’ll have to pay for insurance.
With the average young driver’s premium costing 69% of the value of their car (according to uSwitch), it should be a central factor in deciding which car you go for.
Keep it standard: Regardless of the car you choose, avoid modifying it in any way. If a car is no longer a “standard model”, then insurers will hike premiums notably.
Shop online: Insurers offer hefty discounts of up to 20% when you buy your cover online. For young drivers this can translate into hundreds of pounds of savings for absolutely no extra effort.
Just make sure you fill out your application form carefully, as small errors can be costly to fix. For example, many insurers charge an ‘amendment fee’ of up to £25 just to correct a spelling mistake in your name or address on the policy.
Pay up front: When you buy insurance, you will be given the choice between paying for the year’s cover up front, or by monthly instalments.
While the latter may be tempting - especially when you consider the size of young drivers’ premiums – but it’s also far more expensive, as most insurers will charge you an obscene rate of interest on the outstanding debt (often above 20%).
If you can’t afford to pay it off in full immediately, you can always pay for the policy with a credit card that charges no interest on new purchases, such as the HSBC credit card, and pay it off over a year.
