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If a family member or friend takes you out in their car to practise driving, or you’re learning in your own car, it’s a legal requirement for you to have learner driver insurance in case you’re involved in a road traffic incident. You won’t need to worry, however, if you only practise with a driving instructor, as they’ll have their own car insurance.
From the eligibility requirements you need to meet, to how you can get a cheaper policy, our guide has you covered when it comes to everything learner driver insurance.
Learner driver insurance is a type of temporary cover for drivers learning to drive by spending some time behind the wheel of a car that is not their driving instructor’s. This could be their own car or that of a friend or family member.
Insurance for learner drivers covers accidents that cause harm or damage to their car or other vehicles and road users where the learner driver is at fault. One major benefit of having this type of insurance is that any claim you make as a learner will not impact the vehicle owner’s no-claims bonus.
While the eligibility requirements will differ from provider to provider, to take out learner driver insurance you’ll likely need to:
| As the driver | When choosing your vehicle |
|---|---|
| Be aged between 17 and 50 (the specific age range will vary) | Drive a car with a market value of less than £40,000, that is registered in the UK |
| Be a permanent UK resident | Drive a car less than 40 years old |
| Hold a provisional driving licence | Drive a car that is not a hired, rented, or under a lease that is less than 12 months’ long |
| Have no penalty points on your licence, any motoring offences, or other unspent criminal convictions | Drive a car with seven seats or fewer |
| Be supervised at all times by a qualified driver, over the age of 21 (or 25 for some providers), who has held their full driving licence for at least three years | Drive a car that has no engine modifications |
While you won’t need to take out learner driver insurance if you intend to use a driving instructor, there are a number of scenarios where it would be a legal requirement for you to take out cover:
To apply for learner driver insurance, you will need to give:
You can compare quotes for learner driver insurance using all of the major price comparison websites. This allows you to find a policy that suits your requirements at the best price.
There are different types of learner insurance, depending on the range of coverage you want:
Third party only car insurance is the lowest level of insurance required to legally drive on UK roads. It provides cover if you accidentally damage another person’s property, or injure or kill someone in a motor accident.
Third party, fire and theft car insurance is the next level of cover. Besides covering damage you cause to another driver or their property, it covers costs associated with the theft or attempted theft of your vehicle and accidental or criminal fire damage.
Comprehensive car insurance is the highest level of car insurance a driver can buy. It includes everything at the lower levels of cover, as well as accidental damage to your own vehicle. You’ll also likely have a number of additional benefits, depending on the provider, including courtesy car cover and personal accident benefits.
How long you take learner driver insurance for will depend on why you are taking it out. Typically you’ll have two options: annual and temporary cover.
Annual learner driver car insurance covers you to drive your vehicle or a family member’s or friend’s car for up to 12 months while you’re still learning.
This may be enough time to learn how to drive fully and pass your practical driving test, so you may want to get this type of insurance at the start of your learning process.
Short-term learner driver insurance is more common than annual insurance. You can get learner insurance for a single day if you wish. Typically, the length of short-term cover will range from one day up to five months. Some insurers offer even shorter terms, with temporary car insurance from one hour to 30 days.
This type of limited-term cover can be most useful if you are quite close to sitting, and hopefully passing, your driving test and don’t need to pay for a year’s worth of learner driver cover.
In October to December 2023, the car theory pass rate was 44.2 per cent, while the car practical test rate was 47.4 per cent.
Provisional insurance for learner drivers, like all types of insurance, comes with certain exclusions (things the policy won’t cover).
For example, a comprehensive learner driver insurance policy would likely:
| Covered | Not covered |
|---|---|
| Accidental damage, fire, theft or attempted theft | Claims if you’re not accompanied by a driver aged between 21 and 75 who has held a full UK licence for at least three years |
| Windscreen glass and window repair | Time restrictions, often excluding coverage between 10pm and 6am |
| Legal liability if another person is injured, dies or their property is damaged in an accident you’re involved in | If the car you’re driving isn’t also insured under the main driver’s annual policy |
| Taking your driving test in the car | Driving home from the test centre after passing your test |
Below are some notable providers of learner driver insurance:
Veygo by Admiral
Marmalade
RAC
Collingwood Insurance Services
Learning to drive is already expensive; paying for lessons, booking a test and buying your own car can be costly. So, when getting a learner insurance quote, you’ll want the best deal you can get.
Learner driver insurance is typically more expensive than regular insurance because insurers consider inexperienced drivers at a higher risk of having an accident. Some other factors can affect the cost of learner driver insurance, such as:
Cheap learner insurance is a bit like a unicorn – a myth. However, there are ways to reduce costs when looking for a learner insurance quote:
Additional cover – also known as add-ons – can be a good idea when buying insurance for learner drivers. If things go wrong, it can offer extra protection beyond what a standard policy covers.
This extra cover will increase the cost of your learner driver insurance, though. Before buying it, check to ensure you’re not already covered under your main learner driver insurance policy.
If you’re not already signed up with a roadside breakdown service, this add-on will cover you should the car you’re driving break down and need repairs. Before adding breakdown cover as an optional extra, check to see if you can get a better deal buying cover directly from a breakdown service.
Legal cover, also known as motor legal protection, insures against the costs you might face if someone takes you to court over an insurance claim, including any damages you may have to pay.
Personal accident cover pays out to you or your family if you’re injured or killed in an accident. While a comprehensive learner driver policy should include some level of personal accident cover, you may be able to increase the cover limits for an extra cost.
The courtesy car cover that comes with most comprehensive policies will only kick-in if you’re in an accident, and your car can be repaired. Hire car cover, on the other hand, will also apply if your vehicle is stolen or written-off. And you may even be able to get a similar-sized car, rather than the small hatchbacks typical of courtesy car policies.
You can apply for a provisional licence when you’re 15 years and nine months old. However, you can only start driving a car from your 17th birthday. A provisional licence costs £34 as of March 2024. Be sure to only use the official government website to apply. Once you have your provisional licence and have turned 17, you can apply for learner driver insurance.
Learner driver insurance can last as long as you need it to. For example, you could take out a policy for a few hours, so you can have a refresher lesson. Or, you could take it out for a few months, if you are just at the start of your learning journey.
When learning to drive, you must:
There’s no minimum number of lessons, or hours of practice, you need to have completed before passing your test.
However, the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) estimates that it takes around 45 hours of lessons, and an additional 22 hours of practise, for people to then pass their test.
It is possible to build your no-claims bonus as a learner driver, but only if you hold an annual policy for 12 months, and don’t make any claims on that policy.
If you want to learn to drive in more than one vehicle, you’d need to take out separate learner driver insurance policies on each car.
You can only drive on the motorway in England, Scotland and Wales if:
You cannot drive on the motorway as a learner in Northern Ireland.
You don’t need learner driver insurance to drive during lessons with a qualified driving instructor because they have their own insurance cover for that. However, learner driver insurance is required for informal driving lessons with a friend or family member.
Your learner driver insurance will cover you for your test, but only if you are taking the test in the car the policy was taken out on.
If you are taking your test in your instructor’s car, you’ll be covered by their insurance.
When you have passed your test, driving alone requires regular car insurance. You’re not even legally allowed to drive alone back from the test centre without it.
The cost of your car insurance will most likely increase once you pass your test and qualify for a regular policy. This is because you will be driving alone as an inexperienced driver rather than under the supervision of a more experienced driver, so insurers consider you at a higher risk of accidents.
It is possible to add a learner driver as a named driver to your car insurance policy. If you choose this option, any claims made by the learner driver will affect your no-claims bonus.
Adding a learner driver as a named driver will normally make your premium more expensive, as you are flagging to your insurer that a higher risk driver will be behind the wheel some of the time.
It may, therefore, be cheaper to take out a specific learner driver policy on your vehicle, rather than adding the learner to your insurance. Plus, if the learner has their own policy, they can potentially start to build their own no-claims bonus.
If you have two people in your life learning to drive at the same time, and they both want to use your car, it’s possible to take out two separate learner driver insurance policies on the same vehicle.
