Cheap car insurance for learner drivers
Learner drivers have two critical factors which count against them when it comes to getting affordable insurance cover.
- They’re often young.
- They have very little driving experience.
In combination these two factors put learner drivers at higher accident risk.
In practice this means that L plate drivers are liable for massive insurance excesses if they drive on someone else’s plan and crash, or will pay very expensive rates if they attempt to get their own insurance cover.
Learner driver insurance rules
Learner drivers have to follow the same insurance rules as more experienced drivers, with a few extra requirements thrown into the mix to account for their lack of experience.
The most important insurance rules for learner drivers are:
- Learners are required to have Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance when driving. Learners who own their cars can get this cover by registering their vehicles in their names.
- Many insurers require the policy holders to list any learner drivers on their policy if they want comprehensive cover while the learner is driving.
- Learners are required to drive under supervision from a supervising driver who meets the legal requirements for this role in their state or territory.
- Learners must obey state and national traffic laws, as well as laws specific to learner drivers at all times.
Insurance for learner drivers on parents car
The most straightforward way for the average young learner driver to get insurance cover in Australia is to sign up on their family’s insurance policy.
In fact, if you’re a learner driving the family car you will often have to get listed on the family insurance plan or your parents could get hit with a huge undeclared driver excess if you’re involved in an accident – or worse have the claim rejected.
There are a few benefits to learners getting insurance on their parents plan:
- Getting insurance cover for a learner can be as easy as making a call to the insurer and asking for the learner to be listed.
- If you’re driving the same car as your parents it doesn’t make sense to have two separate policies on the same car.
- Getting listed on your parents policy may not cost anything up front, the risk is often covered by a higher excess that applies to accidents caused by a learner driver.
- At UbiCar it gets even easier. If the driver listed on the UbiCar policy is supervising the learner, the learner does not need to be listed on the UbiCar plan at all!
However, it isn’t always that simple. Getting coverage on an existing policy has some drawbacks:
- It can increase the excess on the insurance plan significantly, so a lot of cash will be required to subsidize the insurance claim if the learner driver gets involved in an accident.
- If learner driver has their own car or ends up being the main driver of the car then this insurance option isn’t available at all, and they are required to take out their own insurance.
- Not all learner drivers are young or live with their parents, and they may not have the option of getting listed on a family insurance plan.
Learner driver insurance for your own car
If you’re a learner driver with your own car, or you’re the main driver of the car you are driving, you’ll need to get your own insurance cover.
Despite being a very high risk group, most insurers offer insurance for learner drivers in their own car.
However, the majority of insurers are going to charge extremely expensive insurance rates.
The following table indicates the average insurance rates offered to 17 year old drivers by traditional insurance companies.
| State | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| ACT | $2818 | $2668 |
| NSW | $3462 | $3126 |
| NT | $4001 | $3502 |
| QLD | $1798 | $1641 |
| SA | $2347 | $2154 |
| TAS | $2161 | $1983 |
| VIC | $2056 | $2003 |
| WA | $1756 | $1797 |
The indicated average insurance rates were calculated by acquiring a range of online quotes.
The four lowest premiums for each gender were used to calculate averages. Quotes reflected pricing on www.comparethemarket.com.au for October 2018.
The car used for quotations was a white 2018 Toyota Yaris 1.3 mpi five door hatchback with manual transmission and petrol engine.
No additional accessories or factory/dealership options were selected. The car was marked as being parked in a garage overnight. No existing accident or hail damage, and car financed by lease.
For all drivers estimated driving mileage was set to 6,000 km annually, and drivers indicated as having no prior claim history.
Identical residential addresses were used for each gender in the relevant state or territory.
On top of the increased insurance rates, learners will also have to pay higher excess fees if they are involved in an accident and make a claim.
Fortunately, cheap insurance for learners with their own cars is now available in Australia.
Learner drivers simply need to track their driving with UbiCar telematics app, and if they can prove they are safe drivers they’ll be rewarded with affordable insurance rates.
More on how UbiCar works
What UbiCar’s users say
“UbiCar doesn’t stereotype like other insurance companies.“
Luke – New South Wales
“UbiCar has motivated me to be a better, safer and more considerate driver.
Jillian – South Australia
“It’s an easy process to arrange car insurance.”
Kevin – New South Wales
*Savings are factual and based on comparison between the customer’s current Comprehensive Car Insurance policy with UbiCar as of December 2018 and their policy with their previous insurer. Premiums and savings may differ depending on individual circumstance.
Save on Your Monthly Car Insurance
- Download UbiCar from your app store
- Take at least 5 trips and we’ll score your driving
- Get a quote within minutes
Short term car insurance for learner drivers
Many Australian states and territories require learner drivers to complete driving log books and rack up a specific number of supervised hours behind the wheel of a car before applying for P plates.
In practice this means that many learners do not need insurance cover for extended periods, and will only require short term learner driver insurance while they accumulate the required number of hours of driving experience.
Taking this into account, learner drivers who take out their own car insurance should avoid the usual approach of paying for a year of car insurance up front.
Instead taking out short term learner driver insurance can make more sense, and there are two options available here:
1. If you’re a learner and only going to be driving for a few days, then you can consider taking out a specialized short term insurance plan. The daily rates here can be very high, but if you’re only going to be driving for a couple of days it can still be more affordable than paying a full month’s insurance.
2. The easiest way to get cheap short term car insurance for learner driver with their own car is to take our regular insurance on a monthly payment plan. This way you can pay for insurance while you need it and cancel as soon as you don’t need it any more.
Learner driver insurance FAQs
If you still have questions regarding car insurance for learner drivers then you may find these answered in our FAQs below.
1. Do learner drivers need car insurance?
Yes, learner drivers are legally required to have Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance.
This will usually be covered while registering the vehicle they will be driving.
Learners are not legally required to get any other form of car insurance.
2. Are learner drivers covered by my insurance?
Insuring a learner driver on your car is straightforward if:
– they are driving a car listed on your policy
– and they are not the main driver of the car
Some insurers will require you to inform them that a learner is driving your car.
However, others cover learner drivers automatically with additional excess fees that kick in if a learner driver causes an accident in your vehicle.
Because rules will vary by insurer, it is advisable to contact your insurer to find out what their specific requirements and learner driver insurance costs are.
3. How much to insure a learner driver on my car?
The majority of insurers don’t require you to increase your monthly insurance rates if a learner is driving your car, if they are not the primary driver of the vehicle.
Instead they will automatically apply an additional excess payment in the event a learner causes an accident in your car.
The amount charged on the excess will vary between insurers, and additional excess payments may apply if the learner was not listed on your insurance plan.
4. Can you get insurance with a learners permit?
Yes, you can get insurance with a learners permit. You have two options:
- To get insurance cover on your family plan
- Or to take out your own insurance plan if you drive your own car.
5. What is the cheapest way to insure a learner driver?
The cheapest way to insure a learner driver is to cover them on an existing car insurance plan and supervise them closely so that they do not become involved in an accident.
If a learner drives your car without causing an accident, insuring them can cost you nothing at all.
UbiCar makes it as easy as possible to get cheap insurance for learner drivers.
Not only don’t you need to list the learner on your plan if you have UbiCar cover, but the learner can use the UbiCar app to get detailed feedback on their driving, reducing their risk of getting involved in an accident.
6. What is the best learner driver insurance for young drivers?
When it comes to the best insurance for young learner drivers, UbiCar is hard to beat. This is because:
- If you’re supervising a learner driver you don’t need to list them on your policy.
- If you’re a learner driver on your own policy you can get affordable rates by driving well.
- UbiCar provides learner drivers with important feedback on their driving behaviour, allowing them to become better drivers.
7. Can a learner driver insure a car by themselves?
Yes, learner drivers can get their own insurance cover on a car. In fact this is a requirement if they are the main driver of a vehicle.
Save on Your Monthly Car Insurance
- Download UbiCar from your app store
- Take at least 5 trips and we’ll score your driving
- Get a quote within minutes
