Learner driver insurance is amongst the most expensive vehicle insurance available in Australia with premiums typically costing up to four times the amount an experienced driver in their fifties is likely to pay for comprehensive car insurance and their greens slip. Why is learn driver insurance so expensive? Because the insurance industry operates on hypothetical risk profiles which are created using real data relating to accidents and claims made by learner drivers, P Plater drivers and drivers under 25 years of age. We use the real data as well but in a new and innovative way that utilises the technology that we have available to us rather than simply relying on historical data models.

By capturing the driving profile in real-time of all of our policy holders, Ubicar can tailor an individual’s insurance policy to their type of driving. We can even help you to increase your safety profile by offering you in-app advice and tips for improving your driving. This is particularly useful in the case of learner driver insurance because learner drivers, like anybody learning something for the first time, doesn’t know what they don’t know. By learning safety tips while they drive, they not only reduce their premium costs but they also improve their driving experience.

The basic and fundamental principles at play when looking for cheap car insurance for leaner drivers is this: the less likely you are to claim on insurance, the cheaper that insurance will be offered to you. In the case of learner driver insurance, no one really knows what kinds of skills and abilities that new driver will have when they join the rest of the motorists on the road so insurance companies must make an educated guess on the likelihood of a young driver needing to claim on their insurance. Experience shows that most accidents occur in city environments like Sydney and Melbourne and Perth, and that the majority of accidents are caused by inexperienced or distracted drivers who under the age of 30. There are different road rules for L platers as well to help combat the sorts of accidents they are most likely to cause and different demerit point penalties to help them avoid making potentially dangerous errors on the road. They are not allowed the same freedom to use mobile devices and, depending on whether they are in WA, SA, NSW, Victoria or QLD, there is also a limit on the number of passengers they are allowed to carry and strict times of day and night that they are permitted to carry passengers at all.

Younger people, regardless of whether they are driving, are statistically more likely to take chances than older adults. They are also less experienced on the road and less used to handling a machine as dangerous as a car. Retaining control of their vehicle under trying circumstances, regardless of whether or not they are initially at fault, is more challenging because they’re simply inexperienced. It’s only by driving more regularly that they will build that important knowledge base to help them cope better on the road. They are also less likely to search out ways of having their driving closely monitored. Nobody enjoys close scrutiny of their abilities, after all.

To manage the increased risk that they pose on the road, car insurance companies have come up with a few ways of trying to keep premiums affordable but also ensure that they are protected in the event of significant financial loss. An inexperienced driver excess is one such condition. Parents or guardians teaching their children to drive can take out a comprehensive car insurance policy that protects their vehicle in the event of an accident but should an accident occur while a younger driver is in control of it, the insurance company will ask for an increased excess amount at the time of claiming. Other excess may apply, also, depending on the policy and the individual.

Does a learner driver need car insurance?

With the significantly increased cost of learner driver insurance, the natural question to ask is whether it’s actually necessary or whether you can get away with not taking out a policy at all and ‘chancing it’ instead.

There is some vehicle insurance that is absolutely mandatory like CTP insurance. As part of the registration process, regardless of which state your vehicle is registered in, a driver have a valid drivers license and must be covered by a valid CTP car insurance policy. Compulsory third party insurance covers the driver of a vehicle for things like medical costs they may cause in the event of an accident. Often the excess is higher for younger drivers here as well, but this kind of vehicle insurance is non-negotiable. Without it, the individual could potentially face costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages.

It’s also worth remembering that the reason that learner driver insurance is so high is because these kinds of drivers are the highest risk. In evaluating whether you need to take out an insurance policy, it’s worth remembering that that policy is in place to help cover the costs of accident damage in the first place. Can you afford to be without a car or afford to assume the costs of repairs entirely if the worst occurs and your learner driver has an accident? What if you’re confident of that learner driver’s abilities and their road sense, to the point that you’re very sure they won’t cause an accident significant enough for you to worry about?

Well, in that case, you should be considering Ubicar. Along with rideshare insurance and Uber insurance, as well as standard insurance and insurance for cars like the Tesla, we do things a little bit differently. As a policy holder at Ubicar, you have the power to actively affect your risk rating by using our app. This app is designed to capture your driving profile in real-time measuring things like sudden or excess braking, cornering finesse and speeds. All of this data is used to develop an actual and truthful profile of a driver’s risk rating ensuring that the premium that we are offering reflects not just the historical data of accidents that have occurred in a specific post code or were the fault of particular drivers, but also the individual’s driving ability, adherence to road rules and general caution and safety. In this way, we can offer a fairer premium knowing that the risk profile you pose is very specific.

In the case of learner driver insurance, using our app also offers younger driver tips for increasing safety and awareness on the road. When they follow these tips and their driving data improves, that improvement is reflected in the best price learner driver insurance policies.

If you have been looking for the cheapest insurance quotes, then you should be considering Ubicar. It takes just 2 minutes to start online and there are no lengthy paperwork delays if you like your premium price. You can sign up online and you won’t pay extra to opt for paying your premium month to month, rather than in a single lump sum like some other insurance companies. Get an online quote for learner driver insurance now and compare the Ubicar difference.