According to one recent study, one of the biggest stumbling blocks young drivers are facing today when taking to the roads is the price of a new van insurance premium. With no history to build up a no claims bonus and statistics proving that experience is a must to stay out of trouble on the road, there seems very little that the budding van driver or tradesman can do to lower their first few years’ van insurance quotes, no matter how many companies they compare online.
In order to address at least a part of the problem the AA is introducing a new product to market called ‘Drivesafe’ which, details in one recent report suggest, is an onboard GPS driving recorder to run in conjunction with a vehicle insurance policy to help lower insurance for young and inexperienced drivers.
This ‘pay how you drive’ insurance couldn’t come at a more opportune moment for those wishing to get behind the wheel for the first time; in the same report it highlighted the statistic that motorists aged between 17 and 22 have seen, on average, an almost forty percent rise in insurance premiums in less than twelve months.
Should young drivers follow the scheme to the letter and improve their driving skills to the target standard, a like for like insurance policy would cost the young driver £850 more without Drivesafe, a saving of around 25-33% on current quoted average policies for drivers who fall into that age bracket. This will be hard to beat as the cheapest van insurance for young drivers, if your driving is reported as improving as per the recommendations from your recorded driving history.
As with many youngsters taking to the road for the first time, there is usually a family benefactor (often the parent or grandparent) who funds the first few years either by contributing to the purchase of the car or van or, more likely in recent times, the insurance in some way. Drivesafe delivers peace of mind to the anxious parent that their investment can now be monitored and that their offspring can actually take steps and has incentives to improve their skills, securing that considerable lump sum cash injection needed.
In the next article, we examine in more depth exactly how the Drivesafe program works, who it works well for and the hidden danger (there is one, but only one) if your driving shows no sign of improvement, despite the ‘nanny’ on board.