High costs of driving causes downward trend in young drivers getting their own wheels. 26/05/2006 - DirectLine Car Insurance It’s not just the housing market that young people are being priced out of - the car-ladder is also proving to be a struggle for Britain’s younger generation, according to Direct Line. The spiralling cost of motoring is one of the main reasons four in 10 (43 per cent) non-driving 18-25 year olds are without a licence and a quarter of drivers who have passed their test do not have their own set of wheels – with the majority of these blaming the high costs. With the cost of buying and running a car nearing £5,700* in its first year, joining the car-ladder is out of reach for many wannabe motorists, with university costs (21 per cent of those who can drive but do not own a car), debt (12 per cent) and low wages (42 per cent) as the top three unavoidable expenses preventing them from getting a car of their own.

High costs for young drivers
“It’s expensive for anyone getting on the road for the first time and we see many youngsters driving their parents car for the first few years.  So to help young drivers Direct Line now allows named drivers on all policies to build up their own No Claims Discount (NCD) which should help to reduce the cost of insurance when they take a policy out in their own name meaning insurance costs are one less thing for them to worry about.”   And it’s not just financial pressure that young drivers who ... motor car repair insurance uk Read more...

Elephant goes green
motor car repair insurance uk Elephant.co.uk 's managing director, Tanzie Oliver, explained why it decided to lower the premium, "We are a very environmentally aware company, and currently support a number of conservation charities. Elephant.co.uk compared the cost of insuring the Lexus RX 400h SE through itself and two competitors and came up with the following prices:. So, what will this mean in terms of prices? Read more...

Norwich Union helps motorists
Examples of changes that motorists need to communicate are:. Norwich Union has reviewed the cover that it provides to customers driving a vehicle not owned by or hired to the insured. Jim Noakes, director of distribution and service development at Norwich Union, says:. motor car repair insurance uk Read more...

Notes: The research was carried out on behalf of Direct Line car insurance by YouGov Plc. A sample of 1,048 drivers between 18-25 were questioned online between 28th April to 2nd May 2006.  A sample of 289 non-driving 18-25 year olds were questioned online between 5th and 8th May. Results are unweighted.  YouGov is a member of the British Polling Council. *According to the YouGov findings young drivers on average spend £4,212.76 on buying their first car and spend £129.72 per month on its running costs £129.72 x 12 = £1,556.64 + £4,212.76 = £5,769.4.   **According to the YouGov findings one per cent of young drivers have bought a car with friends which equates to 21,350. There are currently 4,994,229 young people between 18-25 in the UK and of these 57 per cent drive (2,846,710).  75 per cent of young drivers own a car (2,135,032) therefore 0.01 x 2,135,032 = 21,350. DirectLine Insurance -