Financial capability - students

After finally passing my driving test just after my 18th birthday, I was looking forward to buying my own car. I had wanted to do it all myself without my dad's help and although he was great at lending me his car, I wanted my own wheels! I worked evenings and weekends at a local restaurant so as a reward to myself I bought my first car from a local second hand car dealership.

They included one month's free insurance, which gave me a bit of time to search for the best policy once it ran out. After going online to do a bit of research and price comparison, I soon realised that as a new driver under 20 the cost of car insurance can be really expensive.

I wanted to make the best decisions, so I asked my friends and family what they had covered in their policies. The best advice my dad gave to me was to make sure the excess (amount I would have to pay towards a claim) was as low as possible. I decided £200 was reasonable, and chose a policy based on that. I then set up a direct debit from my building society account to pay the monthly insurance premiums so I didn't have to worry about forgetting (I'm not the best at remembering stuff!). I also decided to go fully comprehensive; although this was more expensive, it gave me more reassurance if I was to have an accident.

Once my insurance certificate and policy information came, I read through these to make sure I understood everything and to check for anything unexpected! I noticed a section where you could tick a box if you didn't want to receive any further mailings and also an option not to receive automatic renewal of my policy. I decided not to renew automatically. I figured after one year of no claims, I would see what other insurance companies could offer me.

Activity:
Learning to drive can be expensive but running a car is also very costly. Choose your dream car and use a price comparison website to find the best possible insurance quote for a 'Fully Comprehensive' policy.

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