There are so many instructors in the UK so how do you go about getting the right one? You can check out the locals in your area based on their experience, availability, costs and reputation. Make sure you have provisional insurance in place if you decide to do private driving practice though.

You can get a notion of how driving lessons feel like once you speak to friends and families who have had lessons.
You can get driving lessons from anyone who is aged above 21 and has held a driving license for more than 3 years but make sure that you include private tutoring from a driving instructor as well.

The more experience you get of driving the easier it will be for you to get your license; it is estimated that someone needs 44 hours of lessons from an instructor and 22 hours from private means to successfully get his/her license.

It varies from person to person though and may consist of more or less hours to become fully confident.
Your driving instructor will help you with feeling confident about the test and may encroach the following points like the theory test, driving in dangerous conditions, road hazards and what you should improve on.

You can go for additional lessons once you have passed the test to remain safe on the roads. For instance, Pass Plus is a course that you can follow which teaches you about the realities of driving through some practical modules.

However you choose to learn to drive, getting the right instructor will help you in understanding the procedure better and make it more comfortable too.

It is not cheap to learn how driving a car. It could take around £1000 to learn driving with the help of some professional or a driving school. This high cost of learning pushes a lot of people to seek free lessons from other sources, which are usually provided by a family member or a friend.

This makes it all the more necessary to have learner insurance for those additional free lessons and the insurance should be on the car in which the lessons are being taken. However, some car owners already have the insurance cover for such driving lessons, which makes it unnecessary on the part of the provisional driver to have additional insurance coverage. But, such cases are very rare and only apply when provisional insurance has been taken (usually when the learner is named on the parents’ policy) and hence it becomes the responsibility of the learner to ensure that the car is adequately insured.

There are some learners and some parents who think it is an unnecessary burden to have any extra insurance cover. Their common perception is that a comprehensive car insurance policy is more than enough to cover all kinds of claims implicating a learner driver. This perception is entirely wrong, as a regular car insurance cover is not meant for covering the claims of a driver who has just got a provisional licence.

So, if you are thinking about doing your driving lessons with the help of a near and dear one and not from a professional, then you must collect the information from their car insurance company whether you could be added as a provisional driver on their policy. If they don’t add you on their car insurance policy for whichever reason, you must start looking for your very own insurance policy. In its absence, you could be breaking the law and be prosecuted.

If you are caught without a proper provisional driving insurance, police can confiscate the car itself. They also have the power to destroy the confiscated car. But the story doesn’t end here. Your driving licence will also be endorsed with penalty points that will hold up for as long as you don’t qualify for full driving license.

When you go searching for comprehensive provisional drivers insurance, you will find that a lot of insurance companies are not dealing with this kind of insurance. They may also refuse to add you up as a learner in the car policy of your parent.  So, the best way to get yourself as well as your car insured is to apply for learner driver car insurance, in your name only. It is more flexible and available for short term periods as well.

So, is it easy to get one or not? Well, yes, as long as you can afford to pay for it. The problem facing most learner drivers with provisional licences is the cost of insurance. The premiums are high because of the statistics which have been gathered over the years put learners at a disadvantage. Think about these facts and then you’ll understand why premiums are so high for new drivers, who are mostly in the 17-25 year old age bracket.

First of all, young male drivers in the aforementioned age bracket make up only 3% of drivers on UK roads, but these young men account for a quarter of all serious road accidents, such as death caused by dangerous driving. Then for another statistic; the risk of an accident involving a death or injury is 7 times greater for drivers aged between 17 and 20 compared to drivers aged 40+. Yet another unfortunate statistic is that drivers under 21 are responsible for 15% of all accident deaths on UK roads. If you need another statistic, try this one; new drivers make up only 10% of driving licence holders, but they are involved in 29% of all traffic accidents. So insurers raise their premiums because a provisional license holder is more likely, especially if in the 17-25 year old bracket, to be involved in an accident than other drivers.

However you can get insurance, at a price. Unfortunately relatives and friends are often unwilling to put the name of a young learner driver on their insurance policy, because if they are involved in an accident, then the policy holder will lose his/her no claims bonus, which was difficult enough to get in the first place. A learner driver should realize that it might be better to get their own policy.

Go online and get some quotes, and don’t be too dismayed, there are companies out there which will help you get good deals. Some offer you a weekly policy, renewable every week, and this can cost less than 20 pounds a week. If you are fairly confident that you will pass your test quickly, then this option is worth considering. Companies also offer short term policies for 3 months, another cheaper option. If you have a car with a 1 litre engine, then this will also lower the premiums you pay.

When you get Third Party, Fire and Theft insurance, you should be aware that this does not cover you or your car, only the person who is accompanying you in the car and people and their cars you are involved in an accident with. The more expensive fully comprehensive policy is just that and covers everything and everyone, although you may have to pay for some of the damage incurred too.

So shop around and get the best deal for you, and remember, it’s illegal to drive without a valid insurance policy even if you’re a learner driver.

There are a whole lot of people who surmise that their insurance quotes will become lower after they’ve passed the driving test but that isn’t true at all. At the time when you’re having driving lessons, there are many companies who’ll offer cheap provisional driving insurance to you because they know that you’re going to be supervised at all times. You must take this opportunity and learn to the best of your ability so that you become a great driver. Detailed and complete policies are available along with third party budget schemes but for the learner who is more prone to scraping the car while reversing, a comprehensive policy is the way to go. But, to find an apt insurance company which is ready to insure you might be a difficult task. It may occur to you that though you are not having frequent street accidents, why they are reluctant to provide insurance cover to you. The reason is simple – they want more people with more experience which you can only acquire through driving experience. Of course watching videos and instructions on driving and various street signs may help overcome your nervousness and make you a better driver as well.

Not many insurance companies in the UK provide cheap car insurance to provisional drivers. It is a good idea to consult the policies of your parents, friends or family to find whether you could be added as an additional driver. There are restrictions which are applicable to learners and you should always adhere to them and it is worth checking whether the insurer is trustworthy and has a good background, as it may happen that they may fail to provide a good deal for your insurance or even a proper rate or even decline your claim. Insurance policies for learners and almost inexperienced drivers are quite difficult to find, so don’t give up just yet. To provide an appropriate insurance, companies always go through the customer’s documents repeatedly to see whether they can make profit out of the latter. This is the same for all types of insurances. Temporary driving licence holders also face trouble in finding a worthy company.

To conclude, don’t just go with any insurance company as some may be fraudulent and those that offer genuine insurance products may have some strict terms and conditions along with higher rates. It’s better to find a trustworthy company which understands you as a learner driver and it is ideal to get a temporary insurance policy for provisional drivers.

Some people will say that learning in different cars other than your learner car will cause confusion. In some cases yes it can be confusing driving different vehicles but at the same time it is a very good experience. Different cars have different controls and locations of the buttons that  you will need whilst driving. For example you need to adjust your seat, mirrors and also turn on headlights if visibility is low or even windscreen wipers if it is raining outside. All cars have buttons and indicators in different locations so it’s worth having a wide knowledge of different cars and how they work. It’ll also give you some confidence when you have to test drive your first car, at least then you will have other vehicles to compare it to.

If you do find someone who can let you have private driving practice, then you must remember that the person who is mentoring you must be over 21 with a 3 year unblemished driving record. You might automatically assume you are insured to drive most vehicles if it is has fully comprehensive cover but this is not true. You will need to have insurance cover if you have a provisional licence and choose to take private driving practice, even if it is in an abandoned warehouse car park or supermarket car park after hours.

If you can have even one hour of private practice a week, it will increase your confidence behind the wheel even further. You might also realise that you don’t need as many lessons as you initially thought therefore saving you money in the long run. If you have parents who are car owners. then the chances are they will fully support and help you pass quicker with words of wisdom.

Don’t forget you will need to display L plates on the front and rear of the vehicle to let other road users know that you are not a fully qualified driver. This will in turn make sure they keep a safe distance away from you and give you time to carry out manoeuvres.

Different people learn at different rates and driving on your own without any fears or mistakes can come easily or take a long time depending how fast you learn and are able to implement the new skills into practice. If you’re a bit slow on the uptake, then you should practice as much as you can to develop the driving confidence in you. This is not to say that people who learn faster should do the bare minimum. On the contrary, the more driving experience you have, the better driver you will be.

When learning with a driving instructor, there’s a lot to accomplish within a short amount of time. Some people have 1 hour driving lessons (2 hours per session is recommended though) and that’s not enough time to apply the knowledge you’ve been given and master it at the same time. It is crucial to be able to perform all the different manoeuvres without difficulty to pass the practical test. So you can either spend more time with the driving instructor or practice privately. The first option can be costly because the instructor is paid on an hourly basis. In the second scenario, you can learn to drive in a car owned by somebody you know.

Most often, parents want to teach their kids how to drive in their own car. However their current car insurance policy does not cover their children driving the vehicle listed on the policy and when they try to add the son or daughter on their own policy, the insurer bluntly refuse because they do not have a full UK driving licence yet. Some insurers will take drivers who only have a provisional licence on board but this can cost a lot. There are three major disadvantages to annual provisional car insurance and they are:

• High premiums for provisional drivers
• Stuck with the same car insurance company for a year which means you cannot get better deals after passing your test
• Risk of losing no claims bonus for main driver (if you have an accident, your parents will lose their NCB because you’re a named driver on their policy)

The solution if you just have got your provisional driving licence is simple – you just need to get insured for the time that you’re a learner. Hence a learner driver insurance policy is more suited for you and the advantages are as follows:

• Flexible short term car insurance policies – insure to drive your parents’ (friends/family) car for as little as a week
• No risk to parents’ no claims bonus (NCB) – the policy will be in your name so if you have an accident, it will be claimed under your own policy and not your parents
• Get better deals when you pass – when you’ve passed your driving test, you can get car insurance with another company as you’re not bound to an annual provisional insurance policy contract

Bearing all this mind, it makes sense to go for provisional car insurance if all you’ve got is the green licence (no pink one yet but working towards it) as this will enable you to get more driving practice to help you pass your test quicker.

Within two years of having my licence, I was involved in an accident fortunately. I was fine but the front bumper needed to be replaced. Since I was the named driver and not the main driver, my husband was the one who lost his no claims. This was in November 2007 and the insurance was up for renewal in March 2008. Nearer to the time that our insurance was up for renewal, my husband was very angry that the insurance premium went up by £200. There wasn’t anything we could do to bring it down as it was still a disputed claim. We did manage to bring the premiums down by £100 but overall we should’ve saved at least £300 on our renewal quote.

It has been two years since the accident and we have received half of the money back from the claim and have two years no claims bonus which means lower premiums. It was such a drag having a blemished record but we have recovered and are pleased with our current insurance policy.

Dealing with the accident
Luckily I always carried a pen and notebook in my car; she got out and yelled at me but I refused to let her get to me when she was in the wrong! I took down her name and number and her insurance details together with her licence plate. Luckily the traffic wasn’t moving and we were stationary so having an accident in the middle of the road wasn’t so bad. If this was to ever happen, you should never move your car as this is evidence. I left my car as it was whilst the other women moved hers. The only other thing I didn’t do was get the names of any witnesses as this helps settle the claim faster – in future I will try and do this if there are any.

When I went home, I didn’t tell anyone as it was so embarrassing even though it wasn’t my fault. When my husband came home I told him and yep he was very angry. I was lucky in a way because it was dark so he couldn’t really see the damage until the next morning. That same evening the lady who caused the accident called to see if I was going to go through my insurance. I thought this was very strange as she had caused the accident so of course I was going to inform my insurance company. The lady refused to accept she was at fault and tried to get me to pay for the damages to her car.

Claiming for the accident
That evening I called our insurance company (Churchill) and they took down all the details. They also asked me to write a detailed statement of what happened with a diagram of how the accident happened. I did this the next day so that I don’t forget any crucial details. Because I informed the insurers, I had to have my car repaired through a garage approved by them. I was comprehensive insured so a courtesy car was arranged for me whilst my Nissan Micra was taken to be repaired. My excess was £500 and guess what, the estimated damage cost was £500 so I had to pay this and because I was a named driver my husband lost his no claims which made it worse. I later found out that if I went directly to a Nissan garage it would’ve only cost me £250 for the same work carried out by the other garage.

Settling the claim
A few months after the accident I started getting letters asking me to pay for the courtesy car. I refused and told them to contact my insurer which was Churchill at that time. The other lady still hadn’t accepted responsibility for the accident so I was in for a long ride. After two years, I have finally had it all settled – the other lady still didn’t accept fault but we managed to get half the amount I paid for the damages through a third party solicitor.