Learner driver insurance
Keen on some practice outside your driving lessons?
A flexible learner driver insurance policy could be an easier and cheaper way to get extra practice in your own car, a friend's or a parent's.
Drive in under 5 minutes
Protect the owner's No Claims Discount
Manage it all easily in the app
Practice for a driving test with learner driver insurance
Provisional licence holders aged 17 to 40 can get learner car insurance in under 5 minutes. They'll get fully comprehensive cover, the highest category of driver insurance available, including coverage for damage to the car, other people’s cars or property, personal injury claims and much more.
If you borrow a car, the owner's insurance policy won’t be affected in case of an incident, and their no claims bonus will be safe. Learner insurance is bought in increments of 1 hour - it’s the ultimate in flexibility. You can extend whenever you need on the app, and you don’t need to commit in advance.
Affordable, flexible learner driver insurance with Cuvva:
Only pay for what you need
Flexibility
Hourly learner driver insurance
Drive up to 6 hours in a day, from 9am to 8pm
Instantly extend your cover in the app if you need more time
Fast and fully comprehensive
Hassle and worry free
Sign up in the app or online and get driving in under 5 minutes
All your policy documents are sent instantly to your phone
Faster than being added as a named driver
The highest category of coverage including damage to your vehicle, other vehicles, personal injury claims and much more
Better for supervisors
Peace of mind
No risk to the supervisor’s no claims discount in case of an incident
No need to call the insurer or add the learner as a named driver
The provisional licence holder covers the cost
Learner driver insurance can be much cheaper
When comparing being added as named driver to Temporary learner driver insurance, it can work out much cheaper - possibly more than £2,000 cheaper. For example, adding an 19-year-old man in Cardiff to his parent's Vauxhall Astra Active policy could cost an additional £2,132. Getting Temporary learner driver insurance for his DVSA recommended 20 hours of practice (outside of lessons) with Cuvva instead could cost him just £223.
Bargain!
Research undertaken in September 2022.
Learner driver eligibility and supervisor rules
Who it’s suitable for
Provisional licence holders aged 17-40
Those who have held their provisional licence for less than 5 years
GB licence holders (that means issued in England, Scotland, or Wales)
Vehicle requirements
Your car must be in insurance group 20 or lower
You can drive your own car
You can borrow someone else's
We allow most modifications, including for disabilities
Only cars are allowed - so we can't cover motorbikes, vans or taxis
Your supervisor will need to
Be over 25 years old
Be qualified to drive the type of car you’re learning in (for example, someone with an automatic licence can only supervise someone in an automatic car)
Do learner drivers need their own insurance?
If you’re getting lessons from a private instructor or a driving school, insurance is usually included. This is mandated by the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency and the instructor has to cover the cost.
However, if you’re getting behind the wheel to practice in a car outside your usual lessons, you’ll need to get your own learner driver insurance, or get added to the car owner’s policy as a named driver.
What is the cost of learner driver insurance?
It varies by driver and car, but here’s an example of how much the average provisional licence holder pays for their learner insurance:
• £15.41 for 1 hour
• £19.27 for 3 hours
• £40.82 for 6 hours
These are the average prices that Cuvva’s drivers pay as of September 2022.
Provisional licence insurance coverage
With Cuvva, you’ll get fully comprehensive cover with your learner insurance including:
• Damage to the car you’re driving up to £40k
• Damage to third party property up to £2m
• Your legal liability to other people arising from an accident
• Attempted theft, theft and fire damage
• Taking your driving test in your own or someone else’s car
Learning to drive - some useful guides
The easiest and hardest places to pass your test
The average pass rate for a driving test is 51.6%. Here’s a guide on the easiest and hardest places to pass - with a suprising 44% difference between the easiest and hardest!
The benefits and limitations of being a ‘named driver’
Getting added as a learner driver to a parent’s insurance? Here's everything to keep in mind about being a named driver.
Driving test checklist
It’s time to build up that pre-test confidence. Use our driving test checklist to get familiar with what to expect on the day, and what to do if you pass or fail.
Don’t worry if you fail. Almost half of us fail first time!
How to get learner driver insurance fast
Get insurance for learner drivers in less than 5 minutes.
1
Get a quote
It just takes a few clicks or taps on the app
2
Find the car
Enter the registration plate
3
Check your cover and pay
Get provisional licence insurance from 1 hour
4
Extend whenever you need
If you need more time than you thought
What to do when you’ve passed your driving test
Once you’ve passed your test, notify us in the app. Your learner driver insurance will be cancelled, and we’ll help you get a quote on our Temporary full licence insurance. PS - congratulations! 🥳
Cuvva’s Temporary cover is suitable for young drivers who have held their licence for at least a year, and don’t want to install a black box, or put up with telematics curfews.
Why Cuvva is faster and easier
The future of car insurance is here
Notification reminders
Know when your policy is ending
Apple Pay and Google Pay support
For fast, secure payments
Licence scanner
Get your Temporary insurance set up at the speed of camera
World beating customer service
Get an average 1 minute human response in the app
Provisional licence insurance common questions
Can I drive on a provisional licence without a qualified driver?
- It is against UK law to drive alone or without a qualified driver if you’re a learner. Always have a qualified driver with you so that your licence stays clean and your car doesn’t get impounded! With Cuvva, your supervisor must be over 25 and have held their full licence for five years – though this doesn’t have to be a UK licence.
Does my insurance cover other learner drivers?
- Unless the learner driver is a named driver on the policyholder’s insurance, it’s safe to assume that they are not covered.
- However, learner driver insurance is fairly accessible now and with some insurers like Cuvva, a learner can get coverage of their own for as little as 1 hour.
- At Cuvva, each account is only attached to one person’s details. Any policies purchased on the account would only cover the main driver to drive the vehicle.
How many driving lessons can I take in one week?
- There are no minimum or maximum time limits when learning to drive in the UK, but we recommend a maximum six hours in one day.
- This is consistent with our policies in the app - you can get covered up to six hours in one 24 hour period.
Does driving as a learner count towards a no-claims discount?
- Unfortunately not, because our learner insurance counts as a short-term policy.
Do I need a supervisor when I learn to drive?
- Yes - you can be fined up to £1,000 and you’re likely to get 6 points on your licence if you drive without a supervisor. Yikes!
- Remember, you’ll need your own policy to drive, and you’ll need to be aged 17-40. We can’t insure learners who have had a provisional licence for over 5 years.
Do you get to build up a no claims bonus (No Claims Discount) with Temporary car insurance?
- Insurers usually provide an No Claims Discount document when a driver has been insured for a year, without any at-fault or joint-fault claims.
- At Cuvva, our Temporary policies are a maximum of 28 days long, so we can’t provide No Claims Discount documents, even if you get 12 policies consecutively. However, with Subscription - our rolling monthly cover - you can add to and protect your No Claims Discount.
Can I teach someone to drive in my own car?
- Yes! With Cuvva, you can teach someone to drive so long as they can get a quote on your vehicle and your vehicle isn’t modified. Learner drivers can get a policy on vehicles up to insurance group 20, and you can teach them if you are aged over 25 and have held your full licence for five years.
Where can learners drive?
- If you’re learning to drive within England, Wales, and Scotland, you should be able to drive wherever your confidence takes you – with enough time to get back home of course! Since 2018, learners can even drive on the motorway. Cuvva sadly can’t cover drivers in Northern Ireland at the moment but this could change in the future. The golden rule is if you can get a policy in your area, then we can insure you.
Can a learner drive on the motorway in the UK?
- You’re brave! But yes - since June 2018, the DVSA has allowed provisional drivers to learn on the motorway.
- However there are two things you need to bear in mind:
- 1. The car must have dual controls (that is - a set of pedals on the passenger side)
- 2. Your driving instructor needs to be registered and approved by the DVSA - they need to be an 'Approved Driving Instructor' (ADI).
- So a trainee instructor or a 'Potential Driving Instructor' with a PDI licence wouldn’t be allowed to take you on the motorway.
Can I add a provisional driver to my insurance as a named driver?
- Yes. It’s pretty simple, and is usually cheaper than getting the learner their own standalone annual policy.
- However, it can add hundreds of even thousands of extra pounds to your premium, and put your No Claims Discount at risk.
- An alternative would be to get them insured on your car using hourly temporary insurance. It’ll probably work out cheaper, plus it keeps your No Claims Discount safe.
Can I get temporary learner driver insurance?
- Sure can! It depends on the insurer, but you can usually get hourly policies for learner drivers - perfect for practicing outside of lessons.
- There are often limits though on how often you can drive with this sort of policy. For example, with Cuvva you can only get 6 hours of learner insurance within a 24 hour period.
- Sometimes there are restrictions on what time of day you can drive, too.
Does provisional licence insurance show up on the askMID database?
- Yes it does. However, like normal temporary car insurance, it can sometimes take a little while to show up.
- This doesn’t mean your insurance isn’t valid. Once you have your policy docs, you’re all sorted.
If someone’s car is uninsured, can I get learner driver insurance on it?
- Yes, that’s no problem. As long as the car has passed its MOT, is taxed and is below insurance group 20, you can get learner insurance on it.
- It may be worth reminding the owner it is their legal responsibility to have at least third party insurance of their own if it’s parked in a public place e.g. a road or street.
Is there a difference between provisional licence insurance and learner driver insurance?
- Nope, they mean the same thing.
Does provisional licence insurance cover you after you’ve passed your driving test?
- No it doesn’t. Once you pass, you’ll need to sort out full insurance.
- This kicks in immediately, by the way, so if you pass your test in your own car, you’ll need to get someone to drive you home or sort out full insurance before you head back from the test centre.
- This is where temporary insurance is great. You can sort yourself for a few hours’ of insurance to give you time to get home and sort out a full policy.
Do I need supervisor insurance when supervising a learner driver?
- Nope! If you’re accomponying a friend or family member who is learning to drive, you just need to be over 25 and have a full licence for the type of car (a manual or automatic) they’re driving.
Are other drivers allowed to supervise you when learning to drive if they aren’t the car owner?
- Yes, that’s no problem. As long as they are over 25 and have a full licence, they can act as a supervisor while you’re getting some extra hours of practice in.
What do I do if I have an accident while driving on short term car insurance?
- If there is significant damage or any injury, make sure you call the police, record the scene with pictures and get the names of those involved. We’d also suggest you don’t make any admission of fault at the scene.
- You’ll be covered if you have an active policy. Contact the underwriter in your car insurance policy documents to make a claim.
The expert's view
Adam Kent, Cuvva's Senior Underwriting Lead and Insurance Expert, said: ‘There are a few key benefits of taking out learner driver insurance on your parent's car rather than becoming a named driver. It can be much cheaper, you can practice without having to worry about your parents' no claims bonus, and if your lesson overruns you can extend it with a quick tap of your phone.’
Driving test useful guides
Can you use your own car for your driving test?
Yes you can. There are some standards and requirements, however, so make sure you don't get turned away at the test centre.
What your driving test examiner will be looking for
Here’s everything you need to know about the big day, from how to prepare your car to how much conversation to expect.
How long it takes to learn to drive
The DVSA says it takes most people 45 hours of lessons and 22 hours of practising. We've broken down the different parts of what can be a long and confusing process.
The cost of learning to drive
Learning to drive can be expensive, so we've crunched the costs for a pricing breakdown. It all starts with an application for your licence, which costs between £34-43.
10 reasons people fail a driving test
Don't fall into the trap of making one of the 10 most common driving test mistakes! Here's the hall of shame.
Can you drive with a provisional licence?
Yes, you can learn to drive with a provisional driving licence. There are some exceptions, but you must be 17 to actually take the test. Here's how it all works.
Any questions?
Forget automated replies and chatbots! Our customer support team is made up of real people - with an average one minute response time. We’re on hand between 6am and 1am every single day. If you have any questions about our short term car insurance, let’s have a chat.
Already have a Temporary car insurance policy?
Get answers from the Cuvva team on all of our short term car insurance policies, payment queries, privacy concerns and much more.
Learning to drive common questions
What is the average number of lessons a learner driver needs before passing their test?
- The Driving Standards Agency (DVSA) says it takes learner drivers about 44 hours of driving lessons to pass their test.
- Everyone’s different though! You might pass your test after less, or it might take you longer.
What is the average number of hours practice (outside of lessons) a driver needs before passing their test?
- The DVSA recommends getting about 20 hours of driving practice outside your lessons so you can get confident before your test.
- You can practice in a parent’s car, your own car, or someone else’s. You just need to make sure you have a qualified driver who’s older than 21 with you at all times.
What is the average cost of learning to drive?
- There are quite a few different costs involved in learning to drive – you have to pay for lessons, your practical and theory tests, learner driver insurance (for when you practice outside of your lessons), and your provisional licence. Let’s break it down 👇
- 44 hours of driving lessons with an instructor costs on average between £1,188 and £1,540.
- Theory tests cost £23.
- Practical driving tests cost £62 on a weekday and £75 on a weekend or bank holiday.
- A provisional licence costs £34 if you get it online or £43 by post.
- How much it costs to get insured to practice outside your lessons varies a lot depending on which insurance route you take. Getting added to a parent’s policy costs £2,253.37 on average. Getting your own temporary learner driver insurance for the recommended 20 hours costs about £252.80 (that’s £12.64 an hour).
- Depending on all of the above – it could cost you around £1,559.80 to £3,934.37 to learn to drive.
How much do driving lessons cost?
- Driving lessons normally cost between £27 to £35 an hour (based on three leading driving schools in the UK).
How much money could you save by using temporary learner driver insurance?
- We carried out some really comprehensive research to find out how much money you can save by getting temporary learner driver insurance instead of being added to your parents’ policy.
- The results show that you could save over £2000 by doing so! Plus your parents’ no claims bonus gets protected if you get your own temporary learner driver insurance.
- To break it down: the average cost of adding a learner driver to an annual policy is £2,253.37. But you could get 20 hours of learner driver insurance for just £252.80. No brainer!
What are L plates, and are they mandatory?
- If you’re a learner driver in the UK, you have to display L plates (or ‘learner plates’) on your car. If you’re in Wales you can display L plates or D plates. The D stands for ‘dysgwr’, the Welsh word for learner.
- They are designed to let other drivers know that you’re still learning the ropes, so they can give you a bit more space and be aware that you might stop more suddenly than other drivers.
- L plates aren’t a ‘nice-to-have’ – it’s actually illegal to drive a car without them if you haven’t passed your test yet. You can get up to six penalty points on your licence if you are caught without them!
- They must show a red ‘L’ on a white background and must be 178x178mm.
What is a P plate and are they mandatory?
- A P plate is something you can display just after you’ve passed your driving test.
- The P stands for ‘probationary’ – a fancy way of saying you’re a ‘new’ driver.
- Unlike L plates, P plates are not a legal requirement. Some people just choose to use them because it makes them feel less nervous when they’re out on the road for those first few weeks.
- You can leave P plates on for as long or little as you like.