The average cost of car insurance for a 17-20-year-old driver is around £1400*, rising to as much as £3878; no small amount indeed for that demographic. A recent online petition calling for car insurance for 18-25 year olds to be capped at £1200 received over 180,000 signatures.
On top of the insurance is the buying and running costs of a car, which is proving to be the final nail in the coffin for young drivers. In the Opinium survey we commissioned, 22% of under 25s said that without the bank of mum and dad or a loan they are unable to buy a car. And 24% said they would like to buy a car but are unable to cover the running costs such as insurance, road tax and fuel.
A Money Advice Trust survey from 2016 found that over a third of young people have debts of almost £3,000 and experience significant concerns about money.
Ben Wooltorton, a Director here at InsuretheGap, says this has a knock-on effect when it comes to finding employment. “When one in six jobs specifies that the applicant must have a driving licence, this generation are potentially being held back by their lack of wheels. The RAC foundation analysed 847,000 job vacancies last year and found that jobs requiring a valid licence ranged from a zoo worker, a chef, sales consultant, security guard, hairdresser and even gymnastics coach, so we’re not just talking about driving jobs here”.
*source: MoneySaving Expert
