MoneySuperMarket Publishes Data on Young Driver Premiums

The latest data snapshot from MoneySuperMarket for you;

With graduated driving licences now in force in Northern Ireland, as of the 1st October, new data from MoneySuperMarket reveals that the price of car insurance for young drivers (under 25) has surged by 34% since 2022.

Insurance Costs for Young Drivers

In 2026, the average annual insurance premium for a driver aged under 25 comes in at £1,463, compared to £1,093 in 20221.

MoneySuperMarket’s latest data shows that drivers under 25 now pay an average annual premium of £1,463, compared with £632 for drivers aged 25 and over. That means young drivers pay around £831 more a year for car insurance in 2026.

Young and newly qualified drivers are all too aware of these costs. According to 2025 data from MoneySuperMarket2, 80% of newly qualified drivers said they include insurance costs when it comes to budgeting for a new car, with the majority (54%) assuming they’ll need to budget around £20,000 for their first car and insurance.

Cheapest Areas to Insure a Young Driver 

Location plays a major role in young driver insurance premiums, with cities like Shrewsbury and Cambridge offering significantly lower costs for motorists under 25 years old.

Thanks to the combination of factors, including lower-risk roads, less traffic, low theft rates and fewer insurance claims made from that area, these towns and cities top the UK’s cheapest places to insure young drivers, alongside Bath, Colchester, Exeter, Stevenage and Reading. Edinburgh and Llandudno are revealed as the most affordable areas in Scotland and Wales respectively.

Cheapest Places in the UK for Young Driver Insurance

Most Expensive Areas to Insure a Young Driver 

At the other end of the scale, East London is revealed as the most expensive location for young drivers to be insured, with annual average premiums at £2,413 as of August 2026.

Younger drivers already face higher premiums due to their lack of experience, but the claims history of an area is also a key factor for insurers when setting premiums – and many of the most expensive areas for young drivers, such as Birmingham and Bradford, overlap with the top ‘crash for cash’ areas as revealed by the Insurance Fraud Bureau3.

Busy roads, heavy traffic, numerous junctions and a higher risk of vehicle crime in urban areas push prices up further and have a greater impact on young drivers due to their already high base premiums.

Most Expensive Places in the UK for Young Driver Insurance 

Alicia Hempsted, car insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket, says: “With insurance premiums for young drivers now averaging over £1,400 a year, it’s more important than ever for young motorists to be savvy when budgeting for their first car and any associated costs. It’s always worth getting a sense of likely costs ahead of time, so we’ve got a quick car insurance tool online to help young drivers cut through the confusion and get a clearer picture of what they can expect to pay. By using real-time data and skipping lengthy forms, it gives users a super quick and accurate starting point to plan with confidence.”

Updated regularly with MoneySuperMarket’s extensive internal data, the quick car insurance calculator is free to use and can be found here: https://www.moneysupermarket.com/car-insurance/premium-calculator.

ENDS