Provisional Marmalade: Protecting Learner Drivers From Sticky Insurance Prices

Good news for learners. RED Driving School and insurance company Provisional Marmalade have joined forces to offer aspiring drivers pay-as-you-go fully-comp insurance policies for as little as £85 per month.

Usually, parents are forced to add their kids onto their own insurance policies, risking their no claims bonuses and upping their premiums. However, with RED Marmalade’s new scheme, provisional license holders can take out their own, separate policy. This means the car owner’s NCB is protected, and their premiums won’t increase - even if you have an accident.

Is there a catch? Well, yes. Obviously. The car itself needs to be worth less than £20,000, less than 15 years old and be in insurance group 32 or under (sorry, you’re not getting at Dad’s Jag just yet...), and you'll need to pay the first £250 towards any claim.

Terms notwithstanding, Team CT thinks this is an excellent way of getting a bit of additional practice before taking to the highways good and proper. The price isn’t half bad either; my rural post code meant I was quoted the minimum of £85.50 for a month's worth of cover.

However, if you live in The Big Smoke, you may need to make other arrangements, as RED Marmalade were unable to give us a quote for our central London office address.

Image: some rights reserved tejvanphotos