
Proudly partnered with Marmalade
What does car insurance for learner drivers cover?
When learning to drive for the first time, you’ll probably want to get in as many hours of driving practice as possible. But it can be expensive to get added as a named driver to a parent’s policy - and they may even be reluctant to add you if they think it could affect their No Claims Bonus! That’s why Marmalade’s learner driver policy includes the following:
No risk to the car owners’ No Claims Bonus (NCB)
We’ve made it easier for you to convince your friend or parents to let you learn to drive in their car by making sure their NCB will not be affected if you need to make a claim.
Exclusive cover for provisional drivers
Marmalade’s policies are designed exclusively for drivers aged between 17 and 34 with a provisional licence – although cover is provided for passengers and their belongings while you’re driving.
Flexible lengths of cover
Not sure how long you’ll need to practice driving? Choose from Marmalade’s five flexible lengths of cover, from 30 days up to one year.
No set up fees
With Marmalade you can get your learner driver cover up and running straight away for the length of time you need it.
Black box insurance
It's no secret that car insurance can be costly for young and new drivers. That's why our Endsleigh Loop policies will give you a chance to show off your driving skills and earn yourself savings at renewal - you can even monitor your driving feedback via the Endsleigh Loop app!

Provisional insurance FAQs
If you’ve never taken out car insurance before, it can be difficult to know where to start. We’ve answered some frequently asked questions to help you make sure you’ve got the right cover.
Learner driver insurance (also known as ‘provisional insurance’) is flexible, short term cover that allows provisional drivers to get insured on someone else’s car for the short period of time before they pass their test. This cover should be taken out in addition to the car insurance already held by the car owner, as learner driver insurance will only provide protection when the provisional driver is behind the wheel.
All drivers learn at different speeds, and professional lessons can sometimes get expensive and time-consuming. That’s why a lot provisional drivers choose to get covered on their parents’ or guardians’ car – to fit in that extra bit of driving time before their test.
However, it can also be expensive to get added as a named driver to your parents’ policy, and they may even be concerned about losing their No Claims Bonus should you have an accident in their car.
If you’re unsure how long you’ll need cover for, Marmalade’s learner driver insurance provides five flexible cover lengths from 30 days to one year, so you only pay for the cover you need. There’s also no risk to the car owners’ No Claims Bonus should you have an accident, so it might even make it easier to convince your parents to let you borrow their car!
From paying for driving lessons to keeping your car topped up with fuel , it may not come as a surprise that learning to drive can be expensive.
But aside from these costs, young drivers also tend to pay more for their car insurance, with drivers in their 20s paying approximately £850 per year for their cover, in comparison to approximately £639 in their 30s.*
Learner driver insurance is more expensive for a number of reasons - but it’s largely due to the fact that new drivers are less experienced, and therefore deemed to be at higher risk of an accident by insurers.
New drivers also won’t have had the opportunity to build up No Claims Bonus (also known as “No Claims Discount”) in their own name, which is a discount insurers provide at renewal if you haven’t made any claims on your car insurance policy.
*Average Insurance Cost in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2019, by age (in GBP), statista.com
While provisional insurance does tend to be more expensive for learner, young and new drivers, there are lots of easy ways to keep your car insurance costs down:
1. Take out the right policy for you
First things first, make sure you’ve chosen the right policy for you. As a learner, you have a number of choices for your learner insurance – for example, do you want to get covered on your own car, or someone else’s?
It may be worth finding out how much it would cost to get added as a named driver on someone else’s policy.
2. Consider the type of car you’re insuring
The type of car you want to use will impact the cost of your learner driver insurance – consider the following when choosing the car you learn in:
- The value of the vehicle
- The vehicle’s safety rating , such as its NCAP score
- Engine size
- The age of the vehicle
- Are there any security features?
- Does is have any modifications?
3. How long do you need cover for?
The best thing about being a learner is that you could be ready to pass your driving test any day now – so you don’t want to be paying for learner insurance you don’t need once you’ve got your full licence. That’s why our learner driver insurance provides five policy options , so you can choose the length of cover you need from 30 days up to one year.
There are also some great ways to save on your car insurance once you’ve passed your test:
4. Build up No Claims Bonus
No Claims Bonus (also known as a No Claims Discount) is the number of years you have had a policy in your own name without making a claim, so you can start to build this up in your own name once you’ve passed your test.
5. Third Party Only, Third Party, Fire and Theft or Comprehensive ?
The legal requirement for car insurance is Third Party Only, so you can reduce the cost of your car insurance by choosing a lower level of cover once you’ve passed your test. However, you may want to consider the financial impact should your car be written off in an accident should you choose Third Party Only or Third Party, Fire and Theft.
6. Consider black box insurance
Black box insurance monitors your driving behaviours (such as your speed) to provide discounts and rewards to safer drivers. This allows young or inexperienced drivers to make savings while they’re building up their own No Claims Bonus.
You will only be covered to drive the car specified in your policy documents. If you wish to practice in any other cars, you will need to take out a separate learner driver policy for each individual car you wish to drive.
Can I get learner driver insurance for my own car?
If you own a car, you will be unable to take out learner driver insurance to cover this vehicle as this policy can only be taken out in conjunction with an existing motor insurance policy that is held by the car owner.
Your parents’ may be concerned about ‘dual insurance’ with their existing car insurance policy. ‘Dual insurance’ is where the same item or risk has been insured twice under two (or more) separate policies.
This doesn’t apply to Marmalade’s learner driver insurance, and the car owners’ insurance will be unaffected. This is because the policy only provides cover for the learner driver as a temporary risk while they’re driving - the car owner will not be insured to drive under this policy, therefore they will still need their own car insurance policy in place.
You must be supervised by a driver over the age of 25 who has held a full UK driving licence for over three years, although this does not need to be the car owner.
Learner drivers have been able to drive on the motorway in lessons since June 2018 - however they must be with a qualified driving instructor with dual controls in order to do so. Therefore this policy does not provide cover for motorway driving for provisional drivers.
Yes, you will be covered to take your driving test in the car covered by this policy. However, you will need to ensure you meet the following government requirements before taking the test in the insured car:
- The car must be taxed
- The car must be insured for a driving test (take your learner driver insurance policy documents with you)
- The car must be roadworthy and have a current MOT (over 3 years old)
- There can’t be any warning lights showing
- You must fix L plates to the car for the test and have an extras interior rear-view mirror for the examiner.
For an exhaustive and up-to-date list, please visit the government website.
- Legal liability for damage to other people’s property up to £20,000,000
- Legal liability for death or injury to any other person, including passengers
- Damage to the vehicle
- Up to £250 medical expenses
- Up to £2,500 personal accident benefits
- Up to £100 personal belongings
Once you’ve passed your driving test you will no longer be covered by your learner driver insurance – so you’ll need to arrange for someone else to drive you home from the test centre.
Once you move from a provisional licence to a full licence, you will then need to make a decision about which is the best car insurance for you. Endsleigh can provide the following covers for young or new drivers:
Student car insurance – including optional RAC breakdown cover at discounted student prices
Black box car insurance – earn regular discounts of your insurance price, just for driving well
Temporary student driver insurance – short term cover for students during uni holidays, from 7 to 28 days
Young driver car insurance – learner drivers can immediately start earning No Claims Bonus in their own name
Why Endsleigh for learner driver insurance?
As the UK’s No. 1 student insurance provider and the only one recommended by NUS, we understand the needs of students and work with specialist insurers to find the right cover for our customers. That’s why we’ve partnered with Marmalade, because they’re dedicated to getting you from A to B by offering innovative insurance products exclusively for young drivers.
Need to contact us?
Our friendly team are ready to talk to you:
Monday-Friday, 8am-6pm; Saturday, 9am-1pm
Call us on 0333 234 1552