How can we get our twin 17-year-old boys learning to drive as cheaply as possible?

We have twin boys who will be 17 in September. Obviously they would like to learn to drive. However, insurance is likely to be a big issue. Would it be better to name them both as learner drivers on our own policies, bearing in mind my wife and I have 1.8 and 2.0-litre cars respectively? Or would it be better to buy a small low insurance group car for them initially to learn in. In this case again would it be better to insure in my name or my wife's, as we both have claim free history? Or would insurance in one or other of their names be best with us as parents named? Or would the purchase of two small low insurance cars be best, placing the risk individually but, I assume, massively increasing the cost?

Asked on 12 August 2010 by Keith KI

Answered by Honest John
You might not get cover for them for the 1.8 or 2.0. Check with your insurer. If you can't get cover then best to swap one of your cars for something like a Citroen C1 with a low insurance group, then consider who will be the main driver. If it will be one or both of the boys, you have to declare that, otherwise the insurer will consider it to be 'fronting'. But if you insure it in one of their names with the other as a named driver, and also you and your husband as named drivers, the 'risk' to the insurer is less than if just with the boys as named drivers and you will save a bit. The insurance will go up a lot when they pass their tests and can drive unsupervised, because then the risk increases hugely.
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