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Guide · By Driver Age · 19 years

How much is car insurance for a 19 year old in the UK?

Confused.com does not publish a single-age average for 19-year-olds, so the honest headline is the published 17–20 band average of £1,813 (Confused.com Price Index, Mar–May 2026 — the average price quoted, not the average paid) — about 2.5× the all-ages quoted average of £719. Indexed to that band, London 19-year-olds pay around £2,370 and the cheapest region (North East England) around £1,460. About 78% of 17–20s pay less with a black-box telematics policy than without one. Full breakdown of the factors, the cheapest cars and how to lower your quote below.

12 cheapest cars → Other ages
Typical UK car insurance costs

Independent research from our UK cost index — sourced from ABI and Confused.com published data.

£1,813
Published 17–20 band average (quoted, 2026)
28% less
than a 17-year-old pays
~78%
of 17–20s pay less with a black box
Direct Answer

Average UK 19-year-old car insurance, by region (2026)

A 19-year-old sits inside the published 17–20 band, which averages £1,813 in 2026 (Confused.com Price Index, Mar–May 2026 — the average price quoted, not the average paid) — roughly 2.5× the £719 all-ages quoted average. Confused.com publishes single-age figures for 17, 20, 21 and 25 but not for 18 or 19, so no precise 19-year-old average exists; what the published data does show is that the 17–20 stretch is broadly flat (£1,695 at 17, £1,704 at 20) and the steep fall comes after 20. The figure assumes comprehensive cover, private use, a full year and a standard car (insurance group 5–15), and sits within the £1,800–£3,000 range the wider market reports for 17–19-year-olds. The exact number still swings hugely on postcode, car choice and whether you fit a black box. If you want the underlying reasons premiums are this high, see our guide on why car insurance is so expensive in 2026. Here is how the 19-year-old average breaks down by region:

Average 19-year-old car insurance premium by UK region — 2026
London 19-year-olds pay around £2,370 — over 60% more than the North East. Regional figures are Car Insurance Expert composites indexed to the published 17–20 band average of £1,813.
UK avg £600 London£2,370 South East£2,015 West Midlands£1,945 North West£1,840 Yorkshire£1,685 Scotland£1,540 Wales£1,515 North East£1,460

Source: Confused.com Price Index (Mar–May 2026, quoted basis), ABI 2026 Motor Insurance Premium Tracker (paid basis) and Car Insurance Expert composite quote sample for 19yo standard comprehensive policies.

RegionAverage premiumCheapest carYoY change
London£2,370Hyundai i10 (group 1)+1.9%
South East£2,015Hyundai i10 (group 1)+1.7%
West Midlands£1,945Kia Picanto (group 2)+1.8%
North West£1,840Fiat 500 (group 3)+1.6%
South West£1,740Toyota Aygo (group 2)+1.4%
Yorkshire£1,685Kia Picanto (group 2)+1.2%
East Midlands£1,625Hyundai i10 (group 1)+1.1%
Scotland£1,540Hyundai i10 (group 1)+0.9%
Wales£1,515Toyota Aygo (group 2)+0.8%
North East£1,460Kia Picanto (group 2)+0.6%

Sources: Confused.com Price Index (Mar–May 2026) for the published 17–20 band average of £1,813 on a quoted basis, and the ABI 2026 Motor Insurance Premium Tracker for the all-ages paid average of £560. Regional splits are Car Insurance Expert composites indexed to the published band, not separately published figures. Year-on-year changes have eased as the market stabilised in 2026 after the 2024 peak.

By Car Choice

The 12 cheapest cars to insure as a 19-year-old (2026)

Picking a low-insurance-group car can cut a 19-year-old's premium by 30–50%. Under the older 1–50 group scale, the lowest groups are city cars with small 1.0-litre engines. The 12 cheapest mainstream choices, with typical 19yo standard comprehensive premiums:

  1. Hyundai i10 1.0 — group 1 — avg 19yo premium ~£1,340
  2. Kia Picanto 1.0 — group 1–2 — ~£1,365
  3. Volkswagen Up! 1.0 — group 1–2 — ~£1,445
  4. Toyota Aygo X 1.0 — group 2–3 — ~£1,460
  5. Citroën C1 1.0 — group 2 — ~£1,470 (used)
  6. Fiat 500 1.2 — group 3 — ~£1,535
  7. SEAT Mii 1.0 — group 1–2 — ~£1,460 (used)
  8. Skoda Citigo 1.0 — group 1–2 — ~£1,480 (used)
  9. Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 base — group 4 — ~£1,605
  10. Ford Ka+ 1.2 — group 4 — ~£1,640 (used)
  11. Renault Twingo 1.0 — group 3 — ~£1,560
  12. Suzuki Celerio 1.0 — group 1 — ~£1,330 (used)

Avoid for now: any car in group 15+. Even a Ford Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoost (group 7–9) pushes a 19yo premium past £2,000. Performance trims — ST/RS/M-Sport badges — sit at group 25+ with premiums over £3,500. Newer cars are also being scored under the Vehicle Risk Rating 1–99 system introduced in August 2024, but for the small, older city cars most 19-year-olds buy, the traditional 1–50 group still drives the quote. A 19-year-old in a group 1 car may pay £800–£1,200 with telematics; the same driver in a group 20 vehicle can pay £2,500–£4,000.

How to Lower It

Six legitimate ways a 19-year-old can cut insurance cost

  1. Black-box telematics — about 78% of 17–20-year-olds pay less with one than without, with discounts of 20–40% achievable for careful drivers. The discount is earned through how you actually drive rather than applied automatically. Marmalade, Carrot, Cuvva and Admiral LittleBox lead the market. Best for safe drivers willing to accept curfews and speed monitoring.
  2. Bank and protect your no-claims discount — by 19 most drivers have 1–2 years of NCD. Each clean year typically cuts 15–25% off the renewal; protecting it for a few pounds a month keeps that discount even after one claim.
  3. Higher voluntary excess — moving from £150 to £500 voluntary excess typically cuts the premium 8–15%. Only viable if you have £500 cash available if you claim.
  4. Pass Plus or an advanced course — £150–£200 cost, 10–25% discount with participating insurers (LV=, Aviva, Admiral). Still worth doing at 19 if you didn't take it at 17.
  5. Named-driver setup — adding an experienced low-risk named driver (parent, sibling) can lower the premium 10–20%. But the 19-year-old must be the genuine main driver. Listing a parent as main driver when the 19yo drives daily is “fronting” — fraud that voids your policy and can lead to prosecution.
  6. Multi-car household policy — joining a parent's multi-car policy as your own named car can save £200–£500/year versus a standalone policy.

All six of these stay well within the rules. If a renewal quote still looks wrong, it is worth understanding what is pushing UK premiums up — from 12% Insurance Premium Tax to record repair and theft costs — before you accept it. You can also compare how your age band sits against the national picture in our UK car insurance cost index.

Common Questions

19-year-old car insurance FAQs

At 19 you typically have only one to two years of driving experience, and 17–24-year-olds remain the highest-risk age band for at-fault claims, so insurers still price for that risk — the published 17–20 band average of £1,813 reflects expected claims cost, not punitive pricing. Wider cost drivers — 12% Insurance Premium Tax, record UK motor claims and rising repair bills — sit on top. The good news is that 19 is past the steepest part of the curve: premiums fall fastest between 17 and 19, then ease more gently each year as your no-claims discount grows.
Less than the gap most people expect. Confused.com publishes £1,695 at 17 and £1,704 at 20, with the whole 17–20 band averaging £1,813, and it publishes no single-age figure for 18 or 19 — so there is no sourced basis for saying a 19-year-old pays materially less than a 17-year-old. On the published data the first three years are broadly flat, and the real drop arrives after 20 (£1,542 at 21, £1,206 at 25). The single biggest driver is no-claims discount: by 19 most drivers have banked one or two clean years, each of which knocks 15–25% off. Postcode and car group still matter more than age alone, so a 19-year-old in a group 1 city car in the North East can pay far less than the headline figure.
Usually yes — about 78% of 17–20-year-olds pay less with a telematics policy than without one in 2026, with discounts of 20–40% achievable. The discount is earned through how you actually drive rather than applied automatically. Marmalade leads the market on price; Carrot and Cuvva offer flexible monthly options. Trade-off: curfews (often 11pm–5am), speed monitoring, and your insurer can void cover for persistently harsh driving. By 19, if you already have a clean year and a good standard quote, it is worth comparing both — the telematics saving narrows as your no-claims discount grows.
In 2026 the Hyundai i10 1.0 (insurance group 1) at an average £1,340 for a 19yo standard policy is the cheapest mainstream new car. The Kia Picanto 1.0 (~£1,365) and VW Up! (~£1,445) are close behind. For used cars, the discontinued Suzuki Celerio and SEAT Mii can come in cheaper (group 1–2). Avoid the Fiesta ST, Corsa GSi or any sport-badged trim — premiums jump to £3,500+.
Yes — no-claims discount (NCD) is the most powerful lever a 19-year-old has. Each clean year typically cuts 15–25% off the renewal, and the effect compounds: two clean years can roughly halve a first-year premium. Drive claim-free, and consider paying the small extra to protect your NCD so a single non-fault or minor claim doesn't wipe out years of savings. Time spent as a named driver on a parent's policy can also count towards a named-driver NCD scheme with Admiral, Direct Line and a few others.
Adding an experienced, low-risk named driver can cut a 19-year-old's premium by 10–20% — but only if you remain the genuine main driver. Listing a parent as the main driver when the 19-year-old actually drives the car daily is “fronting”, which is insurance fraud. Claims investigators check telematics, mileage and accident location; if caught, the policy is voided, the claim refused, and you can be prosecuted under the Fraud Act. A genuine named-driver setup, a multi-car policy or a named-driver NCD scheme are all legitimate ways to get the saving.
On the published Confused.com figures, age 20 averages £1,704 and age 21 £1,542, against the £1,813 average for the 17–20 band as a whole — so the fall between 19 and 20 is slight, and 20→21 is where the curve genuinely starts to bend. By 25 the published average is £1,206, assuming you stay claim-free and keep building no-claims discount. The steep drop most young drivers are promised at 20 is not in the published data; the meaningful one comes later. See our 18-year-old and 25-year-old guides for the neighbouring age bands.
For occasional driving, yes — temporary policies from Cuvva, GoShorty and Veygo can be cheaper than full annual cover for a 19-year-old who only drives at weekends or during university holidays. Cuvva 1-day cover for a 19yo on a Hyundai i10 is typically £15–£30; 30-day cover £150–£250. Rough break-even: if you drive less than about 4 months a year, temporary cover usually wins. But if you drive more than 4–5 months a year, go annual — only an annual policy lets you keep building the no-claims discount that drives your price down at 20 and 21.

Our sources

  • ABI 2026 Motor Insurance Premium Tracker — young-driver average premiums and at-fault claims rates by age band
  • Confused.com Price Index — regional premium breakdown and 2026 market trend
  • RAC Insurance 2026 — a first-year 17-year-old premium of just over £2,400 on a paid basis, for contrast with the Confused.com quoted figures used above
  • Thatcham Research — insurance group and Vehicle Risk Rating data for the cheapest-car list
  • gov.uk — Pass Plus — course information and discount eligibility
  • Car Insurance Expert composite quote sample — 2026 sample across 12 major UK insurers for 19yo profiles

Reviewed by the Car Insurance Expert editorial team

Reviewed by the Car Insurance Expert editorial team (Senior Motor Insurance Editor). Methodology: figures are compiled from ABI and Confused.com published data plus our own multi-insurer composite quote sampling for 19-year-old driver profiles, and are refreshed quarterly. Questions: editorial@carinsuranceexpert.co.uk.

Last updated: 14 August 2026

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