Decided to see what all the fuss with young drivers getting shafted is all about, so did some investigation.
Back in October 1999, I passed my driving test (first time I hasten to add ) and the next day bought a 1988 F reg Fiat Uno Formula 45, with a 903cc engine. For the record, ABI list it as insurance group 2. I paid £800 for the car, and promptly insured it with CIS (who may not have been the cheapest as I didn't shop around much) TPF&T for the princely sum of £600.
Now lets look at today. Say I'm 17 again, just passed my test, and bought a 1988 Fiat Uno F45 for £800. Put all the details into Comparethemarket (to get a rough idea) exactly as I was back in 2000 - student, living at home (grade A postcode), 0NCB, you know the drill.
£2,200 was the cheapest price
Thinking well, perhaps the age of the car has come into it. So I tried a newer equivalent - 1995 Fiat Cinqueciento 899cc (again, ABI group 2). This came out as £1,913.
So thats an increase of about £1,100-1,400 in 10 years. Or, to put it another way, a 139 to 175% increase in insurance premium costs in 10 years. I wish my savings account gave me that amount of interest! In October 1999, I was a student earning £30 a week working saturdays in town - £800 to buy and £600 to insure a car was doable, just. £3,000 to buy and insure a car would, quite simply, have been impossible. Kids were crashing cars back when I was 17, surely there can't be a 175% increase in accidents involving young drivers in that time period?! And you can hardly say the 899cc cinqueciento is a boy racer car with a high claim rate to its name...
Moral of the story: Insurance companies really are ripping off young kids. Subtext: If you want to earn big money, get a job in motor insurance