Drivers

Does learner insurance count as no claims? How the bonus works

Does learner insurance count as no claims? Only if the policy is in your name, runs its full term with no claims, and your next insurer accepts it.

Learner insurance can count as no claims, but only in one situation: the policy is in the learner's own name, it runs its full term without a claim, and the insurer offers a no claims bonus on it. Even then, the insurer you go to after you pass decides whether to accept that bonus and how much it is worth.

That is the short answer. The detail matters, because it is easy to finish months of practice expecting a discount and find there is nothing to carry forward.

Does learner insurance count as no claims?

A no claims bonus (also called a no claims discount) is a reward for claim-free years as a policyholder. The Financial Ombudsman Service explains it simply: for every year of driving without making a claim, a policyholder is awarded one year of no claims bonus. The key word is policyholder.

So whether your learner cover counts depends on how it is set up:

If you are learning in a car you own, GOV.UK says you need your own learner insurance. If you practise in someone else's car, you can either be covered as a learner on the owner's policy or take out your own policy covering you in that car. Only the second of those gives you a policy in your name that could earn a bonus.

Why a policy in your own name can build a bonus but a named driver spot can't

Being a named driver means you are covered to drive, but the policy belongs to someone else. The claim-free years are credited to them, not you.

The Financial Ombudsman lists this as one of the common misunderstandings in the complaints it sees: people who had a no claims bonus as a named driver but didn't realise it couldn't be transferred to their own policy. Its guidance for insurers mentions the same problem from the other side: a customer with named-driver experience whose insurer won't move it to their own policy.

There is a second reason learners sometimes choose their own policy. If you are on a parent's policy and have an accident, the claim lands on their record. We cover that side of it in Learner driver on a parent's car: does it affect the no claims bonus?.

Does learner driver insurance count towards no claims if you cancel early?

This is where learners can lose out. Learner cover can be bought for short periods, and it is tempting to cancel it as soon as you pass. A no claims year is normally earned by completing the policy year, not by the time spent driving.

The Financial Ombudsman's guidance for insurers says it would not expect an insurer to award a full year's bonus where the customer hasn't completed the whole year on that policy. Its example is a 12 month policy cancelled after 11 months: awarding that as a year of no claims would, in its words, be unfair.

So, as a rule of thumb:

• A short-term learner policy (days, weeks or a few months) is unlikely to earn a full year unless its terms say it does.
• An annual learner policy that you cancel early may earn nothing for that year.
• Some learner policies set their own qualifying period. The only way to know is to read the policy wording or ask before you buy.

There is no single legal minimum policy length for a no claims bonus. Each insurer sets its own rules, which is why the wording matters more than the name of the product.

Will a later insurer accept a no claims bonus from learner insurance?

Earning a bonus is only half of it. The insurer you go to next has to agree to recognise it.

The Ombudsman is clear that the amount of discount for a no claims bonus isn't set; it varies between insurers. Insurers can also apply their own limits on the bonus they will accept. Where that happens, the Ombudsman still expects the insurer to provide proof of the full bonus you came with, unless it had always made clear it wouldn't.

In practice, that means a bonus earned on a learner policy may be:

• accepted in full by one insurer,
• given less weight by another, or
• not accepted at all by a third.

To give yourself the best chance of it being used:

1. Ask the learner insurer, before buying, whether the policy earns a no claims bonus and after how long.
2. Keep the policy running for the qualifying period without cancelling.
3. Ask for written proof of your bonus when the policy ends.
4. When you get quotes for your first full-licence policy, tell the insurer or broker you have learner no claims and ask whether they accept it.

What happens to learner driver insurance when you pass your test?

A learner policy is written for someone driving on a provisional licence with a supervisor. Once you pass, the facts the insurer priced have changed, so you need to tell the insurer and check what the policy wording says happens next. Depending on the insurer, cover may end on the day you pass, or it may be possible to move onto a full-licence policy.

Before you drive alone for the first time, make sure you have cover that applies to a full licence holder driving unsupervised. GOV.UK warns that driving without insurance can lead to an unlimited fine, a driving ban and up to 8 penalty points.

If you earned a bonus on your learner policy, this is the moment to ask for proof of it. If you cancel the learner policy part way through its term, check first whether that means losing the year (see the section above).

Passing also starts a new rule. Under the new drivers rules on GOV.UK, if you get 6 or more penalty points within 2 years of passing your test, your licence is revoked and you have to apply for a new provisional licence and retake both the theory and practical tests. Losing a licence that way would put you back to square one on learner insurance too.

When you are ready to sort cover, you can get learner driver insurance quotes: you fill in a short form and a specialist broker contacts you with quotes. Ask them about no claims on learner policies at the same time.

When does new driver insurance go down?

There is no fixed date when new driver premiums fall. Price depends on many things insurers weigh up, and each insurer does it differently. What the Financial Ombudsman confirms is that more years of no claims bonus show you to be a lower risk, so quotes are usually cheaper, and that each claim-free year as a policyholder adds a year of bonus.

That is why the learner question matters. If a bonus from your learner policy is accepted, you may start your first full-licence policy with some no claims already in place. If it isn't, you start from zero and build from your first full year.

Things that tend to affect what new drivers are quoted include:

• the car (its value, power and insurance group),
• where it is kept overnight and how far you drive,
• your driving record, including any points or claims,
• the excess you choose (for example, agreeing to pay the first £500 of a claim rather than £250 can change the premium, but you would pay more if you claim),
• whether you hold any no claims bonus and whether the insurer accepts it.

Accuracy matters more than any of these. Giving wrong details to bring a quote down can leave you without cover when you need it; How to reduce car insurance without invalidating your policy explains what is safe to change. For more on what moves prices for this group, see Cheap insurance for young drivers: what really moves the price.

Questions to ask before you buy learner insurance

Because the answer to "does learners insurance count to no claims" varies so much from one policy to the next, these are the points worth checking in writing:

1. Is the policy in my name, or am I being added as a named driver?
2. Does this policy earn a no claims bonus, and how long must it run without a claim to earn one?
3. What happens to the bonus if I cancel early or pass my test part way through?
4. Will you give me written proof of any bonus when the policy ends?
5. What happens to the cover on the day I pass?
6. Does the supervisor need to meet any age rule beyond the law? GOV.UK notes that the legal minimum is over 21 with a full licence held for 3 years, but some insurers require the supervisor to be over 25.

Kompare is not an insurer and doesn't give advice, but the broker who contacts you can talk through how different learner policies handle these points.