No-claims class
How to save on insurance for new drivers
Updated April 16, 2026 – 7:56 a.mReading time: 3 minutes
Car insurers place beginners in car insurance in the highest no-claims class. Are there still cheap insurance policies?
Regardless of whether you get your driver’s license at 18 or at 28, car insurance for new drivers is expensive. Because statistically speaking, they cause significantly more accidents. That’s why car insurers usually place them in the highest no-claims category, which drives up their rates.
But there are a number of tricks and tricks to reduce costs. Stiftung Warentest and the advice portal Finanztip share their most important tips:
Better than insuring a second car
The parents insure the new driver’s car as a second car. This often makes the tariff cheaper than if someone new to driving license insured a car in their name. If the beginner has an accident with the car, only the second car tariff increases, not that of the first car. Limited risk but up to 40 percent savings.
The disadvantage
If the novice driver intends to register his own car later, the insurance company could classify him in the most expensive no-claims category.
“Parental arrangements” can save money
If you have no driving experience, you usually start in class 0 as an insured person. If you ask your parents’ insurer, they often offer better special conditions. Depending on the insurer, you can get no-claims class 1/2 or better and already work for your own contract by driving without an accident.
Driving a driving license at 17 is a big advantage
Driving with a companion brings significant savings, especially in the first year of your own driving license. The fact that beginners gain more driving safety is an important additional effect.
The accompanying person must take this into account
According to the ADAC, the accompanying person must not have more than one point in the driving fitness register in Flensburg at the time of application, must have had a class B driving license for five years and must not accompany the novice driver under the influence of alcohol (0.5 per mille limit) or intoxicants.
Advantage of driving licenses from 16 years of age
If the first driving license for a scooter, a light motorcycle (50 to 125 cc) or a tractor for agricultural operations was acquired at the age of 16, the insurer assumes that the respective driver has more driving experience. This is exactly what ensures a cheaper insurance rate for car insurance.
That’s what a telematics tariff brings
With telematics tariffs, GPS is used to measure speed, braking behavior, cornering behavior or time of day – in principle everything that influences the risk of accidents. The data is transmitted to a service provider who summarizes it and then passes it on to the driver’s car insurer.
Savings of up to 30 percent are possible. With regard to data protection, it must be mentioned here that in the event of an accident with suspected gross negligence, the police want to use the telematics data. Data is also passed on in the case of crimes where the police and public prosecutor’s office can demonstrate a legitimate interest in the data.
Pay attention to the first “real car” for new drivers
The type class list of the General Association of the German Insurance Industry (GDV) for motor vehicle insurance reflects the damage frequency of a model. Typical beginner cars that are also popular because of their low price, such as the VW Polo, Opel Corsa or the Renault Clio, are classified higher there and are therefore more expensive to insure. Another, perhaps slightly more expensive model may offer cheaper insurance coverage.
