NEW drivers have been spending upto £200 to take a Pass Plus driving course without realising that it could have no effect on their car insurance costs.

Motorists generally think that taking the driving course can reduce their car insurance premium.

New research from a British price comparison website, MoneySuperMarket has revealed that the average person sees no difference to the cost.

The financial website analysed 50,000 car insurance quotes between May and July 2019 and found that on average, providers did not change their pricing when customers changed their licence type from “Full UK Car Licence” to “Full UK Car Licence with Pass Plus”.

Pass Plus is a scheme run in the UK aimed at new drivers who have recently passed the standard driving test.

It’s usually available through instructors and can cost between £150 and £200.

How to cut the cost of car insurance

IF you’re looking to cut down your car insurance bill, follow our tips:

• Never accept a renewal quote
  Your policy could double overnight if you're not careful. Make sure you put a reminder in your phone or diary  of when it's up and shop around for a better deal.
• Buy 21 days in advance
  Purchasing a policy three weeks in advance can cut your bill in half. Buy 30 days in advance it could cost you hundreds more because there aren't as many policies out there. Taking out a policy at the last minute and insurers will deem you a higher risk and whack up your premium.
• Use cashback sites
  Quidco and Topcashback and often have deals for cashback if you click through to the comparison sites via their own links and then go on to take out a policy, so look  here first. There are also cashback offers if you go direct to the insurers but it's much more important to get the best premium so don't be tempted by these unless you already know the insurer in question is offering the cheapest quotes for you.
• Check more than one comparison site
  For the best range of quotes make sure you check Moneysupermarket, Confused, Gocompare and ComparetheMarket  or as many of these as you can.
• Don't forget the ones comparison sites miss
  Two of the biggest insurers, Aviva and Direct Line aren't on comparison sites so you'll need to check them too to see if they can offer you a better deal. Again, click through to these from one of the cashback sites mentioned above.
• Pay annually
  Monthly installments mean you can spread the cost of insurance, but they come at a cost. Pay in one go to save more. We found you can save as much as £440 a year by paying car insurance bills annually.
• Try tweaking your job title
  Sometimes there is more than one way to accurately describe your job and trying different options can save you money. Never lie or use a misleading description, but GoCompare found one example where a "chef" saved £88 a year by describing himself as "kitchen staff" instead which is still accurate.
• Avoid the unnecessary extras
  Typical car insurance can include legal assistance, courtesy car cover, personal accident cover, windscreen cover and protected no claims bonus. However, you are likely to pay up to £140 a year for these benefits, so decide what cover you really need rather than just accepting what an insurer adds on.
• Look at telematics policies if you're a younger driver
  These insurance policies use a small box fitted in your vehicle or a mobile phone app to monitor how safely you drive, by checking your speed and how sharply you brake among other things. For young motorists who pay the highest premiums, this can mean a saving of £370 on a standard policy of £3,200, for a typical 18 year-old driver, according to Gocompare.

Rachel Wait, consumer affairs spokesperson at MoneySuperMarket, said: “Although people assume that doing additional driving courses such as Pass Plus can reduce your premiums, our research shows that it actually makes no difference for the average person.

“However, that isn’t to say that it definitely won’t have an impact for some. Pass Plus driving courses can help young or inexperienced drivers get lower premiums.

"Another option for younger drivers is to consider getting a telematics policy, which monitors your driving habits and adjusts your car insurance premiums based on how you drive.”

The comparison website added that drivers should compare prices before buying car insurance.

An Association of British Insurers (ABI) spokesperson said: "The cost of motor insurance for young drivers reflects the sad reality that they are involved in the disproportionate number of serious road crashes. Initiatives such as telematics motor insurance, that encourages and recognises good driving is helping many young drivers manage their insurance costs and helping them become safer drivers."

The Sun has contacted the Department for Transport (DfT) in response to these findings but they have refused to comment.

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