We too were astounded by the £1,700 minimum quotes for learner and/or new drivers. We finally got L driver insurance for 6 weeks, after an initial 4 weeks with an instructor, with Collingwood for approx £120. Once through his test we now have a Fortis insurance cover allowing our son to drive for up to 3 months of the year in nominated periods, mainly school holidays, for just £1.10 per day plus a £5.00 per cover note charge. This allows him to drive in school holidays, and over a twelve month period he can drive for 93 days for around £150 insurance cost. So from nil driving to 15 months experience including Pass Plus, his insurance costs on our family car (Suzuki Swift) is well under £300. Buying his own car and insuring it in his own name would have been 5 - 10 times this. One of our son's friends has written off 2 cheap cars he bought since passing his test, hate to think how much his policy costs now.