How Can I Get Car Insurance Cover For My 17 Year Old Son/daughter Without Paying An Arm And A Leg?

As Jane Fonda once said, 'No pain, no gain'. There's no escaping the fact that you cannot alter their age or lack of driving experience.  

There are really only two choices: insure them as a named driver on your own car policy, or insure them to drive a car of their own. It is going to be scarily expensive, one way or another. On balance, the latter option may prove to be the cheaper and better choice in the long run as your 17 year old will, hopefully, be building up a no claims bonus and car insurance track record.

Shop around, too, some companies offer better premiums for younger drivers, especially if you already have an existing policy with them. Don't forget the specialist companies who target this high risk niche.

Whatever you do, don't buy a car for your 17 year old and then register it in your own name for insurance purposes. This is known as 'fronting' and will render any insurance policy null and void.

I don't believe any insurance company's statistics rate young driver's as one group which has in fact the fewer than average instances of accidents...high number of car accidents per thousand of the same age drivers means higher insurance rates.  You, as a parent or guardian may consider including placing your child under 23 years of old with more than likely a much higher premium or have the child obtain their very own policy and vehicle because all the processions you have will be subject to claims against your insurance and all the amounts beyond your insurance limits. This means your processions at risk for judgements.