For a number of years, Young Marmalade have been the primary providers of learner and newly-qualified driver insurance. For those who haven’t heard the name before, Young Marmalade and their automotive sidekick, Provisional Marmalade, are one of a small handful of companies which offer affordable car insurance solely to young drivers, both whilst learning and after passing their practical tests.
The idea is clearly a success, because from being a small online firm, the company have recently invested in their first premises in Peterborough, where the firm are based.
Of course, you might be wondering why a company selling insurance needs a shop. The reason behind Young Marmalade’s move is simple: they don’t just stop at selling insurance. Recently the company has developed a new scheme which allows newly qualified drivers to buy a new car and get insurance in their own right for that car – all in one go.
Young Marmalade believe that newer cars will be of a better quality in terms of handling, braking and structure, therefore making them a safer option for new drivers. This allows their insurance premiums to be lowered – in the scheme, the average driver will pay around £3,000 per year in total for the car and insurance. This is actually not much more than many new drivers are forced to pay for insurance on much older cars, so it’s not hard to see why the scheme is such a success.
Of course, the move isn’t purely based on customer service. As the co-owners of Young Marmalade admit, the number of people able to access their shop in Peterborough is limited, though they hope that this will only be the first of many such shops across the country.
The move also meant that they had more room to accommodate their growing staff numbers, and more room to store (and now display) their cars as part of their car and insurance scheme.
Young Marmalade also hope that the introduction of their Intelligent Marmalade scheme – which is based on the new ‘black box’ concept – will boost growth and create more jobs.
Intelligent Marmalade involves placing a detector in the car and records details about how you drive – your speed, how often you brake and how sharply, cornering styles – and then relays this information back to both you and your parents. If you drive in a safe, sensible manner, your insurance will drop in price. If you consistently prove to be reckless (they do give you chance to change your ways!) then your premium rises.
It’s a sensible option for many young drivers, especially if they want to get their own insurance. And with Young Marmalade already such a success, both their showroom and Intelligent scheme are likely to be a hit. More information about insurance for learners can be found on our main learner drivers insurance page here.
