This is why the apprentice in my dept. learned to ride. Passed his driving test at 17, and they wanted £7500 to insure an 8 year old Fiesta. He told me he did his mod 1 & 2, bought a 400 ninja and insured it all for about half that.
Plus, he says he gets 1 years NCB on a car for every 2 years accrued on a bike too, so it makes no financial sense not to ride a bike!