Greetings Andrew and welcome to the forum
Forget about the test! Your priority should be finding out if your going to enjoy riding or even if you want to ride!
Forget about insurance quotes, if they are 'silly prices' what exactly are you getting quotes on?
Before you do anything, go and do a CBT. That way you'll be able to judge if biking is for you or not before you spend any serious money on a bike and gear etc.
Accidents happen so get your head round the dangers of riding. As you said you've been poking around you will have seen some posts regarding this, if you haven't seen them yet, then read them carefully when you find them.