Insuring a young driver - advice please!

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  • Thank you all for your comments. I heard something recently about some insurance companies restricting the times that a young driver is insured to drive a vehicle as a way of keeping policy premiums down. (E.g. No driving after 10pm in the evening). This would be ideal but I don't know which insurance companies offer this type of policy. Has anybody else heard about this?
  • MarkyMarkD
    MarkyMarkD Posts: 9,912
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    Norwich Union offer (or were trialling) a scheme where cars are fitted with a tracking device, and premiums are based on the times the car is used (with penal rates late at night).
  • I was in the same situation as your son with our VW Golf. The VW was a second car and the only adult it could be named under was my mother (who has maximum no claims). We decided to have me as just a named driver for the first few years as CIS, our insurance provider, gives its own no claims discount to any named drivers. Then when I am 21 and eligible for further discounts I will put myself as the only main driver and will have 4 years worth of internal no claims discount, the 21+ discount and also be building a 'proper' no claims discount.

    This was a second policy under my mother's name, so she couldn't have a full no claims discount again, but still worked out very cheap by putting only my mother as the driver for two months then adding myself at a later date under the excuse that I just passed. The adviser told us that it costs alot more if you open a new policy naming a young male from day1, but if only the adult opens the policy as a second car they get a better discount. The computer then doesn't add as much premium on the young male if you add them onto the existing policy instead of making a new one.

    I hope that last bit makes sense. What I am trying to say is the insurance companies can tell that a young male will be driving the car like crazy, if you open a new policy naming them from day 1, and they charge you a premium for it. If you add them on after a while the computer assumes the adult uses the car alot and the new named person is a genuine 'occasional driver' and charges less!
    They say you can't put a value on life... but I live it at half price!
  • I don't know really. It's difficult to know who to put as the main driver if it really is split 50/50. I suppose in that case you could run an online quote for you as the main driver with your son as the additional driver, and then run another one with him as the main driver and you as the extra one? Anyway, how can you really know who's going to be the main driver if he hasn't started driving yet? :S I remember when I learnt to drive my folks worked out it was cheaper to buy a 2nd car (clapped out metro) with much cheaper insurance and then sell it once the premiums had started to fall a bit, than to put me on the main insurance for their car (or so they said!)
    The DirectLine site http://www.directline.com/motor/youngdrivers.htm was suggesting buying a really old car and only insuring it ThirdPartyFireandTheft which made it really cheap I think. I found a couple of useful ideas at http://www.cheapcarinsuranceforyoungdrivers.co.uk such as asking for the biggest possible excess which reduces premiums but is obviously a problem if there are going to be many claims (hope not). Also ideas on how to stop the premiums going up the 2nd year. Also http://www.raisingkids.co.uk/13_21/tee_in03.asp but maybe less useful.
    I like the idea of having a policy that finishes at 10pm - that's when most accidents happen isn't it? Just found the article about MoreThan reducing premiums for young drivers not driving at night http://www.moneynews.co.uk/2248/more-than-car-insurance-drivetime-aims-to-young-driver-death-toll/ :)
  • jackieb
    jackieb Posts: 27,605
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    My son has his insurance under his own name, but he's a lot cheaper because he added me and his dad as named drivers. We very occasionally drive his car, but he is the main driver.

    He passed his test at 17, but never got his car until he was 22 and could afford his own insurance. He got 3 points when he was only 16 ( he was caught driving his friend's car in a council owned carpark). We didn't add him to our insurance when he passed his test as our premiums would have went up by £400 (so he didn't get to drive at all). After 5 years the points came off, and he didn't have to declare the points. He's under £500 for fully comp for an 03 Focus.
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