Young Drivers' Insurance.

Harry_Potless

Hi,

My son is 17 (and three-quarters).

He's taking driving lessons and has put in for his test.

He's very sensible (non-drinker, non-smoker, student, good part-time job etc - pretty much everything I wasn't at his age - :rotfl:).

What is the cheapest way to get insurance?

I'm 50 and haven't had any accidents, claims or convictions in all my years of driving.

Should I buy his first car in my name and insure it and then add him on as a named driver, or are there complications and are there better (cheaper) methods available?

TIA

Jakg

If you do the named drive method when he drives the car more than you, it's fronting and his insurance is null and void.

Unfortunately young drivers (especially male) get raped.

The only thing you can do is shop around and add yourself (as a named driver) to the policy as that pushes the quote down slightly. Make sure you get a quote for both before and after he passes his test - some companies (i.e. Quinn) put their quotes up when you pass...

I'm 17 (18 in a month) and my first years insurance on a 1.5L hatchback with all of 84HP was £2,000 - Which was paid for by my parents thank god (As i'm under 18 I wouldn't even of been able to pay monthly...). Unfortunately my insurance is due in 2 months so thats gonna be another grand to pay, I just hope to pay upfront to avoid interest...

Does he have a car, and if so, what is it? The type of car can make a huge difference (and not just the logical choices either...)

bigoggy2007

do not insure a car in your name that he will be the main driver of, that is called fronting and is illegal. if caught your insurance will be cancelled and the police informed.

you are far better geting a small low insurance class car and finding the cheapest quote possible.

this will help in the long run as by the time he's into his 20s he will be geting between 25% and 50% cheaper insurance due to his no claims bonus that he's built up

Jakg

Insurance groups don't make that much difference - But small cars aren't as good as they sound because they are the most damaged cars so have the premiums pushed up - as such something slightly larger like Astra's are barely anymore to insure.

I like the idea of a Volvo 460 - but I don't really have the cash to change atm :P

negg

As stated, having him as a named driver when he is the main driver of the car is illegal.

But more than that, until they are about 25, it is going to be expensive anyway and one of the few ways to get cheaper insurance is to get a no claims bonus. There is only one way to do this...insure in his name.

Don't fall for 'no claims bonus accelerators' where you get a 'years no claims' after 10 months - these cannot be transferred to other companies since they are not one year.

Don't fall for the 'named drivers get a no claims bonus' - these cannot be transferred to other companies, you will get expensive renewal and as they will take the money but the insurance can be invalid if they find out he is the main driver.

One way to get cheaper insurance is to have him as the main driver and yourself as an additional named driver. Note that additional drivers do not have to ever even drive the car. The insurance company will assume you do some of the miles and lower the quote slightly. Plus you get the advantage that he builds up a no claims bonus and that you can drive the car, should you ever need to.

RedBern

also when he passes his test some companies give discounts for doing the pass+ course.

Alybea

Would you allow him to be a named driver on your car? I think Directline and a few others allow you to collect no claims bonuses to use on your own policy when you've got some.
If he's a student he'll only be driving to college normally and a few evenings out I'd assume? If he's going to uni next year he'll wont need a car anyway. Not having his own car for a year wont matter too much - honestly. (And he wont have to pay for services MOT and if he's clever he'll never have to fill it up! )

I'm 25 been driving for three years, three years no claims and currently driving a 12 year old car... I get quotes between £300 and £1000+ so it really does depend on the insuer, your house number, the colour of your car, if they like the sound of your name, how tall you are... there is no logic. Unfortunately a 17 year old boy is going to cost a bomb to insure.

melorablack

Paying for the premium up front is also much cheaper than paying monthly - and considering how high the premium is anyway, the interest added through paying monthly is terrible for young drivers.

negg

Would you allow him to be a named driver on your car? I think Directline and a few others allow you to collect no claims bonuses to use on your own policy when you've got some.

The no claims bonus gained cannot be transferred to other companies though, they won't accept it.

jb66

adrian flux sometimes gives a better quote than usual. I had a BMW 320i when i was 20 for about half the price elephoant quoted.

before_hollywood

some drivers wont save money with pass plus, i was 22 when i passed and it wouldnt have saved me money.

be a named driver but not the main driver, that will save him about 10%