Young Drivers' Insurance.

bakerlad1983

they had a section on this on this weeks top gear. might be worth a look on the i player. it did give good advise on this subject

dacouch

Amongst the ways would be

a) (This is the first thing they will do) Find out how many cars there are in the household, if there are three cars eg a normal car each for the parents and a third "spare" car that is the one that was in the accident there is a very good chance the car is the young drivers

b) Look at the car, does it have a better stereo than normal, is it modified etc, these can indicate its not the parents car.

c) When was the car bought eg was it bought around the time the driver passed their test.

d) They contact the dealer the car was bought from and ask who they sold it too, often the receipt is made out to the young driver or is the finance in their name

e) Speak to employers / colleges to find out if the parent drives to work or does the young driver drive to college and if so do they have a car park permit for it.

f) What sort of car is it, young drivers tend to go for certain vehicles

g) Listen to the tape when the claim was reported, often the young driver rings to report it and refers to the car as their car and the claims handler will normally ask if it was their car, you would be amazed how many will confirm its theirs.

h) Check with neighboors (You would be amazed what neighboors will say about other neighboors)

g) Some Insurers use lie detectors over the phone, if they don't use lie detectors they have staff trained in specialist questioning techniques to help indicate if someone is lying.

There can be many other things that indicate the car is being "Fronted". Where Insurers believe they have been deliberately misslead about the main driver they will investigate it as it is their pet hate. The parent can sometimes be prosecuted for fraud, the driver can receive a no insurance conviction and the claim be refused. In addition the Insurer will cancel the policy and once an Insurer has cancelled your policy in these types of circumstances the parent will find it virtually impossible to get cover for any type of Insurance again

Here are some of the Ombudsmans rulings on fronted vehicles

Amongst the ways would be

a) (This is the first thing they will do) Find out how many cars there are in the household, if there are three cars eg a normal car each for the parents and a third "spare" car that is the one that was in the accident there is a very good chance the car is the young drivers

b) Look at the car, does it have a better stereo than normal, is it modified etc, these can indicate its not the parents car.

c) When was the car bought eg was it bought around the time the driver passed their test.

d) They contact the dealer the car was bought from and ask who they sold it too, often the receipt is made out to the young driver or is the finance in their name

e) Speak to employers / colleges to find out if the parent drives to work or does the young driver drive to college and if so do they have a car park permit for it.

f) What sort of car is it, young drivers tend to go for certain vehicles

g) Listen to the tape when the claim was reported, often the young driver rings to report it and refers to the car as their car and the claims handler will normally ask if it was their car, you would be amazed how many will confirm its theirs.

h) Check with neighboors (You would be amazed what neighboors will say about other neighboors)

g) Some Insurers use lie detectors over the phone, if they don't use lie detectors they have staff trained in specialist questioning techniques to help indicate if someone is lying.

There can be many other things that indicate the car is being "Fronted". Where Insurers believe they have been deliberately misslead about the main driver they will investigate it as it is their pet hate. The parent can sometimes be prosecuted for fraud, the driver can receive a no insurance conviction and the claim be refused. In addition the Insurer will cancel the policy and once an Insurer has cancelled your policy in these types of circumstances the parent will find it virtually impossible to get cover for any type of Insurance again

Here are some of the Ombudsmans rulings on fronted vehicles

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/7/july-innocent-non-disclosure.htm

RedBern

there was a good discussion on today's money box on radio 4 that covered this topic including how to get cheaper insurance properly. It included buying a small engined car - no bigger than a 1000, and not an expensive car. Insuring it 3rd party, f&t, doing the pass plus or limiting the miles. The presenter said, 'but what if your son/daughter says 'oh dad, I'm not driving an xxx, I wanted a yyyy' you just say, 'well, in that case, wait until you're 25 and you can afford to insure it yourself, take it or leave it' - which I thought was the best advice of the day!;)

Hadrian

On the 15th of June last a young 17 year old driver was killed and his passengers seriously injured near to where I live in Northumberland. This weekend yet another 17 year old was killed also injuring his passengers and also in this area. I know one of the family's and the utter devastation they are going through so I feel strongly about allowing these children to drive.

melorablack

Hadrian wrote: »

On the 15th of June last a young 17 year old driver was killed and his passengers seriously injured near to where I live in Northumberland. This weekend yet another 17 year old was killed also injuring his passengers and also in this area. I know one of the family's and the utter devastation they are going through so I feel strongly about allowing these children to drive.

There are many 17 year olds who don't crash their cars.

Jakg

Hadrian wrote: »

On the 15th of June last a young 17 year old driver was killed and his passengers seriously injured near to where I live in Northumberland. This weekend yet another 17 year old was killed also injuring his passengers and also in this area. I know one of the family's and the utter devastation they are going through so I feel strongly about allowing these children to drive.

I think you'll find a lot of people of all different ages crash their car - but thanks for the stereotype!

PS - Your old and your music sucks.

jb66

Hadrian wrote: »

On the 15th of June last a young 17 year old driver was killed and his passengers seriously injured near to where I live in Northumberland. This weekend yet another 17 year old was killed also injuring his passengers and also in this area. I know one of the family's and the utter devastation they are going through so I feel strongly about allowing these children to drive.

“It could have been a scene from an advert for a new pair of designer glasses. But for one 89-year-old driver, the test of navigating a busy street proved too much after he ploughed through the front of an opticians, causing up to $28,000 worth of damage. The pensioner, who was wearing glasses, mounted the pavement in Seaford, East Sussex, careered through the shop and smashed two display units of designer sunglasses before coming to a halt just in front of three shocked members of staff. Owner of Sussex Eyecare, Daeron McGee, said: ‘He was wearing specs, but I have to say he wasn’t one of my customers. ‘He said he had a dizzy turn and hit the accelerator instead of the brake. ‘He smashed through the window and took out a cabinet of Oakleys and a cabinet of Ray Bans, about 300 pairs in all. ‘Our front door is now on its side and the shop front has gone. My staff are all a bit shaken up but accidents happen and nobody was hurt, which is the main thing.” w/ photos

i feel strongly about letting these old fogies drive

melorablack

For every 17 year old who crashes their car there will be a 17 year old who doesn't and for ever pensioner who crashes their car there will be one who doesn't.

RedBern

Jakg Quote:
Originally Posted by Hadrian
On the 15th of June last a young 17 year old driver was killed and his passengers seriously injured near to where I live in Northumberland. This weekend yet another 17 year old was killed also injuring his passengers and also in this area. I know one of the family's and the utter devastation they are going through so I feel strongly about allowing these children to drive.

I think you'll find a lot of people of all different ages crash their car - but thanks for the stereotype!

PS - Your old and your music sucks.

not quite accurate sadly Jakg.

Statistically young boys are more likely to crash - and their prangs cost over £4k on average - which is why insurance for boys is more expensive. Insurance for young girls is cheaper as their 'bumps' cost, on average 'only' £2k. If there weren't so many expensive accidents involving under 25s, insurance wouldn't be so expensive but insurance companies have to load the risk accordingly. Not stereotyping - risk assessing.
PS may be old, but my music doesn't suck mate;)

Nilrem

The main difference is that in insurance terms the percentage of younger drivers involved in accidents, especially serious ones is much higher than say the old fogies (who might have slower reactions/sight, but will generally have much more experience of driving and more regards for their own mortality).

I've never been involved in more than a few parking scrapes, however the number of young men around my age when I was younger who were involved in major accidents (even when no injury was sustained) was scary - a worrying percentage of them managed to hit "black ice" "diesel" or "mud" on the road with the result they went into fields/hit trees etc, it was never the fact they tended to drive fast in unsuitable conditions because their opinion of their driving was very high despite their experience being rather low (and common sense almost non existent).

Ultimately insurance is all about the risks involved and statistically younger male drivers cost a lot more in claims than older drivers, hence the price difference.