Car insurance frustration for a 17 year old.

Diesel44

lisyloo wrote: »

What about a "cut & tuck"? :rotfl:

I have booked him in, he will now be called Sheila.

Diesel44

dogbot wrote: »

As well as/instead of IAM, you could try a black box policy - coverbox or more than drivetime (i think the latter is still called that?). These 'reward' young drivers who don't drive at the times when most have smashes - weekend nights and friday nights. You can also keep an eye on his driving though their online dashboards. Coverbox also includes theft tracking of a type.


More than don't seem to do the drivetime policy, just tried coverbox, still comes out at £2400.

Hadrian

High motor insurance premiums for male teenage drivers are a punishment and reflect the RISK those company's take when insuring them. Those parents who moan about the cost of them should reflect on that and resist paying these sky high premiums for their children. Personally I'd make 21 the minimum age for a full UK driving licence. Nowadays even 21 is no guarantee of adult behaviour while in charge of a car.

dacouch

They are not a punishment, they are a premium that reflects the risk of a claim by a young driver.

Insurers are businesses and are there to make money not hand out punishments.

For the record Insurers net profit is between Nil and circa 10% on a motor premium, it is very common for motor Insurers who cover young drivers (Expecially males) to make large losses. This is why the companies who are competitive for young drivers changes every couple of years. The companies who go into the market tend to get their fingers burnt with large injury claims so they tend to withdraw from this part of the market or price themselves out of it

Lavendyr

Diesel44 wrote: »

This weekend we have been trying to get a good quote for our 17 year old son, who has just past his driving test.
Why do insurance companies not ask questions like,
what score did you obtain on your Theory test ?
What score did you obtain on your hazard perception test ?
Did you pass the your practical driving test first time ?

Because absolutely none of that has any relevance. It doesn't matter how many times it takes to pass your test - the point is whether you have passed or not, not how quickly you passed. I know several people who passed first time and went on to have a bad accident because they were over-confident in their own abilities. Passing quickly does not make you a better driver after you have passed your test.

Diesel44 wrote: »

Using a 1 litre corsa as a example car, I was getting a quote of £2200 for a 17 year old male. I then changed my son to a girl and got a quote of £1100.

As others have said, young males tend to have accidents costing more than young females (who, I believe, statistically speaking, have a larger number of accidents but those accidents cost far less). Therefore your son is automatically viewed as a higher risk just because of his gender and age. It might not seem fair, but insurance companies hire actuaries to do an awful lot of complicated analysis to come out with the figures they calculate, and the numbers are based on their perceived risk.

Diesel44

Thanks for all your replies, looks like I'm going to have to shut up and pay up.
On the question of passing, just for example, a male driver who passes his test first time has to pay higher insurance than a female, who might take say 9 attempts to pass.
That's life I suppose.
Just to end on a true to life facts, my young cousin, SHE has already written her car off.
In 2006 my wifes car was damaged by a female driver reversing into it. This is 100% true, the lady got out of the car and said to my wife that she has spilt her cup of tea!

pastra

Diesel44 wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies, looks like I'm going to have to shut up and pay up.
On the question of passing, just for example, a male driver who passes his test first time has to pay higher insurance than a female, who might take say 9 attempts to pass.
That's life I suppose.
Just to end on a true to life facts, my young cousin, SHE has already written her car off.
In 2006 my wifes car was damaged by a female driver reversing into it. This is 100% true, the lady got out of the car and said to my wife that she has spilt her cup of tea!

The young male is more likely to crash with 4 mates in the car at high speed!

The young female is likely to crash in Tesco's carpark at 3 mph with 4 mates in the car.

Mobility151990

Yeah im sorry i really have to agree with everyone else, your logic is flawed.

I'm 19 male, i only passed in September. I am on my mothers driving license is a co-driver and it costs just over £1000 and its a 1.6 Ford Focus. So its a pretty good price, i guess my age takes a lot into account. That and my mothers NCD etc etc...

Anyway. Passing 1st time really REALLY doesn't mean anything. I'm talking from recent experience, on the day a lot of passing is down to luck, 90% of problems you're going to have on the road are down to other drivers. So you may be great but still fail 1 or 2 times till you get lucky. It took me 3 times, i passed with 2 minors, i got an extremely high score on my theory and my driving instructor (i went with BSM) said i was one of his best drivers.

So again, passing 1st time really means nothing and shouldn't!

I also agree with the statistics, male drivers are so much more reckless, ive been in cars with my mates (same age) who've drove, they take risks, speed etc, all to impress, when really it's not impressive it's just childish. So if it takes high premiums to stop some young lads getting on the road so be it :T

moneyistime

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard this flight. This is your pilot speaking. I would just like to tell you that that I did not pass my flying test first time, in fact it took me three attempts before I was able to get it right. I am sure you passengers who failed your driving test several times will be reassured that I am of course a more experienced pilot than if I had passed first time... as for the rest of you, please sit back down fasten your safety belts...