New driver insurance

hard55

Hello,
My 17 year old grandson has just passed his driving test and he is intending to purchase a small car approx 1000cc, very basic.
For him to insure this type of car would seem to be in the order of £1700-£1900 first year.
Q. Is it possible that either his mother or I could insure HIS car, with him on it as a named driver (He would be the legal owner)? Note we both have our own cars, clean licences, and max no claims.
Q. If yes. Would it effect his mother or I current insurance if he had an incident (What I mean is would any claim on this insurance, affect our own cars insurance premium, not his car insurance)?
Q. If yes. Accepting that he would not accrue any no-claims bonus, are their any other issue with this that I need to be aware of?


Thanks,
GG

oldagetraveller

Insurance companys have become very aware of this "dodge" so I'd be very careful about this and what is declared on the application. It could come and bite someone on the bum if there is a claim with your grandson driving.
It is expensive but he surely needs to build up a no claims history in his own name whiuch he'll not if your plan is attempted. Are those quotes for third party only, if not just going for that basic cover initially might reduce them.

iamana1ias

No you can't - unless you want to commit fraud you will have to state that he is the MAIN driver which will bring the price up anyway. Much better to get him his own insurance policy than risk buying one that won't cover him in the event of a claim.

iamana1ias

oldagetraveller wrote: »

Are those quotes for third party only, if not just going for that basic cover initially might reduce them.

bearing in mind that if anything does happen to his car he'll have to repair/replace it himself.

cajef

hard55 wrote: »

Hello,
Q. Is it possible that either his mother or I could insure HIS car, with him on it as a named driver (He would be the legal owner)?

This know as 'fronting' and is illegal, in the case of an accident the company could refuse to pay out which would lead to him possibly having to pay out thousands of pounds if third party costs were involved.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/jul/12/car-insurance-fraud

piglint

My 18 year old niece is in this position at the moment,she got her insurance down for first car by taking an advanced driving test,this knocked quite a chunk off the premium.

mark5

I remember paying £1250-1300 tpft back in April 1997 on a Vauxhall Nova, aged 17 years 1 month.

What you could try in order to reduce the premium, is adding his mother as a named driver on the policy. Get a quote and see if it works out cheaper this way.

From the ages of about 17-21, directline were always very competitive for me.

gsto

We have had similar experiences with both our sons - both were insudred in their own names through Quinn Direct - this was the cheapest option by far for their first year, but still well over £1000. It is an expensive business and worth shopping around.

hard55

Hello all,
Thanks to all of you.
It was never my intention to deceive the insurance companies; I would have asked the same questions and given an honest correct answer so I would assume they would have answered the same as you have. I totally accept that his own insurance is the best route but as a student I can't see how he is going to be able to afford it.
Thanks for all your comments it is much appreciated, I will pass the sad news onto him.

Garry

bouncydog1

Another option that you might consider would be for your or his mother to purchase the car and be the owner of it e.g. no contribution from him. Ask your insurers if you can take out a second policy in your name, with your grandson/son down as the main driver of the vehicle. They may allow you an introductory bonus and a two car discount off each policy which will help lower the cost a little.

However this is at the insurance company's discretion - some will do this, some won't and ultimately he will have to have his own policy eventually so any savings you make now are likely to be lost in the future.

Unfortunately insurance premiums for young males are expensive - it's because they tend to have higher claims experience than young females.

Suggest using a broker or cashback site - important to get as many quotes as possible - try www.youngmarmalade.co.uk they apparently offer reasonable terms for young drivers.

cjgoodsell

Insuring in your grandsons name is correct, however being 17 years old he woudl find it hard to find some one that would allow him to have have direct debit even if you put the DD in your name.

I suggest using a broker or some one who specilises in young drivers as they may be the ones to offer DD if you are looking to pay that way and if you are they may want a guarantor.