Fronting...impact

Caz3121

18 year old looking to get first car (not passed test yet - failed 3 times but main/only focus in life is to get a car and drive)

He has decided the best way to insure it (and he has spent the last year on comparison sites) is to get everything put in his grandfathers name even though grandpa lives at totally different address, has his own car and will never drive this car.

I have said this is 'fronting', illegal, insurance fraud and basically be the same as him having no insurance but the response it that this is what all his pals do and if he was to get stopped then he would just say he happens to be driving it at that time and it is all perfectly fine.

I am assuming that when grandpa actually goes to take this insurance out they will ask questions around where the car will be kept and who the main driver is? will they not query why he needs to be main driver on 2 cars?
not even sure if grandpa is aware of the legalities of this.

From the car he is looking at it is a difference of £4k for legal proper cover and £1.5k for this approach so you can see why it appeals to him!

I am not asking how he goes about getting this, far from it, I want to scare him into not going down this route

mikey72

Sorry, my kids have their own insurance.
I'd talk to grandpa, and if he still agreed to it, I have the keys, if that didn't work the scrapman would have the car if it was on my drive.

If your lad does it all online, grandpa may not even know it's happened.
I guess your lad has tried all the legal tricks on here to reduce insurance.

dunstonh

but the response it that this is what all his pals do and if he was to get stopped then he would just say he happens to be driving it at that time and it is all perfectly fine

Police now look out for fronting. However, its unlikely they would get caught that way as they would need a reason to look at it.

its when they have a claim to make. That is when the damage is done. The claim would be rejected and policy voided, your son then gets prosecuted for not having insurance and the other party sues him for damages.

He would then have a criminal record which would affect employment and the cost of insurance for the rest of his life will be massive as it would be a declarable event for life.

The insurer may also come after the grandfather as well as he would be complicit in this fraud (as may the third party seeking damages).

vikingaero

Fronting may work if he never has any insurance claims or only has the odd minor accident.

If you son has a major accident (even if not his fault) then an assessor will check the car and find that it has boy racer stripes, CD's of some bangin' group of the moment, cans of Red Bull, huge 18" wheels - essentially evidence that points to him being the main driver and not grandad. Then they'll void the insurance and he'll have no car. He may even be pursued for costs paid by the insurance company to a third party if an accident was his fault. He'll probably end up with a CCJ and have no chance of getting some jobs. And because of this he could spend most of his 20's and 30's paying a debt to an insurance company.

cajef

Caz3121 wrote: »

not even sure if grandpa is aware of the legalities of this.

Then someone needs to tell grandpa the legalities and the possible consequences, if the lad has an accident and the insurance start to make enquires he could be in serious trouble.

huckster

If your son ever had an accident, if grandad was the policyholder, the Insurers could employ specialist investigators, who might wish to conduct face to face or cognitive interviews with both of them. This would be totally unfair on grandad. Not to mention possible Police interviews, court appearances.

If he has been doing his homework online, then he should have some idea how to obtain the lowest possible premiums for a policy in his own name. e.g. Buy a low group car, add mum/dad as named drivers, consider coverbox pay as you drive type cover.

Perhaps ask him to read this thread and search for other posts to this site about this issue.

gordikin

This is fraud and is going to stand out like a sore thumb to the insurance company when your son has an accident. He will not be covered and will have difficulty getting any type of insurance in the future.

patman99

OP, might I suggest that you collect the reg numbers of your son's mates and pass them on to the Police with the info that their insurance is fronted.
When all his mates end-up loosing their cars, he may get the message.

lazer

vikingaero wrote: »

Fronting may work if he never has any insurance claims or only has the odd minor accident.

If you son has a major accident (even if not his fault) then an assessor will check the car and find that it has boy racer stripes, CD's of some bangin' group of the moment, cans of Red Bull, huge 18" wheels - essentially evidence that points to him being the main driver and not grandad. Then they'll void the insurance and he'll have no car. He may even be pursued for costs paid by the insurance company to a third party if an accident was his fault. He'll probably end up with a CCJ and have no chance of getting some jobs. And because of this he could spend most of his 20's and 30's paying a debt to an insurance company.

Is this really true, do they actually go to this much effort?

I have never heard of anyone actually being caught fronting, how can they prove it?

When i was insured on my dad's car it was always my CD's that were in the car and quite often pairs of shoes and various other possessions belonging to me but i wasn't the main driver of the car, the parents just didn't use the CD player!
In fact now I have my own car, I still have CD's in his for the times i am driving it!

I agree that Fronting is illegal and you should try and find an alternative!

gordikin

I know someone who was refused a payout for their car when it was stolen because the insurance co. suspected fronting...it was insured in their fathers name (main driver) and them as a named driver. Father refused to answer insurance co.'s questions.

dunstonh

Is this really true, do they actually go to this much effort?

Only when a claim happens.

I have never heard of anyone actually being caught fronting, how can they prove it?

The most common outcome is that the insurer wont pay out. Prosecution is unlikely but it depends on the severity. There was a court case earlier in the year where a driver who fronted injured someone who is going to need care for life and the insurers are looking to recover the money directly.

The FOS publications have also shown they get complaints from people with insurers not paying out with the reason being fronting and they have not upheld those complaints.

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/7/july-innocent-non-disclosure.htm#718

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/48/insurance-non-disclosure.htm#482 case 48/2