Fronting...impact

keith1950

Hi, if Grandpa has his own insurance on his own car then he won't be able to use his 'no claims bonus' on this 2nd car and therefore with the grandson on as a named driver the insurance should be much higher than £1.5k, it will be obvious to the insurance company that this is fronting and both could end up with problems getting insurance in the future.

jamesallen

lazer wrote: »

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?

They go to that much effort if you make a claim, especially if it is a big claim. Say he hits a Ferrari - the insurance company is looking at a £200,000 payout, so they will happily spend a couple of grand having a good look round the car and quizzing some neighbors.

The problem is that they don't have to prove it per se. They can follow their own internal procedures, and, if they find sufficient inconsistencies, refuse to pay (for a comprehensive claim) or sue for damages from the policyholder (if they've paid out to a third party). The ombudsman might be able to help if that happened, but if fronting seems to have occurred, they won't.

I suppose the guy could then counter-sue his insurers, and get them to pay out, but again, there is no burden of proof. I believe it would be a civil case, so it would be decided on the balance of probabilities - which might give him a chance with a very well thought through and substantiated story, but would definitely not wash if he had racing stripes and a subwoofer, and the car was kept at a different address from the policyholder.

Caz3121

keith1950 wrote: »

Hi, if Grandpa has his own insurance on his own car then he won't be able to use his 'no claims bonus' on this 2nd car and therefore with the grandson on as a named driver the insurance should be much higher than £1.5k, it will be obvious to the insurance company that this is fronting and both could end up with problems getting insurance in the future.

I suspect that on his online quotes he has not thought about that and used the full no claims. Seems to be it would be pretty obvious to insurer what is going on here and hopefully it will never happen the way he seems to think it will.
It basically boils down to the fact he cannot afford to run a car but at 18 with his friends all driving with cars he is interested in nothing else. Career, education, girlfriends...not interested in any of them...just driving. (having driven for 20 years + I can't really understand why it is so important to him but I just use car to get from A to B but his friends all seem to cruise around...with the cost of fuel I think they are all mad)

Alison_B

We have just spoken with i-kube for our son who will be 17 later on this month. They have quoted him £2000 for fully comp on a grande punto (insurance group 2). If your son hasn't passed his test yet, might be worth contacting them. They said that the quote lasts for the whole year, so even if he passes his test, it will stay the same.


We had thought about splitting the car so that my husband would drive it half the time too as he doesn't have his own car but as soon as we added our son on, it took the price to the same that it would be if he had his insurance, so he might as well get his own policy to start with.

mikey72

He may not have used the full no claims, some insurers are happy to quote with an older driver as policyholder and main driver.
The problem is they won't pay out, and won't ever intend to when they take the money.
It's very easy money for them.
If there is no accident, or any claim, they keep the £1.5k.
If there is a claim, they don't pay up, and keep the £1.5k.
Any third party claim, they will pursue the policyholder, (grandpa) and the driver, your son to recover the costs.
If the policyholder is a homeowner, he has assets they can take. If no one has any assets, they will probably be onto a loser.

And if he has failed his test three times already, it doesn't bode well.
I'd still be onto the scrapman.

LittleMissAspie

keith1950 wrote: »

Hi, if Grandpa has his own insurance on his own car then he won't be able to use his 'no claims bonus' on this 2nd car and therefore with the grandson on as a named driver the insurance should be much higher than £1.5k, it will be obvious to the insurance company that this is fronting and both could end up with problems getting insurance in the future.

I don't see how that's "obviously" fronting, plenty of people have two cars.

But wouldn't he have to put down Grandpa's address as policyholder, then say that the car is kept at your address? Surely that would raise alarm bells, or is he planning to lie about where it's kept?

keith1950

Hi, that was what I meant ,there will be several inconsistancies, it is too much of a risk.

As others have pointed out ,they would probably take the money and would only check for fraud if there was an accident and then refuse to pay out.

bouncydog1

There was a similar case in the papers recently where a policy was put in a grandparents name and driven by a young male. He was involved in an accident seriously injuring his friend who was a passenger and I think the friend was a promising young footballer.

I seem to recall (although can't remember fully) that the insurers were taking action to recover the outlay to the third party and the grandfather stood to lose his home.

Quite frankly it is people that do this sort of thing that put up the cost of insurance for all the honest people who do things legally and by the book.

Someone else who doesn't have senior moments might remember the link to the story, which I think arose in the South.