help with young drivers insurance pleeease

kate1956

I've looked on the forum but can't find the answer to this so hope people can help. My 17year old son is about to take his test and it's become clear that there's no way we can afford to insure a car for him especially since he wouldn't be driving very often.
One way round this I thought might be to buy a small old car that I drove so insured in my name and then insure him as a Temporary Additional Driver for when he wants to drive in the holidays - so therefore only insuring him for certain dates. Does anyone know if this is possible?
I understand about 'fronting' being illegal but this doesn't seem to be the same.
Question is though - is it possible, how much per day and which insurance companies would do this? Any help would be much appreciated - oh yes and we understand that this wouldn't give him any no claims bonus but we don't have a problem with that.

chriswuk_2

Why not just insure it in your name & put him on as a named driver ?

impy78

kate1956 wrote:

I've looked on the forum but can't find the answer to this so hope people can help. My 17year old son is about to take his test and it's become clear that there's no way we can afford to insure a car for him especially since he wouldn't be driving very often.
One way round this I thought might be to buy a small old car that I drove so insured in my name and then insure him as a Temporary Additional Driver for when he wants to drive in the holidays - so therefore only insuring him for certain dates. Does anyone know if this is possible?
I understand about 'fronting' being illegal but this doesn't seem to be the same.
Question is though - is it possible, how much per day and which insurance companies would do this? Any help would be much appreciated - oh yes and we understand that this wouldn't give him any no claims bonus but we don't have a problem with that.

This is not fronting, but it does present it's own difficulties...

With some insurance companies, there is only a limited time you can add on a temporary driver (6 weeks per year seems to be about average).

Also, as he will be added on midterm in the policy, the amount you pay may fluctuate up or down throughout the year. or the underwriter may indeed change the criterea, so they will not add him as a temporary driver later on in the year.

maclean2

Suggest you telephone Liverpool Victoria on 0800 514 514 for quotes with and without your son on the policy.They are usually fairly cheap for teenage additional drivers but suggest you ask them how much extra they charge per period.They do not charge policy amendment fees so I expect their charges for temporary additional drivers are more reasonable than some of their rivals.

MarkyMarkD

It is fronting, if for the times he is added as an additional driver he is in fact the main driver, unless when you add him as an additional driver you state categorically that he will be the main driver.

You have a duty to tell the insurer who is the main driver of the vehicle at each point in time, and that will obviously not be you when you add him as a driver during his holidays.

The obvious flaw with your plan, apart from the above, is that the amount you will be charged for the period during which your son is the main driver will be impossible to predict at the outset and could be so astronomical that you'll wish you'd never chosen that insurer in the first place.

If you can't afford to insure a car in your son's name, then he shouldn't have a car (or the use of one). I know that'll sound harsh, but there are endless threads on here about "how can I get around the cost of insurance for my child", to which the short answer is "you can't, without committing insurance fraud". The only legitimate ways to reduce premiums are to have a low insurance group car, of minimal value, which is stored in a garage and to live in a low-risk area; assuming you do all of the above, then insure it in his name if it's primarily his car.

If you don't insure a car in your son's name, he'll never earn any no claims discount and the problem will go on for years. Look at the long-term benefit of getting his insurance started young.

impy78

This is not correct.... the main driver is the person who drives the car most....

For instance, if the main driver is ill for a fortnight out of a year and the second driver uses it during that period, the main driver is still the main driver.


The op is not adding them on as a named driver, she is adding them on as a temporary driver which is not the same thing.

If the son uses the car for 6 weeks of the year (the maximum you can add on a temporary driver), and she is using it for the other 46 weeks of the year, she is the main driver.

kate1956

Thanks for all the advice - yes I'm talking about what impy78 says ie adding him on as a temporary driver for a few weeks a year.

In answer to Markymarkd I was hoping that someone would know how much this does cost and could recommend insurance companies so that I don't end up with an astronomical cost.

I'm just trying to give my son a bit of independence sometimes - and no we don't live in a low-risk area and we don't have a garage.

gazza975526570

Its impossible for anyone on here to even give you a rough idea of costs as they will vary so much dependent upon your set of circumstances, ie area, age/value of car etc etc.

You would just need to do some ringing round for prices

abr

if your son is taking his test and he has lessons of a qualified ADI.

get his instructor to explain about the pass plus.

then he would be in a better position to insure a car in his own rights.

chriswuk_2

Now if your son only drove the car for 49% of the time - you would still be the main driver ;-)

Tahiti

If he's going to be driving your car rather than his, take a look at Direct Line. They should insure him as a second driver (assuming he is that), AND sort him out with a year's no claims at the end of it if he's sensible. Either that or go to a sit down broker and get some face to face advice - you MIGHT be surprised by what they can do.

In my experience, insurance isn't a lot cheaper at age 18 than at 17, even with the years extra experience. With a years NCB though, it can make a difference.

Hope that helps.