Direct line mucked up my insurance now they demand more money!!!!

Makemerich

Right I'll try and keep this as short as i can,Basically i have owned a 1.4 Astra for about 6 months now and in late December i decided to put some insurance on it,The Car's regised in my name and my driving insturter told me to go with direct line because of the ncb scheme if i put my dad on.

So i went with Direct line and got quoted 500 for a one off payment with my dad as the main driver told the lady all the right details,and she rang my dad to confirm all this.A week letter i get my letter confirming i was down as a "Named Driver" on a Provisional licence.

Last Week i passed my driving test first time so thought I'd ring them and inform them to change it from Provisional to Full uk licence,The Woman then goes off and speaks to every boss that was in the building at the time and informs me that I'm down as my dads "Spouse" and in order not to make my insurance invalid I'd have to pay £1,200 ASAP.

I told her she was having a laugh as this isn't my fault its there's and she told me to forward a complaint on,Gave me the number and informed me not to drive:mad:

Does Anyone have any advice on what i should try and get or say when i ring them later?

brazilianwax

The fee is because you were obviously 'fronting' by inplying that your dad is the main driver of the car (I bet he has a car of his own too).

Insurance companies are wise to this, and they load their policies to ensure that the riskier driver is the one being quoted for.

There is a legal and financial link between spouses, which is why this altered your policy too. There is no legal entity between you and your dad - if the car was written off they would pay out to him. If you weren't speaking he you couldn't force him to give the money to you.

On top of this, it will cost more now that you are able to drive on your own. As a provisional driver you had to have someone with you. Now you are a high risk driver who is statistically likely to have an accident and cost the insurers money.

Makemerich

No,When i drove my car i was always with my dad who has Driving Licence And i do have a Full uk Driving licence so how the hell am i a High risked Driver?

When my Policy came thru the post it had me down as a "Named Driver" they're the ones who put me thru as a Spouse not me so its there !!!! up

brazilianwax

Are you now the main driver of the car?

Does your dad have his own car?

Is it your name on the log book?

You may hold a driving licence now (and congratulations), but you are an inexperienced driver who has never been unsupervised in a car before. You are more likely to drive recklessly and cause accidents so the insurance company has to charge you for being a high risk. You won't have your dad in the car with you now, will you?

The car should be insured in your name now. If they have cancelled the insurance, or it is voided then shop around.

Be warned though, it won't be cheap.

Makemerich

brazilianwax wrote:

Are you now the main driver of the car?

Does your dad have his own car?

Is it your name on the log book?

You may hold a driving licence now (and congratulations), but you are an inexperienced driver who has never been unsupervised in a car before. You are more likely to drive recklessly and cause accidents so the insurance company has to charge you for being a high risk. You won't have your dad in the car with you now, will you?

The car should be insured in your name now. If they have cancelled the insurance, or it is voided then shop around.

Be warned though, it won't be cheap.

Nope my Dad Will still be the Main Driver of the car,And Yes I'm Logbook in name and yes my dad has his own car.

But They're making out like its my Fault when its infact its there's for putting me down as my father :mad: Spouse

Why the hell would i say I'm my father spouse?

brazilianwax

So you won't be using the car every day, or to get to and from your work/school/college?

The fact that the logbook is in your name rings alarm bells for the insurers too.

If they'd entered your date of birth wrong and put you down as being 50 with a full licence for 30 years you wouldn't expect to pay more when you corrected them?

Mistakes like that are easy to make. Unfortunate, but you'll be paying a fair whack for insurance from now on!

Makemerich

If they put my age down wrong that would be fine because i could see it on my policy that came thru the post and change it,But the fact that they've put me down as my Dads Spouse and are blaming me for not changing it when it only comes up as "Named Driver" on my form is a bloody Disgrace.

And No i won't using the car everyday to go to college/Work because i do and still will walk to those's places as it would save me so much money and keep me fit.

Just Because i have a car doesn't mean I'll get lazy.I think the least i should get is a full refund of the single payment i paid up for there !!!! up

tom188

If you use the car more than your dad then the insurance needs to be in your name. I presume if he has his own car you are infact the main driver. Otherwise you are committing insurance fraud. If you are young then the chances are you should expect the insurance to be well over a grand.

brazilianwax

Makemerich wrote:

Just Because i have a car doesn't mean I'll get lazy.I think the least i should get is a full refund of the single payment i paid up for there !!!! up

And you'll get that. Along with the cancellation of your policy.

ArchieB_2

Long and short of it is, you can choose to carry on or cancel the policy. DL won't change their stance or their premium I expect. I can see why you are unhappy but there seems little you can do.

Have you tried getting another quote with you as the owner, dad as the main driver and you as a named driver? You can only do this if your dad is going to use YOUR car more than you.

eamon

There are two (possibly three or even four) issues here.

1. Direct Line have got the incorrect information on their systems. This needs to be corrected. You are not your fathers spouse!

2. Other posters are correct as a newly qualified driver you (or whoever pays for the policy) would face a rise in premiums. The reason is that you can now drive unaccompanied and are no longer under supervision. Hence you are an increased risk. The fact that you only drive the car occasionally is irrelevant.

3. Insurance companies have for the last few years been clamping down on younger drivers who own their own cars appearing as named drivers on insurance policies taken out by their parents for the same car.

4. If you cancel the current policy with Direct Line then you will get back a portion of any paid premiums.

You would be in the longer term be better of buliding up a NCB bonus sooner rather than later. There are insurance companies that do have named driver NCB schemes, check out the Motoring sub section, it's in the Travel Board. I'm sure that I seen something there. There are also other things that can be done to get lower insurance costs but you may need to get advice via a car insurance broker. If you do the Pass Plus course followed by the Institute of Advanced Motoring than I'm led to believe that the cost of car insurance can plummet. May cost a bit of money up front but over a few years could save hundreds of pounds.

yours

Eamon

P.S I'm over 40 drive a boring 9 yo small saloon car, clean (spotless) licence and I stuggle to get insurance for less than £300 pa