Making sure correct name is main driver?

lemonade_lifestyle

My husband and I both have a car each. The car which I own, I am main driver and husband is named driver. The car he owns he is main driver and I am named.
Now we have decided that because of various reasons I will be using husbands car for my commute and taking kids out, shopping etc and he will drive at weekends AND he will use my car for his commute.
So what i need is some advice on how we can go about changing main drivers?
His insurance is up for renewal in Sept however mine isnt up for renewal till Jan.
I am struggling to work out the best way to do this and also the cheapest (i.e minimising any fees etc).
Please help

InsideInsurance

Due to the differing renewal dates you are most likely going to have to bite the bullet.

You can phone the insurers and ask IF you were to switch who the main driver then (1) do you have to notify them before the renewal and (2) if you do do they charge an admin fee for making the change

I would imagine that most people would simply "take the risk" and just make the alteration at each renewal and if an accident were to happen before then just claim it was a one off. Obviously not advocating this! Assuming you are both mature (in terms of years anyway), experienced drivers with similar histories insurers arent going to see you as a high risk for fronting.

Buzby

Because of the way insurers now see policy changes as a revenue stream in it's own right, I'm minded that you should do this at renewal without penalty, as clearly the change your propose may not be permanent or indeed work out as you may expect. Until you let it bed in, I'd keep things as they are.

thenudeone

Since you both own and drive 1 car each, it would be difficult for you or them to prove one way or another who the main driver is.

People change their usages naturally over time, and it's genuinely possible that one of you is the main driver for both cars, (or neither) either over a year or for a period, so I don't think it would cause a problem if each of you declared the other as the main driver of your own cars when next renewed.

An accusation of fronting is only likely to be an issue if an older / experienced driver adds a younger / inexperienced / accident-prone driver as a named driver on a vehicle and there are other significant factors such as:
Experienced older driver already has another car but the younger driver doesn't
Car is registered, financed, invoiced to, or bought with money in the younger driver's name

System

As they never define "main driver" it's hard to know what they want.

1) Driver who covers most miles
2) Driver who makes most trips
3) Driver who uses it on most days
4) Driver who takes priority IF he wants to use the car
5) Driver who monopolises the car (parked at work all day) even though not driving it.

I'd just ring them up and say you use the cars about equally, varying week by week, which do they want down as main driver? Then just tell them at renewal, refering to the conversation.

Quentin

Anyone insured with RAC should bear in mind that changing the main driver from being the policyholder to a named driver has consequences on NCD - they only give the NCD to the main driver (irrespective of who is the policyholder)

lemonade_lifestyle

Thanks, we are both becoming maturer ....in our mid 30's and mid 40's!
Think i will have a play about with figures with some comparison sites then speak to some companies over the phone.
Thanks for your replies x