getting insurance for teenage son

mustbemoreorganised

hi my son is presuring me to take out an insurance policy and have him as a named driver as he cannot afford to take out car insurance himself, he is 17. I am uneasy about doing this but you know what teenagers are like, he keeps telling me that all his friends parents have done it for them. I do have my own car and own insurance for this, are there any things I shoud be aware of before going ahead, thanks for any advice

dollywops

It is common practice for parents to insure teenagers on their own vehicles. Just be warned, it does not come cheap. Some companies won't accept named drivers under 18.

Sagaris

mustbemoreorganised wrote: »

hi my son is presuring me to take out an insurance policy and have him as a named driver as he cannot afford to take out car insurance himself, he is 17. I am uneasy about doing this but you know what teenagers are like, he keeps telling me that all his friends parents have done it for them. I do have my own car and own insurance for this, are there any things I shoud be aware of before going ahead, thanks for any advice

Yes - don't do it! It's known as 'fronting' I believe, if your son has a prang and claims on the insurance (as they all do in their first year!) then the insurance comapny will make extensive enquiries and declare the policy null and void - and possible prosecute for fraud too.
One way of bringing down the cost of his insurance is to put a parent as a named driver on his policy - it brings the cost down a bit, not always by a great deal, but anything is better than nothing. It lessened the cost of my elder daughter's first car insurance by about £100, so it's worth a look.

mountainofdebt

Why not ask your own insurers what it would cost to add your son as a named driver and get him to pay the difference between your premuim now and what it would rise to.

May be worth also asking if your son would get his own no-claims discount if he then took out a policy in his own name at a later date

mountainofdebt

Sagaris wrote: »

Yes - don't do it! It's known as 'fronting' I believe, if your son has a prang and claims on the insurance (as they all do in their first year!) then the insurance comapny will make extensive enquiries and declare the policy null and void - and possible prosecute for fraud too.

Just as a matter of interest why would it be fraud if all the info given to the insurance co was correct at the time of commencement of the policy?

Sagaris

I'm only saying what happened to an acquaintance of mine, the insurance company did some 'digging' and found out that the son was driving more than the parent on the policy, and declared it null and void. Luckily it wasn't a serious accident they were claiming for. The youngster was done for driving without insurance - and he only used the car for getting to and from college.
Perhaps it's just me - I made both my kids take out their own policies (with a little bit of help from me - the younger one got her first car today coincidentally - with me as a named driver!) so they could start building their own NCD.
There's a bit more info here: http://www.fastquotes.co.uk/young-drivers.html

dollywops

mustbemoreorganised wrote: »

hi my son is presuring me to take out an insurance policy and have him as a named driver as he cannot afford to take out car insurance himself, he is 17. I am uneasy about doing this but you know what teenagers are like, he keeps telling me that all his friends parents have done it for them. I do have my own car and own insurance for this, are there any things I shoud be aware of before going ahead, thanks for any advice

When my son got his car, initially, as he was a learner driver, I insured his car with him as a named driver. Liverpool Victoria, who I was insured with at the time, gave me an introductory discount. Most companies with whom I spoke, said that once he passed his test, when he would obviously be the greater user of the vehicle, the insurance would then have to go in his name. Some companies said that if it was only occassional usage, it could stay in my name.

Once he passed his test, I moved my car to Direct Line, and then got the second car discount applied to his car. It still cost the best part of £1600 to insure a 5 year old 1.0 Corsa. The age of the vehicle is irrelevant. It is the age of the driver, and boys cost more than girls.

Once you tell an insurance company that the named driver is 17 years old, I found that the premiums shot up and in some cases were equivalent to the 17 year old insuring the car themselves.

FlameCloud

mountainofdebt wrote: »

Just as a matter of interest why would it be fraud if all the info given to the insurance co was correct at the time of commencement of the policy?

Because the son has gained financially from lieing to an insurance company- they were told that the mother is the main driver and the son an additional one, not the other way around.

i.e. the information was not correct.

sexysam

I have just insured my 18 yr old son on my policy. The chaepest insurance company without doubt is Liverpool & Victoria. They are cheapest by at least £350 - £400