Which address for student car insurance

David_Mee

Hi,

Son is looking for car insurance quotes. He's a student at Salford University. We will be moving to Devon.

If he puts Devon as his "address" - quote is £660

If he puts Manchester address where he's going to rent, quote becomes £2700

So.... what does insurance company mean by "address" - and does he have to change it when home for holidays etc???

Sound daft questions but don't want him to be "uninsured" when he needs it - even if it does save him £2000+

System

The address is where the car is normally kept.

Although some insurers take the view that they will only insure at the address of the highest premium.

Apart from the need to travel home, will he actually need a car while at Uni?

David_Mee

Unfortunately, yes, he needs transport.

It may tip the balance though if its going to cost him another £2000+

Ratboy

David_Mee wrote: »

Unfortunately, yes, he needs transport.

It may tip the balance though if its going to cost him another £2000+

You say you 'will be moving to Devon', not that you live there. So, unfortunately, you must put down where the car is 'kept', and from your wording it isn't Devon.

If you receive correspondence regarding the vehicle, then how can it be acted upon, if he doesn't live there?

Salford has excellent transport links, including I believe 2 railway stations, and the Metro system. So - a student has no need for a vehicle in the area. It would probably be nicked anyway, as some areas of Salford remain rough, while others are uber trendy (new Media City/Lowry Centre)....:D

dggar

The major bus operators in Manchester & Salford are First and Stagecoach.

Both offer a student pass system

http://www.stagecoachbus.com/3-manchester-unirider.aspx

http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/greater_manchester/tickets/student_bus_travel/tickets.php

If your son gets a young person rail card (about £28 per year, 1/3 off train fares) and a student pass it may well be under £2000+ for his transport costs.

Tiddlywinks

You need to be accurate in all details given to insurance companies as they use these details to calculate the 'risks' of doing business with you based on those facts. This premium then reflects the risk.

If the car were to be stolen, damaged, your son involved in an accident in Manchester (or a hundred and one other things that might go wrong) the insurance company will look at the details again to make sure they tally with the claim they are presented with... if not, then that will invalidate the policy.

But, deep down, you knew that already didn't you?...

Horizon81

Insure it at home address, not university if it's going to cost all that extra. If it gets nicked whilst in Salford, well he was just visiting a uni friend down there then wasn't he?!

Can't see how else you'd do it - you can't realistically keep phoning insurer every Christmas/Easter/Summer holidays when he returns home.

Nilrem

Horizon81 wrote: »

Insure it at home address, not university if it's going to cost all that extra. If it gets nicked whilst in Salford, well he was just visiting a uni friend down there then wasn't he?!

Can't see how else you'd do it - you can't realistically keep phoning insurer every Christmas/Easter/Summer holidays when he returns home.

Very bad advice to be honest.

As it would be insurance fraud, and if found out at best he could probably expect the insurance to be cancelled (likely without a refund), and the black mark that puts against your name for any insurance product ("Have you ever had insurance cancelled").

The companies are very well aware of the common scams to get cheaper insurance, things like fronting, saying you live at home when you're at university and can/do investigate if anything seems fishy.

The insurance company don't care if you're at home for a few weeks in the summer etc, but do care very much about where the car is parked for the majority of the time (IE 5 days a week, or 9 months a year etc).

Horizon81

Nilrem wrote: »

Very bad advice to be honest.

As it would be insurance fraud, and if found out at best he could probably expect the insurance to be cancelled (likely without a refund), and the black mark that puts against your name for any insurance product ("Have you ever had insurance cancelled").

The companies are very well aware of the common scams to get cheaper insurance, things like fronting, saying you live at home when you're at university and can/do investigate if anything seems fishy.

The insurance company don't care if you're at home for a few weeks in the summer etc, but do care very much about where the car is parked for the majority of the time (IE 5 days a week, or 9 months a year etc).

Ok, so he insures it with his student address then goes home for Easter and it gets stolen from his home address. By your logic he's still committing fraud. Owing to term dates, most students will only spend 50% of the year actually at university, so if I was the OP I'd insure it at the home address.

Aretnap

The question is where will the car usually be kept. With a typical term time of something like 28 weeks, plus Fresher's week, plus any holiday time he stays in Salford for, the only honest answers are (1) "Salford" or (2) "I'm a student: it will be Salford in term time and Devon during holidays". Deliberately giving the address where he spends less time in order to minimise his premium is going to leave him at risk of having his cover voided when he needs it most.

(2) is probably the correct answer. Doubtless there isn't a box to tick for this on the online form (which are useless for anyone with slightly unusual circumstances), so his best option is probably to pick two or three of the most competitive insurers from the price comparison sites, phone them up and speak to a real person about his situation. Also worth trying companies like Endsleigh who are used to dealing with students - but don't assume that they'll automatically be the cheapest just because the NUS recommend them.

Horizon81 wrote: »

If it gets nicked whilst in Salford, well he was just visiting a uni friend down there then wasn't he?!

Except he wasn't, and claiming that he was to obtain a payout would be fraud. Please don't advise people to commit serious offences.

Bowling_4_Gold

Horizon81 wrote: »

Ok, so he insures it with his student address then goes home for Easter and it gets stolen from his home address. By your logic he's still committing fraud. Owing to term dates, most students will only spend 50% of the year actually at university, so if I was the OP I'd insure it at the home address.

Huh? Uni takes up 42 weeks in the year (which is over 80% of the year). Even if the son goes home every weekend (Salford is almost 300 miles away from Devon) then the car will still be in Salford for over 55% of the time.