Real-life MMD: Should friend with points on his licence pay more for car insurance?

Augustus_the_Strong

You're providing the car, which you've already paid for, and the insurance for your own driving, so why would you pay anything towards adding your friend onto the policy? Find out how much it will cost, and tell him that's how much it will cost. Where's the problem here? If he doesn't like it, why not go in his car, and add the more economical clean-licenced you to his policy instead?

Candice-Marie

Do you know for a fact that the additional cost would be less if your friend had a clean licence? You don't say how many points he has, but I was amazed that my car insurance premium was cheaper (by about £70) if I had my ex-husband and his 3 points (for speeding) as a named driver.

It could be worth double checking...

Generally speaking though, I think the cost of adding him to your insurances is part of the cost of the holiday, and if everything else is shared 50/50, then the insurance cost should be shared equally too.

sideways-sid

The ponts are not relevant to the dilemma. Your friend is a higher risk and the insurer has priced that higher risk accordingly. Although part of the extra cost is probably for admin, documentation, commission etc too.

If your friend is the primary insured driver on his own car, he is probably covered for third party cover on your car anyway. If not, he should pay the cost of insuring himself on your car and his points are his problem.

The one exception is if you have specifically requested that he drives, in which case, you should pay for any extra insurance as you are receiving the benefit of a chauffeur!

If it is agreed that you both benefit, you could share the cost, but you should consider who will pay the excess in the event that there is an collision/accident and the insurer (not you or him) considers that he was at fault.

Ashagill

If I'm to assume that he doesn't have a car that you could be added on the insurance for...

Perhaps, find out the cost if he had a clean licence, split it in half, and you pay that half, and he pays the balance, (plus the extra for the points).

But communication is the key - let him know what you're planning to do, if he's a reasonable guy he'd agree that his points are the whole problem; and there shall be no awkward issues!

Mouseboy007

I think I would be inclined to find out from the insurers what it would cost to insure the named driver without the points. Let's say without points it would add £50 and with points £100. You could then agree to go halves on the £50 and he can pay the remainder, i.e. you pay £25 and he pays £75. However, like a lot of these MMD's, there's not enough information to base an opinion on as it's not clear why you decided to share the driving - i.e. for mutual benefit or for yours/his benefit etc.

I think more importantly first discuss the excess-fee in the event of a claim!

hnmisty

Augustus_the_Strong wrote: »

You're providing the car, which you've already paid for, and the insurance for your own driving, so why would you pay anything towards adding your friend onto the policy? Find out how much it will cost, and tell him that's how much it will cost. Where's the problem here? If he doesn't like it, why not go in his car, and add the more economical clean-licenced you to his policy instead?

^^I agree. Unless you really don't want to do all the driving, in which case he's doing you a favour, why would you pay to add him on? If I was him, I certainly wouldn't be expecting you to pay part of the extra so I could temporarily be added on.

Tinks74

How is the cost of the rest of the holiday being divided, is it 50/50 down the middle?

Who is providing the camping equipment?
Do you have one tent and pitch each or are you sharing a larger one?
Are the bedrooms equal sizes?
Are you having a kitty for food or are you buying your own and cooking it seperately in your own pans, on your own stoves using your own gas cannisters, serving it on your own plates with your own cutlery and doing your own washing up?

If your friend didn't have a driving licence, meaning you had to do all the driving, would you expect him to pay not only a contribution to the cost of the fuel, but a contribution to the running costs, including insurance and general wear and tear for the duration of the holiday?
Would you charge him for the time you spend driving?

I'm guessing you've chosen camping because it is a cheaper flexible option, you've chosen the friend because you get on well with them and you know (hope) you can spend time in their company in a confined space without wanting to throttle them, you've chosen the area because you know you have access to a car that can transport you, your friend and your kit cheaper and more conveniently than public transport.

Experience of camping has taught me that you get more tired than you think with the disrupted nights sleep, late nights, early mornings, packing and unpacking equipment and all that fresh air.

Being tired and able to safely share the driving home with my camping partner was priceless.

Sometimes money isn't worth arguing about.

If it were me, and the rest of the holiday was being split 50/50, I would add it to the cost of the holiday and split it equally.

TBagpuss

How much does adding him cost? And how much different would the cost be if he had no points? Knowing the actual figures may make a difference to whether you feel it is worth a potential argument with your friend.

I would have thought it would be fair to split the cost, as you both benefit from sharing the car, and the driving. However, you should also discuss with him who would be responsible for paying the excess if there was a claim (would that be split, or would the driver at the time pay?)

I don't think there is a single right answer, but if it is going to bug you to feel you're paying more than your 'fair' share then you need to discuss it with him in advance.

sazpot

I agree with Augustus the Strong, you are already shouldering the wear and tear, possibly breakdown cover etc etc, the additional insurance should be paid for by your friend.

Talent

Your friend should pay for the cost of being added to your insurance. There is just one small remote possibility that should be considered (it happened to me!). If you should die whilst on the holiday, your insurance is then null and void and your friend would then not be insured to drive the car.