Car insurance for under 18s ??

hilspars

Can anyone please give me some tips about getting cheaper car insurance for my 17 year old nephew who has just passed his test ?
we were considering asking my mother to insure a car for him and get him put as named driver. Are there any possible pitfalls in this ? My mother is currently named driver on my fathers policy, if my nephew had an accident could it affect my fathers insurance premiums in any way?
Any ideas where to look for a good cheap Vauxhall Corsa ?

davetrousers

Insurance for youngsters is very expensive, and rightly so imo (and I also suppose in the opinion of the insurance companies!)

Going as a named driver on a parents policy can be a bit cheaper but the named driver won't build up no-claims (unless with Direct Line, but then the no-claims will only be valid with Direct Line).

If the named driver did have an accident and it was discovered that the named driver turned out to actually be the main driver then it would not be looked on favourably (though it would be unlikely that the ins. company would find out). Unless the the main driver was 65 year old Doris and the named driver was 17 year old Gazza and the car had been modified with a stupid body kit, neons, oversized alloys, rudeboy exhaust, blue 'W@nker lights' on the windscreen washer jets and a 2Fast 2Furious sticker emblazoned across the back of it!

Would you want your name to be associated with a 17 year old driver? I certainly wouldn't!

SO, my advice would be: Shop around, try confused.com also try ecarinsurance (they are cheap for me). Consider some advanced training (passplus or IAM). Stick with boring small engine cars in basic trims.

raskazz

davetrousers wrote: »

If the named driver did have an accident and it was discovered that the named driver turned out to actually be the main driver then it would not be looked on favourably (though it would be unlikely that the ins. company would find out).

There are many other more obvious indicators of who the main user actually is. It is only unlikely that the insurance company would find out if no claims were made. In my experience it is discovered very frequently in theft/total loss/third party injury claims.

Labman_2

Car insurance should be in the name of the main driver, ie the driver that does the highest mileage in the car. Insuring your nephew as a named driver if he's the one that is going to be driving the car the most is called 'fronting' & if it does come to light that this is the case you may find the insurance in the event of an accident is essentially null & void.

brazilianwax

hilspars wrote: »

Can anyone please give me some tips about getting cheaper car insurance for my 17 year old nephew who has just passed his test ?
we were considering asking my mother to insure a car for him and get him put as named driver. Are there any possible pitfalls in this ?

LOADS. It's a very bad idea, (and your mother would need to be the registered owner of the car too). There are hundreds of threads on this forum explaining why 'fronting' is not a good idea.

Her circumstances would affect the policy too (ie I assume she has no NCB, if she is a housewife she couldn't have 'commuting' cover on the policy etc).

hilspars wrote: »

My mother is currently named driver on my fathers policy, if my nephew had an accident could it affect my fathers insurance premiums in any way?

Yes. When your father renews he would have to declare any claims made on your mothers' policy regardless of what caused them.

hilspars wrote: »

Any ideas where to look for a good cheap Vauxhall Corsa ?

Bad car for a new driver - especially a male. Too many possible modifications can be made and a reasonably high insurance group for the engine size as a result.

Perhaps in these circumstances a skateboard would be a better option?

lisyloo

Can anyone please give me some tips about getting cheaper car insurance for my 17 year old nephew who has just passed his test ?

Get the smallest car he can put up with as it's going to be very expensive.
My nephew is 18 and his insurance is about £2K.

Definitely check out insurance before buying anything.

custardy

remember factors such as limiting the mileage can help.
eg if your going to do 8000 or less miles declare it.
less miles = less risk.
unfortunatly in the 1st year expect ot pay £1k plus regardless.
get a cheap low powered low insurance group car.
might not be trendy but hey we dont always get what we want.
cars like fiat pandas etc are as cheap as you get.

Rachel_123

try quinns direct - very good for young males, also churchill, directline, virgin can give cheap quotes. don't bother with an engine over 1.2 or your looking at silly prices.

not quite sure if this works but adding a parent as a named driver may bring the price down (dont know how this works but i've heard it a few times

brazilianwax

Rachel_123 wrote: »

not quite sure if this works but adding a parent as a named driver may bring the price down (dont know how this works but i've heard it a few times

raises the average ages of the drivers

ie - 1 driver, aged 18, average age = 18 - high risk
2 drivers, aged 18 and 48, average age = 33 - lower risk