Car insurance for married couple

digannio

I've just sold my car as it wasn't being used and will now be using my wife's car along with her. I'm a named driver on her policy but wondered what the best/cheapest way forward is now. Is it joint policy or one of us insured with the other one named or one insured one year and the other the next with the other half named? We've both got max No Claims and clean driving licences. Presumably you lose your No Claims if you don't take out a policy in your own name? Any suggestions appreciated.

Alter_ego

Never heard of a joint policy, could you elaborate please.

marlot

Lots of people do one year in one name, the following year in the other.


When we bought an extra car the insurer treated me as if I still had maximum NCD, so any gains may not be worth the hassle.

digannio

So maybe just easiest and best to have joint cover as now with my wife getting the insurance and me as named spouse driver.

forgotmyname

There is a policyholder (your wife) and your a named driver. Where is the issue? The price is the price.

If you want to keep your no claims alive, it will only be valid for 2 years with most insurers. If you want to keep that active, your wife insures the car this year and you insure it next year.

Make sure you declare her as the main driver if she is and that she is the registered keeper/owner. Insurance usually assumes your the owner/registered keeper.

digannio

Thanks for that. Didn't know about the 2 years for no claims. Will look at maybe keeping it alive by swopping as suggested and ensure the declarations are right, as you say. Cheers.

tacpot12

I'm in a similar situation, but not married. We've just gone down to one car as a result of retirement.

I've just renewed and found it was easier and no more costly to leave the policy in my partner's name with me as the named driver. I still earn NCB as a named driver, this seems to common on mainstream policies now, but it would be worthwhile checking before moving to a new insurer.

System

The person who owns the car should be the policyholder and the other a named driver under the policy.
Most insurers will respect your earned NCB for 1 or 2 years after the policy has lapsed but in any event you will be able to obtain an introductory bonus of any insurance in your name subject to the NCB and evidence of claim free driving under your spouse's policy. The introductory bonus will be equivalent in value to NCB .

digannio

Thanks for the help on this. It has clarified things for me and the above is what we will do. Cheers again.

Quentin

davidjburton wrote: »

in any event you will be able to obtain an introductory bonus of any insurance in your name subject to the NCB and evidence of claim free driving under your spouse's policy. The introductory bonus will be equivalent in value to NCB .

No.

Introductory bonuses don't mirror expired NCD.

By far the best way to deal with this is to follow the advice to keep the NCD alive by alternating which partner takes out the policy each year

In that way each driver will have proper NCD which can be used with any insurer.

(Named driver NCD can only usually be used by the named driver to buy their own policy off the insurer who 'granted' the named driver the ',NCD', and often any claim against the policy results in the named driver NCD being forfeited irrespective of whether the policyholder or the named driver was the one involved in the claim)

trailingspouse

My experience has always been that an Introductory Bonus was equivalent to 2 years' NCD. This was the case when I got my own car after several years of driving as the named driver on my OH's policy, and also when my OH went from driving a company car to driving his own car.