Car insurance for those employed in the 'Entertainment' industry - ridiculously high?

silvermum

My 24 yr old son is in a very desk-based job (software developer) but works for a TV/Media company, so in the 'entertainment' industry. We just tried to renew our insurance with him added as an occasional, additional driver and our insurer refused to insure him as his industry is 'high risk!'
Subsequent quotes elsewhere are adding £150 to our quote for just him. He was cheaper as a student!

This is madness, as he works from home 3 days a week and travels by train to his office, and never needs a car for business purposes. He has 5+ years NCD.

Any ideas? There really isn't another description for his industry, although all the work he does is IT/ Technology based.

DullGreyGuy

Your challenge is having done quotes with one industry insurers may now be suspicious of any changes to something else and either 1) load prices as they don't trust you or 2) want to make enquiries after you buy to ensure its what you really work in. 

The "obvious" thing to do is to say you work in IT... I certainly know a lot of contractors that do the same for their PI insurance rather than saying they work in Financial Services but there is a stronger argument given they aren't employees. You could still say this, maybe easier to argue if he's moved jobs a lot and all have been in IT even if the employers sphere is different, but don't be shocked if your later questioned as to why you thought that was the correct answer.

silvermum

It really makes no sense, as in our insurer FAQs there's one which asks ' Do I have to tell you if I change jobs?' and the answer is 'if your job title remains the same, but you go to work for a different employer doing broadly the same type of work, then no, you do not need to inform us'

DullGreyGuy

silvermum said:

It really makes no sense, as in our insurer FAQs there's one which asks ' Do I have to tell you if I change jobs?' and the answer is 'if your job title remains the same, but you go to work for a different employer doing broadly the same type of work, then no, you do not need to inform us'

but this is where you get the question of if you are defined by your function or your industry. You'd guess they'd think someone with the same title doing the broadly same work is likely to be in a similar industry still but in reality that will vary significantly... it may hold true if your a claims handler for an insurer but not if your a receptionist 

molerat

According to one survey site software developer is one of the cheapest job tiles for vehicle insurance.

bluelad1927

Fairness aside is £12.50 a month for a 24 yr old to have access to drive really that bad?

It may even double your premium but when you look at the way car insurance has gone recently then it doesn't seem ridiculous to me

silvermum

bluelad1927 said:

Fairness aside is £12.50 a month for a 24 yr old to have access to drive really that bad?

It may even double your premium but when you look at the way car insurance has gone recently then it doesn't seem ridiculous to me

Well it wouldn't be if he was driving regularly, but in reality it may only be 3-4 times a year when he comes to visit and wants to go off to see local friends or go to see his brother at uni. 

silvermum

molerat said:

According to one survey site software developer is one of the cheapest job tiles for vehicle insurance.

It is!! And this is what is particularly galling I think! In his case, his industry is totally irrelevant as he is not involved with an of the risk associated with it.

bluelad1927

silvermum said:

bluelad1927 said:

Fairness aside is £12.50 a month for a 24 yr old to have access to drive really that bad?

It may even double your premium but when you look at the way car insurance has gone recently then it doesn't seem ridiculous to me

Well it wouldn't be if he was driving regularly, but in reality it may only be 3-4 times a year when he comes to visit and wants to go off to see local friends or go to see his brother at uni. 

I completely understand the annoyance as he doesn't really work in the industry but it still doesn't seem an unreasonable amount  for a 24 yr old.at a time of rocketing premiums


He is insured to drive it 365 days a year and  choosing  to only use that cover a handful of times is irrelevant to the insurance quote unless there are limitations of usage

oldernonethewiser

If he is only driving occasionaly can you not add him on an ad hoc basis?

I have done this with my Brother-in-Law a few times in the past when he came to visit.

I have never been charged extra although he is a good bit older than your son, but does work in that business they call show.

Slinky

You can buy car insurance for between 1-28 days for your own or somebody else's car. I had to buy it when I bought a new car and owned 2 cars for one day.