Why is the type of school (state or private) relevant when adding a learner driver to a policy?

norski_uk

Got a quote today (from the insurance arm of a major UK supermarket) for adding my 17 year old daughter on to my car insurance as a provisional driver on a 1 litre Skoda CitiGo. 10+ months to run on the policy and they want an additional £1,150 - as a learner driver!

I have paid the £40 cancellation fee and taken out a new policy with another company for £225 (an increase of £43 to add the learner driver over what I originally paid for just me and my wife).

One odd question that I have not experienced before was asked by the original insurance company. In response to her employment status being 'full-time education at school' they asked "What type of school? State school or Independent?" I asked why that mattered - got no explanation.

Has anyone else experienced this question? Wondering how the type of school someone goes too is significant in terms of evaluating the risk of insuring a driver on a provisional licence?

MeteredOut

Put simply, if their analysis of claim data shows that one or the other are more or less likely to make a claim, they'll ask the question.

Flugelhorn

I just used one of the learner driver policies like Marmalade - they don't ask many questions 

DullGreyGuy

MeteredOut said:

Put simply, if their analysis of claim data shows that one or the other are more or less likely to make a claim, they'll ask the question.

Or someone has a theory that it might have an impact and so are now gathering the data to prove or disprove the hypothesis. 

norski_uk said:

Has anyone else experienced this question? Wondering how the type of school someone goes too is significant in terms of evaluating the risk of insuring a driver on a provisional licence?

Remember that insurance isn't priced on risk alone. A former client had multiple brands aimed at different socio-economic groups of customers. Sure the one aimed at the "mass affluent" who are considered "cash rich, time poor" had a couple of minor bells and whistles added, all at no cost to the insurer, but believed it could charge more than its sister brands simply because the people who bought into the brand are not as price sensitive as those who went with their other brands. 

Maybe, and a random hypothesis as never heard of the question being asked, they think that those going to public school clearly value quality and so they include optional extras etc in the initial quote whereas those going to state school they exclude them initially. Clearly both are free to change the default if they want. 

user1977

I would guess one difference may be in the worst-case scenario of crashing with a bunch of schoolmate passengers crippled for life - those who can reasonably claim they would otherwise have been destined for a high-flying career would have a bigger claim?

Aretnap

A lot of rating factors that insurers use are largely markers for social class - occupation and postcode being two of the most obvious ones (and even make and model of car, to a significant extent).

Private schooling is a VERY good marker for social class - and probably especially useful for customers who are of an age where they don't have an occupation that you can ask them about instead.