Driving as a ND for over 25 yrs. Getting own insurance

sherbie28

I've been a ND on my dad's insurance since I started driving (1999). In all that time we have never claimed so his NCD is protected. I'm starting to wonder given his age (76) if I should start my own insurance. Will it be like starting from scratch or will anyone take into account my driving history with no claims etc. I don't own a car, it will still be my parents car that I drive. No access to any other cars. 

Brie

There will be some major issues if you try to have 2 policies for the same car. 

Whose policy would be used if someone runs into the car when it's parked on the street outside your home?  If there was an accident by anyone then both policies would need to be informed even if a claim wasn't being made on one.  If it was a no fault accident (hit and run of your car on the street when it's parked) then both policies would need to deal with this (I think) and so both deductibles would be in action. 

Does dad still drive a lot?  If so then he needs to be the main driver on the policy no matter what.  If you are now the main driver then you need to be listed as such and it would be (I think) your NCD.

Aretnap

There is certainly nothing to be gained by taking out two policies on the car. Paying for a policy that you don't need this year, just to get a discount on a policy that you might or might not need next year, makes no financial sense whatsoever. Why not just leave the question of buying your own policy until you actually need it? What advantage do you think you'll get by starting your own policy sooner than you need to?

You won't get any no claims discount as such for time you've spent as a named driver, unless your dad happens to use one of the insurance who offers a "named driver NCD". However you would still be able to say that you have held your license for 25 years, had no accidents in the last 5 years etc, and would get credit for that. And you may well find that the lack if a NCD doesn't make anything like as much difference as you expect. Commonly these days even full NCD is only a discount if 20-30%, and many people report that they find it makes even less difference than that. 

Contrary to what Brie says, NCD is usually awarded to the policyholder, who may or may not be the main driver. So if you really wanted to build up your own NCD you could take out the policy instead of your dad next year, if the insurer is happy for you to insure a car owned by your dad. Whether or not there's a financial advantage to doing so it's another question.

Veteransaver

NCD is a bit of a scam in my opinion. My wife has never had insurance in her name and has only ever been a named driver on my policy.
I got a quote last year on comparison sites with her as policyholder and me as named driver. 
A policy in her name (despite her having 0 NCD) was literally a couple of quid more than my renewal quote.

DullGreyGuy

Veteransaver said:

NCD is a bit of a scam in my opinion. My wife has never had insurance in her name and has only ever been a named driver on my policy.
I got a quote last year on comparison sites with her as policyholder and me as named driver. 
A policy in her name (despite her having 0 NCD) was literally a couple of quid more than my renewal quote.

How is it a scam? Has she has a load of claims?

Historically it was a marketing tool but it's also a bit silly to claim it's a 65% discount when the vast majority of people have maximum NCD. The real weird one is NCD Protection, an insurance on your insurance, where you can still say you are 10 years claims free despite having made 3 claims in that time. 

These days discounts are much lower, they always gave good risks with 0 NCD an introductory discount which was a substantial part of the NCD. Obv if you are buying NCDP then you are paying an additional premium that she isnt. Similarly minimum premiums apply post discount so if you are already at our lowest premium then applying an NCD won't make any different at all

sherbie28

I'm just panicking that if in the future he couldn't drive as he's getting older would it be cheaper for me to try and build up NCD now rather than leave it until I have to get my own policy due to whatever circumstances might arise with my dad. 

XRS200

sherbie28 said:

I'm just panicking that if in the future he couldn't drive as he's getting older would it be cheaper for me to try and build up NCD now rather than leave it until I have to get my own policy due to whatever circumstances might arise with my dad. 

Not something I would panic about.  Even if he can't drive he can often still be the policyholder - it's his car.

You'd need to do quotes to see if it's cheaper.  Just make sure you answer the owner/keeper/driver questions accurately 

Aretnap

Building up your own NCD would mean getting your own policy now rather than at some undefined point if the future and building it up then. The only way that would work out cheaper overall would be if you expect your quotes to be significantly higher in the future than they would be now. 

So basically if your planning to acquire lots of convictions over the next few years, or trade up from whatever your dad drives to a Ferrari, then it probably does make sense to start building up your NCD now. Otherwise, you might as well leave it until you actually need a policy of your own. 

(I nearly wrote "if you're planning to have lots of accidents in the next few years"... but if you did that you wouldn't be building up any NCD anyway.)

TELLIT01

If and when you have your own car, an insurer may be willing to take into account that you have been a named driver on a policy and there have been no claim.  The current insurer is more likely to consider that than a different insurer.  If they do take it into account it will probably only give the equivalent of a couple of years NCD.  There is no requirement for them to give anything.

RavingMad

I stupidly merged mine and my wife's policies into one Admiral policy four years ago and only realised this year that I'd said it was fine for me to be the main policy holder for both cars even though we were main drivers where it counted.

So we discovered my wife had lost all her NCD  (23+) as new insurers needed proof within the last two years.  New policy for my wife cost £270 instead of £185. Would have been slightly cheaper to remain with Admiral but with me as the main policy holder but I wanted the wife to start getting her discount 

Since talking to my BIL, found out he puts 4 drivers (all 50+) on their insurance to bring their premiums down.  And one of his cars is a Ferrari!

prowla

I don't know if you can have two policies on the same car; I looked at it a few years ago for one of my sons and the insurer said no.