Advice please: car insurance 17 year old passed test

antonywj

Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Here is my situation: I currently have car insurance that covers myself, my wife and my 19 year old daughter as drivers ... and ... two 17 year-old twin sons on provisional licences, which cost £765 per year. My 17 year-old son passed his driving test last week and the same insurance provider has quoted us an additional £535 to add him to the existing policy which ends in September.

At the same time we shopped around for other quotes and was quoted £1,400 to cover the four of as drivers (plus one provisional) for one year under a new policy. The added complication is that his twin brother is also likely to pass his driving test in the next few weeks/months so either policy would likely need to be updated again. Thanks for your money saving advice!

DullGreyGuy

antonywj said:

Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Here is my situation: I currently have car insurance that covers myself, my wife and my 19 year old daughter as drivers ... and ... two 17 year-old twin sons on provisional licences, which cost £765 per year. My 17 year-old son passed his driving test last week and the same insurance provider has quoted us an additional £535 to add him to the existing policy which ends in September.

At the same time we shopped around for other quotes and was quoted £1,400 to cover the four of as drivers (plus one provisional) for one year under a new policy. The added complication is that his twin brother is also likely to pass his driving test in the next few weeks/months so either policy would likely need to be updated again. Thanks for your money saving advice!

Whats the actual question? 

Newly qualified drivers are more expensive to insure than a provisional, but as you've already a 19 year old young driver you've presumably already found that out for yourself already. 

Presumably you are already at 10+ years NCD so lost of a part year isnt much of an issue?

Have you checked the cancellation charges with your current insurer?

fatbelly

There are no quick fixes to cheap insurance.

Have you read this?

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/car-insurance/young-drivers/

antonywj

Thank you. Yes, have read the article and is very helpful. 

There are no quick fixes to cheap insurance.

Have you read this?

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/car-insurance/young-drivers/

DullGreyGuy said:

antonywj said:

Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Here is my situation: I currently have car insurance that covers myself, my wife and my 19 year old daughter as drivers ... and ... two 17 year-old twin sons on provisional licences, which cost £765 per year. My 17 year-old son passed his driving test last week and the same insurance provider has quoted us an additional £535 to add him to the existing policy which ends in September.

At the same time we shopped around for other quotes and was quoted £1,400 to cover the four of as drivers (plus one provisional) for one year under a new policy. The added complication is that his twin brother is also likely to pass his driving test in the next few weeks/months so either policy would likely need to be updated again. Thanks for your money saving advice!

Whats the actual question? 

Newly qualified drivers are more expensive to insure than a provisional, but as you've already a 19 year old young driver you've presumably already found that out for yourself already. 

Presumably you are already at 10+ years NCD so lost of a part year isnt much of an issue?

Have you checked the cancellation charges with your current insurer?

Coming back to DullGreyGuy's questions:

No we don't have 10+ years NCD on this car - it is a second car and only been with us a couple of years. The cancellation fee on the insurance - from what I can see on policy - is a flat £45 admin fee together with a pro-rata refund. 

I guess my $64k question is ... does cancelling current insurance and taking out a new policy make better financial sense?

It looks to be a better financial option based on my own calculations:

Option 1: Add son to current policy

• Total cost: £1,300 (765 + 535)

• Coverage duration: 5 months (until September)

• Monthly cost: £1,300 ÷ 5 = £260 per month

Option 2: New full-year policy

• Total cost: £1,400

• Coverage duration: 12 months

• Monthly cost: £1,400 ÷ 12 = £116.66 per month

But, I don't know what the implications of cancelling a policy mind year are on NCDs/future premiums, nor do I yet know what impact adding the second son to either policy might have... hence the dilemma/ask for advice.

Thanks.

antonywj

antonywj said:

Thank you. Yes, have read the article and is very helpful. 

There are no quick fixes to cheap insurance.

Have you read this?

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/car-insurance/young-drivers/

DullGreyGuy said:

antonywj said:

Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Here is my situation: I currently have car insurance that covers myself, my wife and my 19 year old daughter as drivers ... and ... two 17 year-old twin sons on provisional licences, which cost £765 per year. My 17 year-old son passed his driving test last week and the same insurance provider has quoted us an additional £535 to add him to the existing policy which ends in September.

At the same time we shopped around for other quotes and was quoted £1,400 to cover the four of as drivers (plus one provisional) for one year under a new policy. The added complication is that his twin brother is also likely to pass his driving test in the next few weeks/months so either policy would likely need to be updated again. Thanks for your money saving advice!

Whats the actual question? 

Newly qualified drivers are more expensive to insure than a provisional, but as you've already a 19 year old young driver you've presumably already found that out for yourself already. 

Presumably you are already at 10+ years NCD so lost of a part year isnt much of an issue?

Have you checked the cancellation charges with your current insurer?

Coming back to DullGreyGuy's questions:

No we don't have 10+ years NCD on this car - it is a second car and only been with us a couple of years. The cancellation fee on the insurance - from what I can see on policy - is a flat £45 admin fee together with a pro-rata refund. 

I guess my $64k question is ... does cancelling current insurance and taking out a new policy make better financial sense?

It looks to be a better financial option based on my own calculations:

Option 1: Add son to current policy

• Total cost: £1,300 (765 + 535)

• Coverage duration: 5 months (until September)

• Monthly cost: £1,300 ÷ 5 = £260 per month

Option 2: New full-year policy

• Total cost: £1,400

• Coverage duration: 12 months

• Monthly cost: £1,400 ÷ 12 = £116.66 per month

But, I don't know what the implications of cancelling a policy mind year are on NCDs/future premiums, nor do I yet know what impact adding the second son to either policy might have... hence the dilemma/ask for advice.

Thanks.

Actually my maths are wrong above!! ... should be:

Option 1: Add son to current policy

• Total cost: £853 (318.75* + 535) *pro-rata 5 months of 765 full year policy

• Coverage duration: 5 months (until September)

• Monthly cost: £853 ÷ 5 = £170.75 per month

Option 2: New full-year policy

• Total cost: £1,400

• Coverage duration: 12 months

• Monthly cost: £1,400 ÷ 12 = £116.66 per month

Thank you.

DullGreyGuy

antonywj said:

Thank you. Yes, have read the article and is very helpful. 

There are no quick fixes to cheap insurance.

Have you read this?

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/car-insurance/young-drivers/

DullGreyGuy said:

antonywj said:

Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Here is my situation: I currently have car insurance that covers myself, my wife and my 19 year old daughter as drivers ... and ... two 17 year-old twin sons on provisional licences, which cost £765 per year. My 17 year-old son passed his driving test last week and the same insurance provider has quoted us an additional £535 to add him to the existing policy which ends in September.

At the same time we shopped around for other quotes and was quoted £1,400 to cover the four of as drivers (plus one provisional) for one year under a new policy. The added complication is that his twin brother is also likely to pass his driving test in the next few weeks/months so either policy would likely need to be updated again. Thanks for your money saving advice!

Whats the actual question? 

Newly qualified drivers are more expensive to insure than a provisional, but as you've already a 19 year old young driver you've presumably already found that out for yourself already. 

Presumably you are already at 10+ years NCD so lost of a part year isnt much of an issue?

Have you checked the cancellation charges with your current insurer?

Coming back to DullGreyGuy's questions:

No we don't have 10+ years NCD on this car - it is a second car and only been with us a couple of years. The cancellation fee on the insurance - from what I can see on policy - is a flat £45 admin fee together with a pro-rata refund. 

I guess my $64k question is ... does cancelling current insurance and taking out a new policy make better financial sense?

It looks to be a better financial option based on my own calculations:

Option 1: Add son to current policy

• Total cost: £1,300 (765 + 535)

• Coverage duration: 5 months (until September)

• Monthly cost: £1,300 ÷ 5 = £260 per month

Option 2: New full-year policy

• Total cost: £1,400

• Coverage duration: 12 months

• Monthly cost: £1,400 ÷ 12 = £116.66 per month

But, I don't know what the implications of cancelling a policy mind year are on NCDs/future premiums, nor do I yet know what impact adding the second son to either policy might have... hence the dilemma/ask for advice.

Thanks.

When you cancel the policy there is no impact on future premiums directly, it's not the same as when an insurer cancels it for non-payment or fraud etc. 

The only consideration will be that if you started this policy year with X years NCD and you went with cancel and replace then your new policy would also start with X years and so the part year NCD will be lost. NCD isnt the level of discount as it used to be so is probably less of a consideration these days. 

Who's actually driving the vehicle the most? You mention it's a second car and so certainly some insurers may question if you are "fronting" the policy were there to be an accident with one of the kids driving. 

antonywj

DullGreyGuy said:

antonywj said:

Thank you. Yes, have read the article and is very helpful. 

There are no quick fixes to cheap insurance.

Have you read this?

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/car-insurance/young-drivers/

DullGreyGuy said:

antonywj said:

Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Here is my situation: I currently have car insurance that covers myself, my wife and my 19 year old daughter as drivers ... and ... two 17 year-old twin sons on provisional licences, which cost £765 per year. My 17 year-old son passed his driving test last week and the same insurance provider has quoted us an additional £535 to add him to the existing policy which ends in September.

At the same time we shopped around for other quotes and was quoted £1,400 to cover the four of as drivers (plus one provisional) for one year under a new policy. The added complication is that his twin brother is also likely to pass his driving test in the next few weeks/months so either policy would likely need to be updated again. Thanks for your money saving advice!

Whats the actual question? 

Newly qualified drivers are more expensive to insure than a provisional, but as you've already a 19 year old young driver you've presumably already found that out for yourself already. 

Presumably you are already at 10+ years NCD so lost of a part year isnt much of an issue?

Have you checked the cancellation charges with your current insurer?

Coming back to DullGreyGuy's questions:

No we don't have 10+ years NCD on this car - it is a second car and only been with us a couple of years. The cancellation fee on the insurance - from what I can see on policy - is a flat £45 admin fee together with a pro-rata refund. 

I guess my $64k question is ... does cancelling current insurance and taking out a new policy make better financial sense?

It looks to be a better financial option based on my own calculations:

Option 1: Add son to current policy

• Total cost: £1,300 (765 + 535)

• Coverage duration: 5 months (until September)

• Monthly cost: £1,300 ÷ 5 = £260 per month

Option 2: New full-year policy

• Total cost: £1,400

• Coverage duration: 12 months

• Monthly cost: £1,400 ÷ 12 = £116.66 per month

But, I don't know what the implications of cancelling a policy mind year are on NCDs/future premiums, nor do I yet know what impact adding the second son to either policy might have... hence the dilemma/ask for advice.

Thanks.

When you cancel the policy there is no impact on future premiums directly, it's not the same as when an insurer cancels it for non-payment or fraud etc. 

The only consideration will be that if you started this policy year with X years NCD and you went with cancel and replace then your new policy would also start with X years and so the part year NCD will be lost. NCD isnt the level of discount as it used to be so is probably less of a consideration these days. 

Who's actually driving the vehicle the most? You mention it's a second car and so certainly some insurers may question if you are "fronting" the policy were there to be an accident with one of the kids driving. 

Thanks - we use it the most as a second car - it's a small, easy-to-park, economical option. Daughter is in university at the other end of the country so only uses it periodically when she is home ... will be same situation with boys.

Southend_2

Could a third option be to wait until your other son passes his test before adding them both to the policy at the same time? Assuming son 1 can manage without access to a car for a short while.