Car insurer refused to quote to add son as named driver (21y just got his licence today)

Urbanbuff

Hi All,
Can you please help🙏
My 21 year old son passed his driving practical on monday and got his licence today.
Just speculating how much would it cost (to add him onto my policy as named driver) I called my own car insurer( U K insurer for Audi Insurance) for a quote - I did tell him that I am looking purely for a quote and that he has just received his licence today - he took his name and usual Qs about birthdate residence address any driving convcfs restrictins ( never had any problem) etc and then he said he will bring his system up to see about the quote ( he never asked for his licence number though).
Then he said the quote has been referred and after a few seconds he said they cannot add him on as named driver as they need at least one year on his licence ..and then he said as AudiUK insurance provider is changing from UKI to LV ( Allianz) from 9/7/25 to ask the new provider as they may have different criterias when my insurance is up for renewal next month. 

The car I have got is A6 2023 on PCP ( and Audi finance confirmed that I can add a named driver) 
So dear forumites - just a few thoughts ..
-have never heard about need to have minimum one year licence  to get insurance 
- also when we buy a car for him ( very soon) will this create problem getting insurance as UKI couldnot quote for him.

He is terribly disappointed ( though hardly he will be drving much -occasionally when he comes home from Uni in London)

Please allay our frustration about this..any thoughts will be much welcome ! 🙏

sheslookinhot

If he is only expecting to drive occasionally, is it cost effective to have a car.

Car_54

OP, don’t you think letting a driver with no experience loose on an Audi A6 might be a very high risk?

I’m sure he’ll have no problem getting insurance on a sensible car. At a price.

paul_c123

If they refuse to quote, it should give you a fair idea of how they evaluate and quantify the risk. It won't affect future premiums, unless the question they pose is really oddly worded.

Hoenir

Urbanbuff said:

The car I have got is A6 2023 
-have never heard about need to have minimum one year licence  to get insurance 

Not the sort of vehicle you'd normally expect a new qualified 21 year old driver to be let loose in.  Hence the insurers reluctance to even quote. Not a risk worth underwriting. 

DullGreyGuy

Urbanbuff said:

Hi All,
Can you please help🙏
My 21 year old son passed his driving practical on monday and got his licence today.
Just speculating how much would it cost (to add him onto my policy as named driver) I called my own car insurer( U K insurer for Audi Insurance) for a quote - I did tell him that I am looking purely for a quote and that he has just received his licence today - he took his name and usual Qs about birthdate residence address any driving convcfs restrictins ( never had any problem) etc and then he said he will bring his system up to see about the quote ( he never asked for his licence number though).
Then he said the quote has been referred and after a few seconds he said they cannot add him on as named driver as they need at least one year on his licence ..and then he said as AudiUK insurance provider is changing from UKI to LV ( Allianz) from 9/7/25 to ask the new provider as they may have different criterias when my insurance is up for renewal next month. 

The car I have got is A6 2023 on PCP ( and Audi finance confirmed that I can add a named driver) 
So dear forumites - just a few thoughts ..
-have never heard about need to have minimum one year licence  to get insurance 
- also when we buy a car for him ( very soon) will this create problem getting insurance as UKI couldnot quote for him.

He is terribly disappointed ( though hardly he will be drving much -occasionally when he comes home from Uni in London)

Please allay our frustration about this..any thoughts will be much welcome ! 🙏

Every insurer has its own risk appetites and just because you are outside the appetite of one doesnt mean you will be of another. 

Our last car was a 4.8L two seater and when the Mrs got her provisional and said she wanted to be able to drive our car I said sure because I thought there was no way our insurer would agree to it... it lowered our premiums by c£20 adding her on. 

Presumably you arent intending to buy him a £60k car and so getting him insurance is likely to be much more straightforward on a more regular car for a newly qualified driver. 

ontheroad1970

Car_54 said:

OP, don’t you think letting a driver with no experience loose on an Audi A6 might be a very high risk?

I’m sure he’ll have no problem getting insurance on a sensible car. At a price.

An A6 is just a rebadged Passat.  Starts with an i4 2 litre engine.  They aren't all 3 litre v6s.  OP - what trim level is your A6?  Which engine?

lr1277

I think I heard on Top Gear that it is more expensive for a newly qualified driver than a learner driver, the reason being that the newly qualified driver may not have anyone in the car with them supervising their driving.

Also there are anecdotes for newly qualified drivers getting their own car and their insurance is for them as the primary driver. Say they get a car costing X. The insurance will be between X and 6X.

This is the episode of Top gear where the presenters try and find a car suitable for a teenager.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00lkmth/top-gear-series-13-episode-2

facade

lr1277 said:

I think I heard on Top Gear that it is more expensive for a newly qualified driver than a learner driver, the reason being that the newly qualified driver may not have anyone in the car with them supervising their driving.

Also there are anecdotes for newly qualified drivers getting their own car and their insurance is for them as the primary driver. Say they get a car costing X. The insurance will be between X and 6X.

This is the episode of Top gear where the presenters try and find a car suitable for a teenager.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00lkmth/top-gear-series-13-episode-2

Clarkson's anecdote was that when the examiner said "Congratulations, you have passed" he heard it as "Congratulations, you are the greatest driver on Earth" or similar, and within a few hours he was upside down in a field surrounded by dead sheep........

DullGreyGuy

lr1277 said:

I think I heard on Top Gear that it is more expensive for a newly qualified driver than a learner driver, the reason being that the newly qualified driver may not have anyone in the car with them supervising their driving.

Given we are talking about young adults/teenagers the reason is much more that they are likely to have other people in the car with them but its not a supervising parent as before but now its a bunch of mates who they are showing off to. Even in a single vehicle accident you then have the 3-4 injured friends to pay out on.

ButterCheese

The only real way to know is to wait until Allianz have taken over (or whatever is happening) and then see what they quote.  You then accept or refuse their price.  Other than that you don't have an option for your son to be a named driver on the car.

I would say in general, it doesn't make financial sense for someone under 25 to be insured on a car unless you rely on it (for work or childcare) these days.  Back in the 90's my parents added me on to their policy for a Vauxhall Cavalier and I paid them the £120 extra it cost them for the year.  Not anymore.

It is a vast amount of money to spend just so he can visit mates, go to the pub etc during holidays.

The other option is to do what we did for my partners' son - get him to do a CBT and get a scooter for about a grand (he will be able to ride a 125 at his age).  Then he has mobility, independance, can hopefully keep it in a garage, and will probably be paying £40-£50 a month for insurance.  He won't build any no-claims for a car policy (because bikes don't count) but at least he can get around