Can’t get car insurance for 18 year old son - anyone else having this issue?

[Picklemeyellow]

DS18 passed his test a year ago and has been driving his own car since then.

All year he has been insured with a black box. Has had no issues with his driving, no convictions, penalties etc and drives well.

However, his insurance is up for renewal and his current insurer has said he doesn’t meet their criteria and therefore can not insure him this year.

We are now struggling to find an insurer. We’ve tried a few comparison sites and they are quoting ridiculous amounts, at least £400 per month (currently paying £180 per month). Other companies we have called are repeating the same, that he doesn’t meet the criteria etc.
I’ve just called my insurer, Direct Line to see about getting him on my insurance but again he doesn’t meet the criteria, the guy I spoke to at Direct Line has said it’s because the insurance will be way more than the value of the car and it’s not worth them insuring him.

What on earth can he do? He is a very careful, competent driver and has had no issues with the black box. He drives a 16 year old, 1.4ltr Fiesta which has had no modifications etc. It’s book value is only £800.

He has just been offered an apprenticeship in an industry he has wanted to get into all year and needs his car to get to and from work (it’s 30 miles away and not on a public transport route). I don’t know what we can do.

Can anyone recommend any insurance companies that we may have missed?

I mean good luck with the car sale!

Insurance is ripping the absolute piss this year. My brothers renewal quote went from 500 to 5000 with his current insurance. Mine has gone from 200 to 570 with no changes. We used marmalade for my daughter.

Have you tried Adrian Flux, they are a broker that specialise in young drivers.

As others have said you need to look at the car itself, then other tricks can be to add an older driver (as extra driver rather than as the main insured) and that seems to work well with say grandparents. The black box as you already know and then shopping around. Marmalade time counts as NC BUT i don't think they do drivers once they have passed.

You might be better off putting some of the allowance for insurance toward a better car in a better insurance group especially with a 30 mile commute and rejigging where the money s spent.

Mines 18 and hasn't yet passed but we are expecting the same when she does

Good news. Out of interest what are the new quotes for the aygo.

Do people even read the OP?

All year he has been insured with a black box. Has had no issues with his driving, no convictions, penalties etc and drives well.

I had this issue when I was younger, my dad ended up being the registered keeper, put the insurance under his name and I was a second driver. That was it was legal and not "fronting". I used the car, he barely touched it. But it was a massive help for a couple of years.

My 17 year old is learning at the moment and we recently bought his first car. He got insurance quotes for all the ones we considered based on when he actually passed and didn't consider any where it would be more than £1400 a year.
Cheapest were the Citroen C1 and Toyota Auto, at about £1100/1200. Our budget was only £1k for the car, but there were a few around.

In the end we bought a Hyundai i10 1.2l, partly as it was a bargain and partly we'd seen so many cars and I'd had enough! It will be about £1400 for the first year, with his Dad as a named driver.
I am actually glad we got this one as I've had to use it for the past few weeks as my car failed the MOT and it's comfortable enough for me (I'm tall and big!) and doesn't feel too tiny after driving my big car. 5 doors too, which is nice. We can fit all 5 of us in, though it's a bit tight.

It doesn't matter who the registered keeper is the main driver has to be the main insured driver otherwise it's fraud and the Insurance isn't valid. You could get in trouble and worse if you had an accident and you're not legally insured it would all be on you personally.

That's called fraud.

Still fraud.

@Cookerhood correct - this is the very definition of fronting.

That's quite literally the definition of fronting. You were the main user of the vehicle but he was the main insurance policyholder, which you did in order to benefit from a cheaper premium. Why don't you think that's fraud?

If the insurance co work it out (and they probably will once you make a claim, because people who front are stupid and will usually forget what they've lied about) you run the risk of your insurance being cancelled, and you'll have to declare to any future insurers that you've had insurance cancelled. So will the person who fronted for you. In theory you could be prosecuted for fraud.

And insurers do share information between them. As soon as you put your details in for a quote with a different insurer, you'll be flagged up and insurance declined.

I expect the car is part of the issue. Anything with a 1.4L engine is going to be mid-way up the insurance brackets. A quick google suggests a Fiesta is in group 6-9 with this size of engine. I'd try to find a 1 or 1.1L car and check the insurance band before you buy.

Sorry OP, missed your update! Glad you've found something that can help you sort it out.

I read somewhere the other day that where I am (channel Islands) a lot of insurance companies are refusing to insure anyone under the age of 25.

It’s definitely the car. Just put mine in (2011, 1.6 diesel) and quoting £1400 per year.
I have no idea where he’s going to find the money for a new car though, that’s the next issue.

This, mine has gone up 30 a month with no changes. I have been driving 30 years.

Doesn't seem any valid reason for the insurance jump.

So you can get insurance, but it's very expensive.

I don't know how they expect young people to get anywhere in life these days. Madness.

Yes, and sadly that's the real fraud!!!

It's also worth thinking about how you describe his occupation. DD found her insurance went up when she went from full time student to apprentice, and then plummeted when she qualified and became an engineer.

She has a Hyundai i10 - recently turned down a bargain Fiesta as she simply couldn't afford to get it insured. It is a great car and hasn't cost her a penny beyond routine maintenance.

It is really tough for young adults at the moment. A lot of the opportunities we took for granted are out of their reach.

We had the same. Insurance was £2000 for his first year of driving after he passed his test last year when he was 17 and 2 months. He had a black box and no issues during the year so we were hoping for a slight reduction for his second year.

Then the insurance company wrote and said they couldn't renew but they were not declining to insure. They sent his certificate of a years no claims - fat lot of good that turned out to be!

Every quote we tried to get was around £4k per year. Just not viable. We even looked at buying a different car but it didn't make any difference no matter what car we looked at.

So we've had to take his car off the road until we can find a way to insure him and it ( going to try again in three months and then again in 6 before we decide to sell the car). He now borrows my car as a named driver on my policy when he needs to drive. If he goes to uni in Sept we will sell his car. Just so annoying that he can't build up any no claims on his own policy even though he's a really sensible driver.

Lots of his friends are starting to have the same issue as they come up to their first renewal. It never used to be this hard.

Fronting definition

Fronting: What you need to know - Confused.com

Glad you got it sorted - I am just looking at renewing mine and it's increased quite a bit on last year

We use LV and have both Dh and myself on the policy. Insurance went up several hundred pounds this year, due to CoL etc.

Could try NFU?
They insure my 1.6 10y/o fiesta