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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to not expect a £7000 jump in insurance by naming my son on policy!!!

122 replies

cricketballs · 02/04/2011 10:35

my eldest ds is 17 in a few months. He has asked for driving lessons for his birthday and we thought this was quite reasonable.
Whilst I have heard about the stupid insurance quotes for young drivers insuring their own car, I have just run a quote on my 5 year old Focus with him as a named driver (increased his dob by a year so it looked normal) just to have a look....

My premium this year with myself and dh, fully comp, 8+ NCD and £0 excess was £250. The cheapest quote I have found so far this morning with adding ds as a 17 year old who passed his test last month is £7000!

Is there any wonder so many young drivers have no insurance? There is no way we could afford to pay that a year so how is he supposed to gain the driving experiance needed in order to lower his premiums?

OP posts:
valiumredhead · 02/04/2011 15:08

elliot - I imagine it's because cars are bigger and faster than 'back in our day' Wink

suzikettles · 02/04/2011 15:16

I do wonder if the previous poster has it right: in order to make insurance cheaper for "favoured", low-risk groups it makes sense for high-risk groups to pay more.

Also, lots of insurance companies have lowered their risk profiles and concentrate in only insuring low-risk companies (eg older drivers). That gives less choice to everyone else which often pushes up prices. You want to drive? You pay.

wannaBe · 02/04/2011 15:24

I used to work for the AA. Back then, the best car to insure a young driver on was a fiat brava.

I remember speaking to a policyholder once and she was asking for opinions on what car to buy her ds for the best insurance premium. She then went on to say that she was dreading it as four of his friends had had cars for their birthdays in the past six months, and that he had been to three of their funerals. Sad

Op it would IMO be better to find him a little car of his own with his own insurance policy, because although it will cost a lot initially, he will build up his own no claims discount (assuming he doesn't have any accidents) which will bring the premium down year on year. Have yourself or your dh named on the policy as well.

To whoever suggested an "any driver" policy, that "any driver" applies to drivers over 25. No insurance company would insure any driver seventeen year olds included because the risk is just far too high.

4madboys · 02/04/2011 15:35

sorry havent read the thread, but i heard something on the radio the other day that said insurers are NOT going to be allowed to charge extra just because someone is male? (and as its much cheaper to insure a 17yr old female) something to do with european court of rights maybe?

anyway things should be changing soon and in the mean time third party maybe? :)

MollieO · 02/04/2011 15:36

Are all these quotes for fully comp? I'd be looking at getting a cheap small engined car and insuring TFT. What is the point of paying £3000 to insure a car valued £1000?

iamamug · 02/04/2011 16:25

Third Party Insurance is as expensive as Comprehensive for young drivers as the risk is not that they damage their own vehicle but that they kill several of their young friends or worse - from an insurance point of view - render them physically disabled for life.
A £1000 car is nothing compared to £1M to each disabled passenger.Also premiums have increased dramatically in recent years due to huge increases in claims costs , no win no fee agreements, and people driving uninsured. We all pay for them as if they cause injury to anybody, they can claim from the Motor Insurers Bureau which has a fund from all Insurers to pay for uninsured drivers' costs.
I wish people would think twice before claiming for a stiff neck - we are all paying for that!!

iamamug · 02/04/2011 16:27

Also have to add that the EU decision was completely bonkers. Insurers should be able to calculate premiums based on known risks. Young men are a very well known huge risk. Young women are not. Fact.

Glitterknickaz · 02/04/2011 16:37

Have you tried Co operative Insurance?
They were good when I first passed my test, have heard they're not bad for young drivers.

MrsChemist · 02/04/2011 16:40

The cheapest I found was tesco value insurance

MenaZovut · 02/04/2011 16:44

Where on earth do you live? I'm in my 20's, less than a year with a licence and driver a 3 series 1997 BMW. I pay £524 with DH on the policy, quoted £990 without. And this is ROUGH here. MY motorbike lasted a bloody month.

Original poster
cricketballs · 02/04/2011 18:09

menazovut we live in a rural village near a small city which has a relatively low crime rate! I am a teacher and dh is an engineer. With have years and years of no claims and no hint if anything criminal (apart from my 3 points!)

OP posts:
Underachieving · 02/04/2011 18:17

cricketballs have you tried getting a comparative quote for him on something in a low ins. group yet? I'd be interested to see what something like a £1000 Fiat Panda or £750 Skoda Fabia comes in at.

NonnoMum · 02/04/2011 18:25

Haven't read the whole thread, BUT

Insuring him as a provisional driver is no where near as much as a young driver who has recently passed... i.e much less risk to the insurers and other road users when there is still someone in the car with him... (so he should be able to get through the lessons without it being too much...)

It hikes up like crazy when he (or any young driver) is out alone. It's not just writing off his car but the medical claims if he has a car full of his mates (sorry to be brutal).

I recommend putting him on temporarily for a month at a time (once passed) so that way he can keep his skills up, but not get lax in attitude to car driving...

HTH

DilysPrice · 02/04/2011 18:27

What's changed since we were young is that a) the amount that you have to pay for severe injuries has shot up - awards over 10 million for a single person are a regular occurrence
b) costs of smaller injuries have shot up, partly to do with no win no fee lawyers
c) competion between insurers has become ferocious, so there's irresistable pressure to charge every individual exactly what they're worth rather than let the better risks subsidise the worse ones
d) interest rates are so low that the traditional profit booster of taking your premium and holding onto it until the claims are due is not the money spinner it once was.
Insurers are really not ripping younger drivers off, just charging what they expect them to cost in claims (minus a bit; many firms have been losing money over the last few years).

gallicgirl · 02/04/2011 18:30

I noticed when I first got car insurance that a lot of companies offered a discount if I had a Pass Plus qualification. Unfortunately I couldn't take advantage of this as you have to sit it within 12 months of passing your test.
I have however noticed my premiums come down with each additional year of no claims bonus so it's worth your son having his own insurance rather than being a named driver.

I guess the hike in premiums is thanks to all those ambulance chasing claims companies.

roundtoit · 02/04/2011 18:34

nine years ago i paid £120 a month to put my son on my ins, it was an old fiesta, the annoying thing that really used to get me was people with no insurance get fined £80!!!!!! What kind of deterent is that? The fine should be the price of a years insurance. Last year i paid £140 for fully comp on 8 yr old Astra this year its £185 with no claims etc. rip off britain again i reckon.

Pixielovescake · 02/04/2011 18:36

What on earth are you driving ? A few years ( as in less than 5) ago i was insured on a micra for less than £800 with no no claims or other drivers at all - and i was 19 !

Pixielovescake · 02/04/2011 18:38

Oh and by the way dont touch young person insurance with a barge pole. They jack the prices up. I was with directline and you can actually have it so as say the car belongs to mum and daughter drives it but both mum and daughter build up their own no claims bonus.

heliumballoons · 02/04/2011 18:51

Shock I just went on Go compare and put in I was a 17yo male, license held for 4 months and searched insurance for my almost 13 yo KA worth £600. The cheapest quote I got was £3917 with £500 excess. (fully comp)

Hardly worth it.

BTW it costs me £200 fully comp.

Original poster
cricketballs · 02/04/2011 19:03

pixilovescake we have a bog standard 5 year old focus, although it is a 1.6L.

From what I have learnt from the comments, its seems best to try and find the most 'uncoolest', slowest car that has ever been made and try to find a policy with one of these box things.

OP posts:
adamschic · 02/04/2011 19:04

Some people are paying ridiculous amounts. Mine is 17 soon and I will help pay for lessons. I want her to pass her test but won't have her on my insurance and discourage her getting her own car until she can afford to run it.

ivykaty44 · 02/04/2011 19:08

Insurance is gambling isn't it - so why are the odds on gambling on people under 25 so much higher now than 20 or 30 years ago? is it due to the price of car repairs or the culture of sueing for damages going up?

NorbertDentressangle · 02/04/2011 19:11

I am Shock at the amounts being quoted here.

How the hell does the twat numpty boyfriend of the daughter from next door afford to insure his blinged up Corsa?

AbigailS · 02/04/2011 19:11

If that's the case my two are never learning to drive until they can pay their own insurance. Wink
Luckily I've a few years to go before I cross that bridge!