Teen car insurance

[watfordmummy]

So DS eventually passed his driving test, and we have gone to insure him in his own car (small Peugeot bought with his money).

Finished sixth form and waiting to hear from uni (relative to story), works a couple of shifts a month at local football club bar.

Got a quote and black box installed , as it's in his name they wanted to talk to him to verify his details. 1 hour later...

They couldn't work out what he was as not school pupil and has only conditional offer for uni, asked about part time work - honestly replied about his as hoc work.

They have now said won't insure him, and he has had to cancel policy or they would and he would get insured in future. Won't insure him as he works as hoc in a bar!!!

So now we have to find new insurance for him!! Is it me or does this just sound ridiculous!!!

I don't t remember them asking about work. Is he insured for social and commuting driving?

DD1 is just 19. She has a Kia Rio. When she got the car she was still on a provisional licence. It was bought for her on the condition that her grandfather could use the car when he was staying so we needed insurance for a 17yo, both parents and an 81yo male. My car was insured through Admiral so I called them and they put us on their multi-car policy. I drive 18k miles per year and my insurance is quite cheap. DD's was £750 when she had passed her test but with no black box or driving restrictions. Hopefully this October it should be a bit cheaper, but now DD2 is driving it on a provisional licence, so I have no doubt it will go up again.

To the OP, Swinton and Co-op were traditionally good for young drivers. I think going face-to-face or via a broker may be better in your DS's situation, although grandfather's broker told him that no insurer would touch him and DD. He was rather mistaken!

Do it online on a comparison site and just put student.

DS2 was insured with Ingenie when he had a black box. They don’t have a curfew and if they’ve driven well the payments decrease. Put an experienced driver down as a named driver, too, and that will make it cheaper

My DD 18yo, driving a 64 plate C1, got insured with a tracker box, 5k miles per year, has a pt job, for £620. student, added 2 older drivers to the policy, which dragged it right down.
The App shows a driving score and any drives after about 8pm pull it right down.

A lot of policies seem to restrict commuting and the OP really needs to cancel policy if its not too late to do so.

Newer cars have more safety features (ABS, Air bags, crumple zones) so attract a lower premium.

Those talking about boys being bad, arent the statistics that girls get into more accidents but on average the claim is less?

I was in exact same position with DS. They all ask about work even part time. U need to be honest as if he was in accident to/from work or say car damaged in work car park (as happened to DS) they wouldn't pay out. I have found direct line to be cheapest for new drivers. DD passed in June and I cancelled my Halifax insurance - they wanted 4 grand- and went back to direct line who are taking 1400 for her to be on my insurance with black box fitted.

28Hol - I like your abbrevbiation of my username!

Dd has been offered a job working for her college on a Saturdays teaching their Saturday classes for kids.

Will you be happy with a new driver doing 50 miles each way to college and back?

Why not? The only way to get used to driving certain routes on your own is to do it. My first drive alone was 25 miles on narrow country roads to work in winter - I managed just fine. Admittedly I wasn't a teenager but I was still a brand new driver.

It's all very well saying they need experience and practise before doing harder routes but I find saying "no, you can't do that/shouldn't do that it's too far/too dark/too rainy" doesn't actually help. You need to manage driving in those conditions eventually! The first time I drove alone in poor conditions I remember slowing right down and driving much more cautiously than I do now.

28, I completely agree but I think there is a difference between building up to that and expecting them to drive that the day after passing without having driven that far before. Personally I'd get learner insurance for my own car which is relatively cheap and have them drive that whilst still a learner. DS's route to school involved a country road and a huge roundabout that connects dual carriageway A roads with a motorway. We got his driving instructor to include that route in his lessons and we took him out on it too so that when he passed and was driving alone he was already familiar with it.

Young men are shite drivers. I totally understand why insurance companies charge them massive premiums or just decide not to take the risk.

I say that as a man who was once young.

And yes, if possible ask instructors to include your work/college run in their lessons. It wasn't possible for me as I was very rural but my instructor did offer to take me out a couple of times after I passed if I wanted.

But his biggest recommendation was practise, practise, practise. I went out with DP and drove that route as much as possible. It won't bring your insurance costs down but it might reassure you (as a parent) that your child has practised that route at different times and in different conditions.

I got my first car at 18 (so 2001) which was a 1.3 Ford Ka. I managed to get my first year of insurance reduced from around £1000 to £750 by doing a Pass Plus course which was a three hour lesson after I passed my test learning how to drive on motorways and around one way systems in a city. So valuable for my confidence and saved me a bit on my insurance. Of course back in the day there were no black boxes, I actually worked weekends in a bar as well as having a full time job during the week to save up the cash for the insurance. Not sure if Pass Plus even still exists but it was really worth doing.

Again I don't disagree adaline, we haven't said no to DS at all and in fact he is the one being cautious. We sent him out to the shops in the car at the weekend as it's been a long time since he's driven in the rain. He's driven in the dark and also up a single track road with passing places and on the motorway. All short journeys though so we need to get him driving longer journeys now.

Pass plus still exists but when I did quotes it didn't make any odds on the cheapest quotes. Still a useful thing to do though.

My daughter (18) uses ingenie - black box fitted, mileage restriction ,no curfew and she gets money back if black box records a good driving score over three months. She got £80 back last year. Just insured her 08 plate clio for the year, restricted to 100000miles, and it cost £730 including legal protection. Shes just finished college, just going to uni so put student in the job box and her old college in the 'where' box. No problems at all.

Ingenie customer service is also excellent - I highly recommend them.

Young driver = risk
Regularly driving late at night when pubs close = risk
Involvement with alcohol = risk

It just adds up to a risk that the insurance company doesn't want to take. Too late now of course but I would have said that he worked in retail. Perfectly honest, but avoids those red flags.

Waxon- it’s most likely she will be accompanied by dh all saying he is able to return to work. It’s impossible for her to legally go on his insurance as he has had to surrender his licence. If she is able to drive him he may keep his job (we hope)

alexanderhamilton you may find dance pushes the premiums up. Anything connected to the entertainment industry tends to push premiums up (or at lest it used to). You know she is going to be doing normal teenage student driving to and from college but they will price it on the basis she is going to be giving someone like Darcey Bussell a lift home in the evenings. This is based on friends from a few years ago but I suspect it might not have changed much, it very much used to be that showbiz was priced as a risky lifestyle for insurers.

Darcey does masterclasses at her college but I very much doubt she’ll be getting lifts from students!!!!!!

When you apply for insurance again don't just put 'social' you need to be so honest and say 'social and commuting' even though he won't be using it for work that often. If he had an accident late at night returning from a work shift he may not be covered. Better to be completely honest and find someone who will insure him fully. I had a black box at 19 and it was about £1200 5 years ago, it's extortionate!

Thank you everyone for your comments, some positive and supportive others not so.

As a parent it is a minefield dealing with everything that comes with your almost adult.

Thankfully we have managed to reinsure him today and cover starts tomorrow, certainly a learning curve.

brilliant watford that will be a relief.

My next suggestion was going to be giving up the ad hoc bar work and trying to get something else :)

To be fair he's doesn't have any shifts in August anyway!!!