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Original poster

I am not but car insurance companies are being VU!

43 replies

t0lk13n · 07/10/2012 15:33

My 17 yr old is learning to drive and will sit his theory test v soon. I started to look at insurance prices. What an absolute joke and a rip off! How do people afford it. I will cost me more to insure him per month than I pay for the whole year for my insurance....I only have a 1.2 Hyundai! Insurance companies make a bomb!
I am lucky that both of us work but I am not sure that that price is affordable! I have heard horror stories but didn`t realise I would be one of them!

OP posts:
SpottyTeacakes · 07/10/2012 15:34

It's ridiculous. I think there are things you can do to lower it like additional driving courses. Have a look on money saving expert

mellen · 07/10/2012 15:35

Its do do with the cost of paying out on the insurance claims. They wont offer insurance if it makes too much of a loss.

OldLadyKnowsNothing · 07/10/2012 15:37

Have you heard of Pay as You Go insurance? There are restrictions on the time of day etc but can offer savings.

nocake · 07/10/2012 15:48

I can assure you that insurance companies aren't "making a bomb" from car insurance. The reason it will cost a lot to insure your son is that the chance of him having an accident is very, very high and remember it isn't the cost of his car that matters. If he hits a Porsche... or a house his insurance company has to pay out.

phantomnamechanger · 07/10/2012 15:49

Your son may be a model driver and extremely sensible, unfortunately statistics say he is a very high risk group. So the premiums are high. It is not about them ripping you off.

quoteunquote · 07/10/2012 16:01

make sure she does pass plus as this will reduce insurance costs,it does for anyone who wants to reduce costs,

and then do IAM

Tuttutitlookslikerain · 07/10/2012 16:05

If you are wanting to add him as a learner for a while, have a look at Collingwood Learner Driver's insurance. We added DS1 to DH's 1.4TDi Polo for £360 for 24 weeks. As soon as he passes the insurance will stop. You can do it for a shorter amount of time, but in all honesty it works out far cheaper to do it for the maximum 24 weeks.

I know what you mean about the cost though. We pay £226 a year for DH and I to drive the Polo, it costs that a month to add DS when he passes!

deleted203 · 07/10/2012 16:06

Absolutely agree! I have Peugeot 106 which is group 1 insurance - and first quote I had to put my 18 yo DS (who had just passed test) on it was for £4,700. WTF???? It is currently £180 for myself. Look into getting a black box fitted which monitors his driving....we managed to get quote down to £1800 for that - but it's still damned expensive.

SugarPasteMonkey · 07/10/2012 16:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

sookiesookie · 07/10/2012 17:02

Insurance works on statistics. Your ds is a high risk category.

imperialstateknickers · 07/10/2012 17:06

A friend who has a recently passed 17 yr old son bought him an old landrover with no seats in the back, insurance was much lower as he could not carry and therefore damage more than one passenger.

goinnowhere · 07/10/2012 17:09

It is expensive. Do they really need to learn yet?

TheHeirOfSlytherin · 07/10/2012 17:09

Dh has been driving 5 years now and we still haven't managed to get the insurance below £1000 for the year. We live in an ok area, not great but not bad, have his mum as a named driver and he has no points or claims etc. I've pointed out his car is in insurance group 19 but apparently there is not one car in groups 1-18 that he would rather have. Hmm

BikeRunSki · 07/10/2012 17:26

The risk the insurance companies are taking is not about the value of a new driver's car, it is about the likelihood of them damaging high value property or injuring/ maiming / killing someone. Your car is the least of their worries.

SugarPasteMonkey · 07/10/2012 17:28

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
t0lk13n · 07/10/2012 17:49

I have been told that as I drive the car mainly and he will have it on odd days when i am not, he cant have the box that limits him as it will limit me. I know he is a high risk driver, I am not that ignorant but I do wonder the extortionate prices as some quotes for certain cars are more than the worth of the car. A policeman told my husband that we are mugs who would pay it as so many youngsters drive without insurance as it costs less to pay the fines than the insurance. I would never do that as my conscience wouldn't let me. May just be the area we live in! Will probably have to pay up but I wonder how the insurance will go down and how can he build up no claims if he is not the first named driver. I have tried to put him as the first driver and me as second to see the cost of it but the two insurance companies wouldnt let me, i.e. no quote available.
If he passes before Christmas it can be his present! and his 18th birthday present!

OP posts:
MrsTerryPratchett · 07/10/2012 17:53

That Police Officer should be ashamed of himself. What if a young person hit another person and had to pay for their care for the rest of their life?

Original poster
t0lk13n · 07/10/2012 17:57

I know....I have a disabled son too and wouldn`t wish that on anyone so would never risk it myself nor let my son drive without insurance. Will just have to swallow the price and pay it when he passes. Must be pluses like him going to pick up disabled son or his nana or go for milk etc x

OP posts:
mellen · 07/10/2012 18:01

" I do wonder the extortionate prices as some quotes for certain cars are more than the worth of the car."

Its not so much about the cost of the car, it is the cost of compensating people for injury.

hatesponge · 07/10/2012 18:12

It's the cost of claims which is to blame for the high cost of premiums.

The average personal injury claim settles for around £5k. That's the average of course. Also it doesn't include the cost of repairs/hire which can be the same again, or more.

Young people unfortunately have more accidents, and the accidents they have are more serious/attract higher levels of compensation - often because they will have 3/4 people in the car with them.

CaliforniaLeaving · 07/10/2012 19:08

What kind of discount do they get for passing the Pass Plus scheme? Anyone know.
My one Ds is 24 and his insurance was horrendous until last week when he bought himself a new car, smaller engine, he needs it to see clients out and about so no choice but to pay.
Other Ds (18) is taking lessons with an instructor in UK now, he was driving in US since 15.5 years with no claims and it doesn't count, so when he gets his UK license he'll have high ins. He needs his full license for his career choice too. Debating between Ambulance service or Police.

Tuttutitlookslikerain · 07/10/2012 19:47

I don't know about discounts for pass plus, California, but we're going to getDS1 to do it. There are some insurance companies that let them build up a no claims, just by being a named driver. I think Direct Line is one of them.

DS1 was reluctant to learn at first, but I am disabled and DH is Forces so goes away , so I really need someone else who can do a bit of the running around. I am luck in a way, as I have the option of adding DS to my Motability car, so he can do errands for me. He wants to join the Army, so a full. Driving license will come in handy and it is easier to Learn now while he has the time, than when he has a full time job!

GreenShadow · 07/10/2012 20:29

Pass Plus is a bit of a con (from the insurance point of view anyway).

DS1 did it and I think it was actually useful and worth doing, but didn't mean we could get a discount on insurance. You may get discounts if you are paying over the odds in the first place, but not from the cheap companies who specialise in young people's insurance.

CaliforniaLeaving · 07/10/2012 22:03

GreenShadow Who are the cheap companies for young people insurance?
I emailed Ds the link to pass plus and told him to talk to the Driving instructor about it. He can already drive from learning here, he drove to High school for the last two years but needs practice driving on the other side of the road and we have no roundabouts here.

GreenShadow · 08/10/2012 13:49

California We went with Elephant last time.
Think Aviva are good and Admiral.

The price comparison sites will bring up those best for young people if you feed in all your details.