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Original poster

Car insurance for teen -- register at another address?

22 replies

WhatAShewOff · 27/05/2019 20:03

Genuine question here. We're looking at insurance for DS who is 17. It is prohibitively expensive. We've found, though, that we can halve the cost of the insurance if the car is registered in my brother's name (he lives in a different area of the country). Would such a thing invalidate the insurance?

OP posts:

CMOTDibbler · 27/05/2019 20:07

Yes. And you'd be guilty of insurance fraud

Original poster

WhatAShewOff · 27/05/2019 20:09

What are the guidelines though? Who says my bro and my son can't share the car?

OP posts:

rottiemum88 · 27/05/2019 20:22

In insurance terms this would be classed as "fronting" and yes, it is illegal and could land your brother with a criminal record. How would you/he plan on explaining the sharing of a vehicle between two people living in different areas of the country? Insurance underwriters - who would almost certainly be involved in any claim made against the policy - can spot fronted policies a mile away and are well within their rights to decline the claim and cancel the insurance with immediate effect. Really not worth the risk IMO.

daisypond · 27/05/2019 20:23

Yes. It will invalidate the insurance and make it very expensive and very hard to get insurance in the future, if you can get it at all. The fact is your brother and he do not share a car.

Pppppppp1234 · 27/05/2019 20:30

Given that when he’s 18 he will be on the electoral roll at your address, that you probably claim CB for him at your address and he lives with you it’s fraud.
Yes they could share a car.. that’s fine but you would still register your DS insurance to his residential address (yours!!).
If he has a bump (likely for a new driver) they won’t pay out.
You’ve probably already put the addresses into your browser history to see that one is cheaper so it’s not hard to prove really is it

TheCraicDealer · 27/05/2019 20:31

It would be incredibly stupid to do this. If your DS has an accident the first thing the insurance company will ask is "ok, what were you doing and where were you going?" and he'll say "College/work/home" or whatever and alarm bells will start ringing due to the distance from the registered address. The distance involved, the fact that your DS has never lived with his uncle or in that part of the country and given your DBro (presumably) has another vehicle he has the sole use of, will immediately give this away as a case of fronting. Both he and your DBro could get in serious bother and find it very difficult to get insurance again if they're caught out. Not worth it for the sake of saving a few quid.

Pppppppp1234 · 27/05/2019 20:52

Also his driving licence would be registered to his home address, again another give away 🙈

freshstartnewme · 27/05/2019 20:59

Would such a thing invalidate the insurance?

As PP it would be classed as fronting.

If you can't afford the insurance, don't buy the car. Basic practice tbh.

BrokenWing · 27/05/2019 21:00

Tell the insurance company upfront that you dbro stays elsewhere in the country and you plan to register at his home, but the car will primarily at your ds's home and see what they say? no

Dont lie to insurers, it is not worth the long term consequences when you get found out.

notacooldad · 27/05/2019 21:09

It's a bad bad idea.
Don't do it.
It has cost me £2400 for DS1 for his first year and £2100 for his second year. I paid similar for DS2 in his first year and I have just forked £1900 for the second year so I know about expensive insurance and post code premiums. It is galling when some of DS2 friends are paying a quarter of his insurance because they live in a different county.

You just have to suck it up and it does get easier.

FixTheBone · 27/05/2019 21:15

@notacooldad

"you just have to suck it up"

Nope, each of my kids will have to suck it up. I had to twenty years ago, they will now.

Original poster

WhatAShewOff · 27/05/2019 21:17

Thanks all. Wasn’t planning to lie about where each party lives.

Money saving expert recommends adding other drivers to the policy for a young driver in order to make the policy cheaper so I wondered how far this could be pushed.

Bro does work near us (and stay here) frequently so it’s not as far fetched as it seems.

Still, I’ve no intention of defrauding anyone nor of getting my dear ones into trouble, so I’ll drop this idea.

OP posts:

TeenTimesTwo · 27/05/2019 21:20

Adding DH to DD's insurance did reduce it.

Comefromaway · 27/05/2019 21:20

Adding another driver to the policy just means that you are makin it so the other driver can drive the car. We’ve added father in law for example as he very occasionally uses dh’s car.

But the primary driver has to be the main named person and at the correct address.

notacooldad · 27/05/2019 22:47

@notacooldad

"you just have to suck it up"

Nope, each of my kids will have to suck it up. I had to twenty years ago, they will now.
I meant who ever is paying the insurance has to suck it up.
I pay for my lad as he he is at college, some of DS friends pay for their own. Either way it's still bloody expensive.

tenredthings · 28/05/2019 06:38

Insure the car in your name with your son as named driver ? But he won't start getting no claims bonus.

BarbaraofSevillle · 28/05/2019 06:55

As others have said this is illegal and they will find out.

I witnessed an accident and it turned out that the young man who caused the accident had told them he was a piano tuner(!) who lived at his Grandmother's address in rural Scotland when in fact he was a building labourer who lived in an inner city in West Yorkshire - the whole claim was a protracted mess and I was interviewed/asked to give statements several times by both insurers as they were obviously arguing about the claim, which is why I know all this.

In today's world of cars being tracked by ANPR and everyone being tracked via their phone, your insurers are easily able to work out where you are every minute of every day, more or less. So they will know if your DS never/rarely visits the area of the country that he claims to live in, where he works, socialises, etc etc.

freshstartnewme · 28/05/2019 07:15

Insure the car in your name with your son as named driver ?

Unless the OP is the main driver then this is fronting.

Propertywoes · 28/05/2019 07:21

Insure the car in your name with your son as named driver ? But he won't start getting no claims bonus.

Also fronting. If he's the main driver, then adding an experienced driver to the policy can bring premiums down even if they never drive it. But your son has to be the main driver.

Original poster

WhatAShewOff · 28/05/2019 09:39

Calm down everyone! I never said I was going to lie about where my son lives. That would clearly be stupid. I came to ask for advice, which I’ve had and will take on board.

OP posts:

Asdf12345 · 28/05/2019 09:42

Look at classic policies, club memberships, limited mileages, and motorcycles (a few underwriters will let you use a years moped or light motorcycle no claims).

notacooldad · 28/05/2019 09:46

Even though ours was ridiculously expensive we managed to get it down by limiting mileage and using a box for the first year.
Of course it can be hugely frustrating but if it helps save the pounds it could be worth it.
Just be realistic about the mileage you set as it can add up if you go over.

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