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Original poster

What are the implications of being a named driver on teenage DS car insurance?

13 replies

zoggs · 12/08/2008 18:19

Insurance will be in DS (age 19) name but with myself and exH as named additional drivers. This reduces the cost by about £500. If he has to make a claim does it have any bearing on my insurance status? Both myself and exH have our own separate policies with different companies.

Any other tips for reducing the cost even further? My suggestion of a buspass didn't go down too well .

OP posts:
TheArmadillo · 12/08/2008 18:21

has he done his pass plus? That brings down the cost with some insurance companies.

What about you being named as main driver and your ds being additional? If you went with direct line he could still earn his own no claims bonus.

Will check with dp later about whether his claims will affect you, but I wouldn't think so.

Original poster
zoggs · 12/08/2008 18:32

Pass plus would be great (for my peace of mind more than anything) but he only passed his test on Saturday! He just cannot wait a second longer - took him 3 attempts to pass his test so he's had enough of being a learner. I will push the virtues of doing it though.

I don't fancy being the main driver as that would affect me with regard to my own policy, wouldn't it?

He's paying for it himself with some savings and I would like him to appreciate the responsibility he has as a driver to other road users. I think if I was the main driver he would sort of distance himself from that IYKWIM.

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sillybillybee · 12/08/2008 18:43

I don't know the answers, but a word of warning about you possibly being the main driver.....a friend and his mum did this because he had a boy racer type Nova, he stayed at his gfs and the car was stolen. The insurance wouldn't pay out as they did some detective work and found out he was using the car most of the time (drove to work everyday, to his gf's etc his mum used it very very rarely). This was about 10 yrs ago but I doubt ins companies have relaxed about this.

QOD · 12/08/2008 18:49

If you do that,(go as main driver) it's called "fronting". Sales agents are trained to spot it......
risky (but I did it with my dad about 20 yrs ago!)

wannaBe · 12/08/2008 18:49

you being main driver won't affect your other policy, but it is not adviseable as your ds won't earn no claims discount in his own right apart from with a very few companies, and even then if he moves to another insurer they may not accept this no claims so he may go back to 0.

Having only 1 additional driver rather than two may bring down the cost slightly.

If he claims it won't affect your existing policy, but if you crash the car and claim on that insurance then you will need to declare it at renewal.

(I worked for a car insurance company for three years).

HappyMummyOfOne · 12/08/2008 19:05

If he is the main driver, you being named drivers wont affect the policy cover as long as you state the other cars in the household.

If you state either of you as the main driver, you will be fronting if you truly arent the main driver. Also bear in mind that most policies only allow commuting use by the policyholder or main driver.

Insurance companies are really cracking down on fronting, there are numerous checks they can make and if the policy is found to have been done on a fraudulant basis and is invalidated, very few insurance companies will insure you after.

Original poster
zoggs · 12/08/2008 21:58

Definitely don't want to do anything dodgy but I hadn't realised that fronting was such a problem. I thought lots of people did it but I don't want to do it for DS simply because I don't want to be in a position where I am making a claim for him in my name.

So we'll stick to being named drivers on his policy. For some reason it's cheaper if we are both named, perhaps because our jobs and age are considered low risk.

Thanks everyone for the replies.

OP posts:
DontNeedAnything · 12/08/2008 22:07

If you do as you desxcribe in your OP and go as a named driver any accidents that you have not caused will not affect your own no claims.

Someone mentioned Pass plus. This is a great scheme and could give him a 1 year no claims discount head start. He can usually get his insurance before he does it, the premimums will reduce as soon has he has done it. He should ask what affect this will have on the policy price when he is ringing for quotes. It is possible that it will work out cheaper to do the pass plus (even when the cost of the pass plus is taken into account).

If he is going to do the pass plus - ask his own instructor first. My DP is a driving instructor and he offers his own pupils a 10% discount on pass plus compared to "strangers" IYSIWM. You might get such a discount.

lizziemun · 12/08/2008 22:47

There are some ins policy for young drivers which are cheaper but they are limited to driving late at night. I think there is an additional charge if the car is driven between 11pm and 6am.

Original poster
zoggs · 13/08/2008 09:37

lizziemum, we saw a policy with restrictions between 11pm - 6am (monitored by GPS fitted in the car) but managed to get a quote for £1060 for 10 months with Admiral which he is happy with (it's his money). The time limited one would have been a last resort as he is a student and lives a nocturnal life. Fortunately, he doesn't drink alcohol so I'm hoping so he won't be tempted to drink and drive. Off to investigate pass plus now as car comes at 2pm.

OP posts:
kerryk · 13/08/2008 13:48

much better for him to build up his own no-claims. direct line will give him it as an aditional driver but only if you keep your policy with them so you would be fecked next year if you found a cheaper deal somewhere else.

i asked my dad if he would be policy holder for me when i passed as it would have been a lot cheaper but he said no way. his resoning is that if i had to struggle to meet the insurance payments in the first year it would make me much more likley to drive carefully to reduce costs the next year. i have to say it worked!!!

i did the pass plus course. our local police were putting so many new drivers through the course as there had been such a sharp rise in accidents in our area involving young drivers, and i was lucky enough to get one of the spaces.

sockmonkey · 13/08/2008 14:18

Honestly, get him to do the pass plus, most insurers give a discount for it!

Original poster
zoggs · 14/08/2008 10:51

Thanks everyone for the advice.

Pass plus is definitely the way to go so I am paying for that for him. Virgin Insurance refund 20% of the premium if you complete it within 1 month, gave the cheapest quote and you can pay in instalments with 0% interest. Altering little things on the application form made a difference too - it was cheaper to say the car was parked on the drive rather than in the garage (seems the wrong way round to me) and describing exH as an automative manufacturing worker rather than a factory worker also made a big difference.

DS now has his car and I had a sleepless night worrying about whether he was lying in a ditch at 3am but I suppose I will get used to it.

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