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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

Original poster

Car insurance for 17 yo - best deals?

29 replies

CuttedUpPear · 25/11/2014 21:08

Has anyone manged to find that holy grail, the affordable car insurance for your learner child?

DS will be driving a 1400cc car which I am the main insured person on. I am thinking we should swap this around so that it's his insurance that I am on.

Any tips?

OP posts:
PitchSlapped · 25/11/2014 21:15

If its his car but you insure it in your name you will be fronting, which is insurance fraud so don't do that, if the insurers find out they will cancel the policy.

You can get 10 month accelerator policies for new drivers so he can build his NCD up faster and if hes done a pass plus you can often get a discount for that too. You being a named driver should reduce the premium especially if your license is clean

Catsmamma · 25/11/2014 21:20

we insure the learners on my policy...on my car, mildly eye watering to say the least...it was a teeny seicento

both of them have used that to run around in, not their car, so as named drivers, and then after the first year of driving ds1 had a wee car, and that was scary money, even with dh and me as nnamed drivers

dd is now in charge of the wee car and again has her own policy with us named...i often take her car fro a decent blast as she rarely tootles anywhere furthere than the next town.

but do brace yourself for the first year's policy.

Original poster
CuttedUpPear · 25/11/2014 21:24

So it's best to have him as a named driver on my policy?

OP posts:
HelpMeGetOutOfHere · 25/11/2014 21:27

I'm pretty sure they have got wise to that as looking for quotes for ds1 it was cheaper on his own than as a named driver on a policy in my name.

Ds car is a little 1litre fiesta. Not the sportiest of cars but it's a decent one not too old. Quotes were coming in around £1200 on go compare.

AnyFucker · 25/11/2014 21:31

we found this to be the cheapest

Chopchopbusybusy · 25/11/2014 21:31

The policy needs to be in the name of the main driver. DH and I are both named drivers on DDs policy which reduced the price considerably even although neither of us ever drive it.

AnyFucker · 25/11/2014 21:32

with teenagers parents as named drivers

deathbythreading · 25/11/2014 21:34

I'm going through this with DC2 at the minute. Both kids are on my policy. Have just got my renewal quote in and for me, DD20 (an "R" driver-NI- so passed less than a year) and DS17 it's £82 per month. Will ring a few others to see if I can get it down-especially as STBXH has paid nothing towards licenses, lessons, insurance,tests etc for either of them! I drive a 1litre corsa so that I can afford to insure them. He drives a 2litre Audi A4!!! And is "struggling" for money each month!!!

Original poster
CuttedUpPear · 25/11/2014 21:45

Would it help to have another named experienced driver on the policy apart from myself (the only parent I can see round here).
I could put DP on there. I'm on his policy and he's on mine.

OP posts:
AnyFucker · 25/11/2014 21:46

Worth asking ?

beachyhead · 25/11/2014 21:54

Try it lots of different ways. We are on 'drive like a girl' with the policy in dd1's name with us as named drivers. Weirdly enough, although I have had a claim in the last 5 years (someone drove into me), when I removed me as a named driver, the premium went up!

Your car is quite big cc for a reasonable rate... Some insurance companies cut off at a certain cc....

We are fitting a box in the car as well.....

frignorant · 25/11/2014 21:54

We have just transferred to Swinton Insurance. I have a small car with dd (just turned17) added as a provisional driver. Dp is also added as a named driver. Total for the year was £613.

WeAllHaveWings · 25/11/2014 22:00

A guy at our work has a policy for his son where they put a box in the car which sends back information on speed and driving style and as long as the car is driven responsibly his premiums are lower, might be worth looking at (can't remember the insurers name).

poisonedbypen · 25/11/2014 22:09

Tesco black box was the cheapest for us by a long way, but through comparethemarket not through the tesco website.

Travelledtheworld · 25/11/2014 23:27

I phoned DirectLine the other day to ask about this for my DD. They said a few things to consider :

  1. Insurance companies do not like to insure cars owned by parents attempting to teach their own children to drive.
  2. Any accident your child has in your car will affect YOUR premium, so better to get the learner driver their own policy.
  3. It is better to let them have lessons with a driving school until they are 18.
  4. Often cheaper to buy them a small car and take out their own policy for that.

They recommended their subsidiary company " Marmalade" !

Original poster
CuttedUpPear · 25/11/2014 23:50

Hmm I'm thinking maybe:

  1. Get a smaller engined car
  2. DS gets own policy with me and DP on it
  3. Get black box thingy
  4. Wait til he's 18
OP posts:
AnyFucker · 26/11/2014 03:59

All that very sensible

Original poster
CuttedUpPear · 26/11/2014 07:19

That's praise indeed from you AF! Grin

OP posts:
anniepanniepears · 26/11/2014 07:32

look at admiral multi car policy with you and husband as well as son on the policy
still make your eyes water though

Heyho111 · 26/11/2014 07:39

Go for a box. The one my s has looks at acceleration, breaking ,and speed. Not time restriction. Wise drive. £1800 first year. Got £380 back as he drove well. Next year went to £900.

Heyho111 · 26/11/2014 07:40

Oh and The insurance was in his name and me and dad as named drivers.

RawCoconutMacaroon · 26/11/2014 07:52

For learner insurance - Young Marmalade does monthly top up insurance to allow a learner to drive a parents car, you buy online and it is instant, pay at 10am, insured from 10.01am iykwim. It's about £80 a month (first month a bit more expensive). We have used it with 3of our DC, great as you can buy a month for school holidays when you can drive with them daily.

Once they have passed, it is cheaper (if they are getting a car) to insure them as the named driver, but to add on one or both parents as additional drivers... This is NOT fronting (illegally claiming that the teen is an "additional driver" when he/she is main driver.

There are online insurance search tools which let you change the details of the car/insured drivers... If a car is being bought, use one of these before you buy, some cars are much cheaper to insure for new drivers.

Also, it will get cheaper when he turns 18/19/20 even if he has no more driving experience!

SecretSquirrels · 26/11/2014 14:10

When DS1 was coming up to 17 I tried to add him to my policy and the company wouldn't do it. After much research I got by far the best deal with Direct Line. It cost me about £900 to add him to my policy add he accrues named driver no claim discount while he is on. Hopefully this will pay off when he gets his own car eventually. It's coming up to 2 years now and I've just renewed and it cost me £400 extra this time to add him.

It's not fronting because it's my car and he borrows it from time to time. He's away at uni at the moment so only drives in holidays.
DS2 is approaching 17 now so off we go again......

I've posted this so many times on here I should get commission. I've asked MN before to make a sticky thread about this as it crops up about once a month!

UsedToBeAPaxmanFan · 26/11/2014 21:45

When ds was learning to drive, he used my car for practice. I bought a learner driver policy from Marmalade, so that if he had an accident it would be his policy which was affected, not mine.

When he passed his test, we bought a cheap car and bought insurance via Tesco. He had a black box fitted. Dh and I are named drivers on his policy. It cost £800 to insure him this year, hopefully it will be cheaper next year.

Rascalls3 · 26/11/2014 23:08

Another recommendation for Direct Line.
We bought a 2 year old Corsa Aygo for our 3 daughters. Then aged 20, 17 and 17. All had recently passed their driving tests. All first time!!! Took me 4 goes?? The main driver was one of the 17 year olds, as big sister was away at uni.
First year was an eye- watering £1700, but this year it has come down to less than £800. Fully comp, no excess, no black box and hubby as a named driver.