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Teenagers

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

Original poster

Car Insurance

20 replies

Hellocatshome · 02/01/2024 19:45

So how exactly do you get car insurance for 17 year olds that doesn't cost an actual arm and a leg.

DS will be turning 17 soon and will be buying his own car. He has a good paying apprenticeship and has been saving up. The car will be worth approx £6000. Insurance whilst he is still on his provisional is looking about £300 a year (presumably as he will be being supervised). Once he gets his full license the insurance rockets to nearly £7000 a year. More than the car is worth!!! And that is with the black box etc.

Its only a Seat Ibiza with a small engine!!! He wants to build up his no claims hence having the car in his name which makes sense so how do you actually get insurance which isn't a small fortune?

OP posts:
Woush · 02/01/2024 19:52

Get a < group 3 insurance. Just saying it has a small engine isn't enough. It needs to be specific makes and models.

Next, add at least one parent as a named driver. This brings down cost significantly.

Finally, accept the cost will be high. It was £115 pcm for my daughter and £280 pcm for my son.

Original poster
Hellocatshome · 02/01/2024 20:01

It's in insurance group 2!

OP posts:
Christmastreestillinonepiece · 02/01/2024 20:02

A black box is really the only way to afford it!! 4 ds's been there and paid that!!

Motheranddaughter · 02/01/2024 20:04

As long as you are not fronting
My DPs paid for all the grandchildren’s first year of insurance,thankfully

Cookerhood · 02/01/2024 20:06

My two DS's went up to £1800 when they passed but that was a few years ago. If it's any consolation it goes down again quite quickly in subsequent years. Is it older than 10 years old, although probably not if it's £6000? I think that puts the insurance up.

Woush · 02/01/2024 20:10

Hellocatshome · 02/01/2024 20:01

It's in insurance group 2!

That's a good start.

Next, do all the comparison sites. Just taking the quote from existing insurers isn't going to cut it.

When getting quotes, play around with adding yourself, or your oartner, or both, as named drivers.

Original poster
Hellocatshome · 02/01/2024 20:11

Christmastreestillinonepiece · 02/01/2024 20:02

A black box is really the only way to afford it!! 4 ds's been there and paid that!!

This is looking like £6000 with the black box but I dont think the black box is going to be that helpful as hebworks shifts so will have to drive early in the morning and late at night which apparently they dont like.

OP posts:
Original poster
Hellocatshome · 02/01/2024 20:12

Motheranddaughter · 02/01/2024 20:04

As long as you are not fronting
My DPs paid for all the grandchildren’s first year of insurance,thankfully

Definitely not fronting, it will be his car in his name and his insurance with me and his Dad as named drivers.

OP posts:
Kwasi · 02/01/2024 20:16

Put one of his parents on as a named driver. I have my husband on mine and it has knocked it down a couple of hundred quid.

Get him to do Pass Plus (if it still exists) and an advanced driving course.

UncomfortableSilence · 02/01/2024 20:31

We used Adrian Flux for DD. They were one of the cheapest on the comparison sites but you do have to call them direct and they then offered cheaper than the quote on the comparison site.

It's a black box policy but it's one of the better ones in terms of it only monitors speed and there are no restrictions on time which was important as at the time DD had a part time job. It was £1400 and she's just coming to the end of her first year and the renewal if she has a black box again is around £800.

MaloneMeadow · 03/01/2024 08:40

Following with interest.. nearly had a heart attack last night looking at insurance quotes for DD - £8k for a 10 year old polo! Absolutely scandalous

Original poster
Hellocatshome · 03/01/2024 17:30

MaloneMeadow · 03/01/2024 08:40

Following with interest.. nearly had a heart attack last night looking at insurance quotes for DD - £8k for a 10 year old polo! Absolutely scandalous

I have discovered 5 door cars are cheaper to insure than 3 door cars for some reason and actually the newer the car to some extent can make the insurance cheaper but obviously the car more expensive so you have to look at the price of the car and the insurance together to work out which is better.

OP posts:
Member786488 · 03/01/2024 21:14

Can I ask why all your kids get their own insurance policies so young? My ds 20 is a named driver on my cars. I accept he’s not building any no claims, but it’s only cost £400-500 the last 3 years, and whilst he’s at uni he doesn’t Use it much anyway and presumably by the time he actually needs his own policy in a couple of years it’ll be much cheaper.

Original poster
Hellocatshome · 03/01/2024 21:20

Member786488 · 03/01/2024 21:14

Can I ask why all your kids get their own insurance policies so young? My ds 20 is a named driver on my cars. I accept he’s not building any no claims, but it’s only cost £400-500 the last 3 years, and whilst he’s at uni he doesn’t Use it much anyway and presumably by the time he actually needs his own policy in a couple of years it’ll be much cheaper.

For us its because my son works shifts in his apprenticeship and my husband and I work and need our cars for our work. He could be named driver on one of our cars but he would very rarely get to use it and would still have to be getting the bus at 5am and 11pm to get to his shifts which kind of defeats the object

He needs his own car and whilst he is earning more than me in his apprenticeship and living at home with no necessary outgoings apart from a small bit or board he pays me he may as well start building his no claims so his insurance is cheaper in the future when he needs his wages to stretch further.

OP posts:
Member786488 · 03/01/2024 21:23

@Hellocatshome yes, I see in his circumstances there’s no other option but to get his own policy.
Sell a kidney 🤷🏼‍♀️

MaloneMeadow · 03/01/2024 21:31

@Member786488 I experimented and the quote was £5k even with DD on my insurance. She needs her own car and fronting is illegal so no way around it..

IrisBearded · 03/01/2024 21:36

It's cheaper when you get a quote 2/3 weeks in advance. I insured my son last month on his own car, the quote was £500 more expensive to start the next day rather than in 2 weeks time.

As someone else said, it's also cheaper to have both parents as named drivers. I had been car shopping and have put about 25 potential car reg plates straight into the insurance comparison site before even considering them, the price per car varied so much. Ticker always came out cheapest.

Original poster
Hellocatshome · 03/01/2024 21:44

IrisBearded · 03/01/2024 21:36

It's cheaper when you get a quote 2/3 weeks in advance. I insured my son last month on his own car, the quote was £500 more expensive to start the next day rather than in 2 weeks time.

As someone else said, it's also cheaper to have both parents as named drivers. I had been car shopping and have put about 25 potential car reg plates straight into the insurance comparison site before even considering them, the price per car varied so much. Ticker always came out cheapest.

I'm sorry for sounding stupid but how does he buy a car and then do the quote for 2/3 weeks later, because then the car will be uninsured for those 2/3 weeks?

OP posts:
AuntieJoyce · 03/01/2024 21:45

I just insured my DS as an additional policy with me as a policyholder and him as the named driver. That has saved a bit of money. I had a phone call with the insurer and double-checked that they were comfortable with him being the main driver because they didn’t specifically ask me the question online.

Unfortunately I have to drive round with the black box so I am using it as a short-term measure and we will look in a few weeks time to with a longer lead in time to see if we can get anything more suitable and I would then cancel. My ex who has had all sorts of brushes with points and drink-driving also recommended Adrian flux so I may try them.

IrisBearded · 03/01/2024 22:08

The quote is valid for about 10-14 days depending on the insurer. So put the car reg in the insurance comparison site as soon as you see any potential car so the quote is saved (put in a start date in about 2 weeks time or whenever works out cheaper)

By the time we'd bought the car home, a week had passed anyway. You can also weight up if it's cheaper to take out short term car insurance in your name for a week or two? It was only £60 for me to cover it for a week until his insurance was sorted (RAC were a good price for this)

Sounds like a faff but it could save you a few hundred.

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