Car Insurance for Newly Qualified Driver

[medsecslave]

Hi, my 17 year old has just passed his driving test. What would be the cheapest way of insuring him? When I contacted my insurance company and said he'd now got his own car and I'd like to insure it in my name they said I would be breaking the law, that it would need to be in his name, the insurance would be �2000 per year and would need to be paid upfront. Could I approach an alternative company as a new customer asking for the car to be insured in my name with my son as a named driver? Not sure how to go about this so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[tezmand]

a friend of mine put his son on as a named driver , it solved his problem although its still not that cheap when you have just passed

[JB]

You can approach anyone for a quote - premiums and payment terms will vary from insurer to insurer. I think what your insurance company were trying to tell you (although not very well!) is that the owner of the car (that is the person with the insurable or financial interest) has to insure the car in order for the insurance to be valid. The premium would also have to be rated on your son as the main driver, so unless you've got a spare no claims bonus (from a second car that you no longer have, for instance) there will be no financial benefit in insuring the car in your name.
Unfortunate as it may seem, young, inexperienced drivers tend to have more frequent and expensive accidents and this is why the premiums are higher. It's not worth 'fronting' the policy falsely, because if he does have an accident and the insurance is invalid, the potential costs could be catastrophic!! Hope this helps!

[DPSA]

to make your sons insurance cheaper you can do some advanced driving lessons called pass plus, most driving schools do this and when i did mine it was about �100 for 6 hours of driving on motorways and other roads that you dont do when your learning.
the good thing about it is that it also gives you a 25% discount from most insurance companies

[kempie]

JB is correct in regard of the pricipal user of the car being named as the main driver and the premium being rated on that basis but is incorrect in the assertion that the owner of the car must be the person insuring it for the policy to be valid. Many Registered Keepers of vehicles have no financial interest in the vehicle they drive but are mandated to have at least Third Party cover.

[Ethel]

Insurance companies aren't stupid - as well as refusing to pay out if your son has an accident whilst insured in this way, he won't be building up his own no claims bonus:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/moneybox /7052569.stm

http://www.yourmotorinsurance.co.uk/mainpages_ motor_insurance_for_youngdrvers.htm

[Emu2005]

You can put yourself on his insurance as a named driver, as long as he is the main driver there is nothing wrong with this and it should bring the premium down. Also, I know you haven't asked for companies but give Churchill a go, I got my insurance with them when I first passed my test and it was about half the cost of all the others.

[marcin81]

I put my wife as a named driver once she passed her tests and the premium has been slightly bigger, however with Direct Line she also gets No Claims Discount bonus every year which is quite handy.

[shellywelly]

Just thought that I would tell you to try ecar insurance. My husband has only recently passed his test and he has got a quote for �535. This is the lowest quote he had as all others were about �1000.

[New Judge]

Many insurers now ask, when dealing with a proposal, questions such as �who owns the car� and �who will be the principle user�. If you answer falsely to questions such as these you may well be given a policy. However, if an accident occurs and enquiries are made you may find that the policy is retrospectively invalidated by the insurers. This will leave the driver of the vehicle with an uninsured loss and he will also be facing prosecution for no insurance. Believe me, I�ve seen it happen.

Much better to bite the bullet, pay the proper premium, and also enjoy the advantage of allowing your son to accumulate his own NCB.

[medsecslave]

Thanks for all your replies - very helpful.

[juleejules]

be very careful, if the car is registered in his name and you then insure it in your name with him as a named driver you could find that the insurance wouldn't payout if they had reason to believe you were not the main driver (something on tv a few weeks ago about this happening and for example the named driver having an accident in their home uni. town far away from home - yes I appreciate your 17yr old is not at uni. yet but just citing this as an example) - the best thing to do is to get your 17 yr old to Pass Plus and this will reduce the insurance premium considerably - a few years ago Norwich Union did a more reasonable package!