Last year I got a reasonable insurance policy on these grounds:
Car owned by me
Insured in my name, introductory bonus (I have my NCD with my own first car) with 19 year old daughter named as main driver, also me and my husband to drive
Daughter is full time student, living at home. Car is garaged at night
Area is (I imagine) quite reasonably priced on the postcode location.
Renewal is due but circumstances are changing
Daughter is moving out of home to central London (private accomodation, not Halls, but obviously not same sort of postcode value)
She is 20 now and will be a full time degree student, with possible part time employment (hopefully!)
I honestly don't have a clue who will actually be the main driver of the car, which is remaining here. It certainly wont cover too many miles.
It's really not worth letting her take it to London, given the excellent public transport on her doorstep - not to mention safety etc.
I'm not at all sure how often she will return home (if at all should she get enough work at weekends and holidays)
Obviously I have to inform the insurance company of these material facts - my question is how is it likely to affect the insurance and the premium?
Insurance is currently through Tesco, one of the only companies to let me name her as main driver of a car she doesn't own (and to give a fair quote when she was still a learner driver - she passed her test last November) There have been no claims.
Further complication is that second daughter is 17 next May, and is going to be chomping at the bit to learn to drive - insurance wont be due again until 1st September 2005, so this is likely to further complicate the matter. She will have professional lessons but will want to have time driving our car too before the insurance comes around again.
Has anyone else met this situation and have any advice or comments about what insurance companies are likely to say about it?
or, does anyone have any helpful thoughts/approach ideas, before I go in to it further?
Naturally, I'm looking for the best cost outcome whilst keeping everything strictly above board!
Thanks.
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I can only answer one specific part of the question, and that is regarding the main driver - the insurance company will insist on one person being truthfully nominated as the main driver. If you call them and you say you don't know, they will expect you to make a decision, so you need to think it through. Only you can work out who will do the most miles - although if it really is a close-run thing, why not choose the cheapest option (once again, I can't advise, although I suspect it would be you).
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The best thing is to just add the names of additional drivers to your insurance policy and the details of their experience.
Honesty is the best policy with insurance and, in any case, if your daughter in London did take the car with her and had an accident in the capital, the insurance company might well ask awkward questions about the accident being some distance from your home address.
Both my offspring were included at one time or another on my own insurance whether they were at home or away at university; both eventually made the decision, when they acquired their vehicles after finding a job, that they would take out their own insurance to build up an NCD even though it would prove expensive for the first two or three years.
Originally I had insured the first offspring's first car nominating her as the main driver (I had paid for the vehicle as you might have guessed!) and repeated the exercise when her brother followed in her footsteps.
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Thanks for the replies I just need to clarify - I certainly wouldn't ever dream of misleading, or even stretching the truth a bit, I'm far too much of a worrier and besides, wouldn't ever want a question mark if we ever needed the insurance company to pay out.
Secondly, despite her downcast look, there's absolutely no chance of us letting her take the car to London, as I already explained.
I was wondering more about the effect on the premium given that she would no longer be living at home with parents? I imagine that counted as a steadying influence, especially compared to moving to London? and also the effect of adding a new learner driver more than half way through the policy?
I know it's going to cost and cost heavily - such is life.
As for nominating the main driver when you honestly have no idea, is there any truth in the fact that if daughter has been named as main driver on this policy for two or three years, then some insurance companies might look at giving her an introductory bonus taking this into account?
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... I was wondering more about the effect on the premium given that she would no longer be living at home ...
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this is what i would do in your situation if these were the facts ( not a recommendation, just my views):
write to the insurance company saying
1. car is staying at same address
2. daughter moving but not taking the car with her
3. no change of main driver status as daughter will still use the car and be the main driver when visiting home.
4. due to above change, estimated annual mileage will change from x miles to y miles.
if x is substantially less than y, it may result in a reduced premium (although some backroomers believe mileage has nothing to do with insurance risk!).
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Not so complicated, really.
Firstly if you are sure the car will remain at home, then tehre isn't much need to do anything. If you really want to, and I probably wouldn't bother, you could write to your insurance company and explain that you are now the main user - if you are.
It would be different if she were taking the car to London. But provided you are sure that she is not, then there really is nothing to tell them.
Do just be aware that if she did take the car down to London once, and had an accident, the onus would be upon you to prove that it was a one-off and not a regular occurence.
If she does take the car, anything like frequently, then you'd better write and tell the, and they will probably charge you quite a lot.
AS for the 17 year old, just wait until she's in a position to want to drive it, contact your insurance company and add her as a driver. If you take the other daughter off at the same time, you will probably have to have the 17 year old as the main user.
On the other hand, such as the car is likely to be used at all, I presume that the elder will still be the main driver albeit only in her holidays ?
All in all, I doubt an issue at all. If it makes you more comfortable then bt all means write and tell them but make sure you are clear that the vehicle will be remaining with you ad there is no change of address.
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OK Mark thanks - I had been worrying about the possibility of her having an accident (and I sincerely hope not, obviously) and her address on her licence being different from the address on the insurance docs. Told you I was a worrier.
I just like to be a bit clued up aswell, before contacting anyone in this capacity. Thanks again.
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Why change the license address for term time. I checked when I was a student and often changing address every 6-9 months and DLVC (now DVLA) told me that it had to be a valid contact address ie my parents.
I also asked about this when I went abroad for 5 years in my early 30s....answer (in writing) was that I should amend the license to a valid UK contact address....ie to my parents again.
StarGazer
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Sorry Dalglish I didn't see your reply before. I think I will put it in writing to confirm the conversation I've just had with them, which resulted in their operative saying that if the car stayed at the policy address, then that was fine.
Regarding daughter's address Stargazer, she needs to change as she's not going in to term time accommodation, she's moving to a flat, and will be changing her bank details etc. as all her correspondence will go there.
Whether or not she comes home here in the holidays will depend on the work she's found, and believe me she's going to need to do quite a few hours! To be frank, opportunities for driving will be very limited in real terms, but obviously we still have to keep her insured.
Feedback for you:
As insurance for young people is such a minefield, I thought what they told me about the quote may be of interest to someone?
Renewal this year (with 2 years' no claims) is £627.90
If I were adding my other daughter now at the age of 17, the renewal would be £711.90 (with a £500 excess for both girls and a £100 excess for me and my husband)
To have two such young drivers on the policy with the main named driver only 20 years old, that seems pretty good to me (insurance is with Tesco - with whom I have no connection at all)
Obviously rates are changing all the time, let's hope it's so good when I ring back next year.
Once again, thanks for your views.
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To have two such young drivers on the policy with the main named driver only 20 years old, that seems pretty good to me ...
that is very much an understatement! probably the best insurance bargain of the 21st century.
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that is very much an understatement! probably the best insurance bargain of the 21st century.
:) that's why I passed the info on!
Very lucky to have two girls I suppose, it wouldn't be in the same league to insure boys I fear.
Even the person doing the quote was amazed.
I just hope it holds true when I need to take it up.
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>>It's really not worth letting her take it to London, given the excellent public transport on her doorstep - not to mention safety etc.
There is no such thing as "excellent public transport" anywhere in London, as she will soon find out at the expense of her time keeping. And if you are even remotely concerned about her safety don't leave her stranded on empty tube stations and secluded suburban night bus stops - let her take the car with her...
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>>It's really not worth letting her take it to London, >> given the excellent public transport on her doorstep >> - not to mention safety etc. There is no such thing as "excellent public transport" >>anywhere in London, as she will soon find out at the expense of her time keeping. And if you are even remotely concerned about her safety don't leave her stranded on empty tube stations and secluded suburban night bus stops - let her take the car with her...
Of course I'm much more than 'remotely concerned' about her safety, but she will be using busy tube stations not secluded suburban locations, alternatively there is a bus stop right across the road from her door. As her daily commute will be no more than 15 mins to Oxford Street public transport is the only option, the car would be useless to her in this instance.
Obviously I'm not going to discuss precise locations and details, but take it from me that everything has been very thoroughly thought through.
What I should have said is that the provision for transport is excellent where she will be living - obviously public transport has it's troubles everywhere, but even cars break down and leave people stranded, and young women can feel very unsure about using multi-storey/underground car parks when travelling alone.
On a separate note just out of interest, I wonder what it would cost to drive a car from outside the congestion zone into Oxford Steet and park all day, 5 days a week?
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Hi there,
The CIS offer a policy which covers any young driver without having to be specific about the main driver.
The policy excess is negotiable and can be less than you quote.
Worthwhile having a quote to compare with Tesco.
Cheers
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Thanks for that info fatherjack, renewal's not due until September 1st, so I'll keep looking before I pay up.
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