Today I spent nearly an hour on the phone with my broker trying to sort out my insurance renewal and sort out best course of action for some changes in the near future, basically am now bald and no wiser! Has anyone here found a way round my problem, legally.
Facts are:- I run a 91 Fiesta, suits perfectly for my 2-3000 miles p.a. round town, with 9+ NCD, no convictions etc. and have been offered renewal at £150ish. So far, so good.
In April No1 son will be 17 and has expressed an interest in learning to drive, purely and simply to save poor old Dad having to go out and pick him up from work five nights a week at 10pm. Last bus is of course long gone before he finishes and although I'm harsh I'm not evil enough to make him walk the three miles home after he's done college all day and then an evening shift. His plan is to still use bus to college, as it's cheaper than parking car in town all day, bus home, pick up car to go and return from work.
Now to the problem, my current insurer will not accept my son on my policy, they don't write that type of risk, fair enough, this means if I renew with them then I will have to cancel at some point in the year, obviously with appropriate loss of premium. The next cheapest insurance for me with a company who will eventually accept son as a risk is over a £100 more at present and obviously much more when I put him on risk. So far straight forward enough.
Being upfront with my broker about all of this, as I always am, he then says that, of course, if my son uses the car for travel to and from work, I don't, then of course he is then the main driver and if he is the main driver then the policy should be in his name with me as a named driver and then of course the vehicle would have to be in his name as they will not insure him without him owning a vehicle. I had the audacity to disagree by saying that he wouldn't be the main driver as I will still be driving more miles than my son and driving on more occasions, I also take exception to the fact that they expect me to sign my car over to my son! It might not be much but it is mine; and my NCD! Broker disagrees and says work journeys take priority and 'that's the way it is'.
My son then said that he would take out his own independent insurance on my car, broker says that can't be done as he will not have an insurable interest in a vehicle if he doesn't own it. It now looks that either I am to be forced into signing over my car and becoming a nemed driver on my son's policy obviously with zero NCD and putting my 9+ years on ice, nice little earner for the insurers, or my son buying himself his own car.
The option of him buying his own car is really a bit silly as we will then be a 3 driver, 3 car, 1 van, 3 parking space family with 2 vehicles always parked up not being used, crazy and expensive option.
I know we have lots of experience in the BR so I'm sure I'm not the first to have this problem, so, how do I get round it, there must be a sensible answer, isn't there, please?
Cockle
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I'd buy him a moped/goped/bicycle instead. Much cheaper to insure and he can still get about. Alternatively find out how much a regular taxi service would cost to pick him each night. The latter might be much cheaper than insurance on the car. He could then still learn to drive but you could have him as an occasional driver but if he crashed it it would be your ncd that got clobbered.
The Norwich Union pay as go insurance could offer a cheaper solution to standard insurance, unless he stays out after 11pm of course!
teabelly
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When I was 17 I went everywhere on my push bike. Absolutely free. I'd recommend he go that route. 3 miles is nothing.
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u could always retain ownership by selling car to son using a hire purchase agreement at 0% interest, which he doesnt pay, so he nevers gets to own it, but will still meet the strict rules of insurance
be much easier to get him a group 1 old runabout of his own, at least he will save up some no claims, and it can pay for iteslf if he ends up with a high ins group car in 2 or 3 years, this discount will probably be worth more than u have spent on car etc, assuming he has no big claims
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What about the other vehicles you have ? Any scope there to chop and change insurance and/or ownership ?
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Try Liverpool Victoria.They will include 17-y-o learners at sensible prices.Web site or 0800.514.514 to explote options.
HTH
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loads of complicated answers, but the situation is not all that difficult really. Expensive, but not difficult.
>>Broker disagrees and says work journeys take priority and 'that's the way it is'.
If I were you I would get rid of this particular clown straight away he's supposed to be on your side, not giving this level of unhelpful rubbish advice.
he is the main driver then the policy should be in his name with me as a named driver
He is also wrong.
You are completely permitted to own the car, take out the insurance in your own name and then, if your son is the main user, cause it to be rated on him although stil incorporating your discounts.
Explain to the neanderthal that mascarades as your broker that "main user" and "policyholder" are actually different terms. Or does he have some really bright idea as to how companies deal with their company cars ?
if my son uses the car for travel to and from work, I don't, then of course he is then the main driver
Your broker is really annoying me. May the fleas of a thousand camels.....
The fact that he goes to and from work does not neccessarily mean that he is the main user. Although it may be taken as an indication of that by an insurer who may then investigate further. However, it may be irrelevant. An insurer can rate a risk any way he wants. And in this case he may well decide to rate it upon your son on the basis that whether or not he is the main user, he most certainly is a significant user.
I also takeexception to the fact that they expect me to sign my car over to my son!
"They" don't. The person who is taking commission on your premiums with the mistaken idea that he can actually help you may believe this. However, I suspect he has fairly strong views on Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy as well.
So;
1) Car insured in your name as now.
2) Consider honestly if son is main user (or at least significant user)
3) Go to a real insurance broker rather than the idiot and explain to them that 1) and 2) are how you wish to insure your car.
You will have insurance in your name with your NCD etc. You may find that the insurer may well rate it on your son, but he might not and might content himself with a larger excess while your son is driving. Who knows. Make sure that someone actually asks them rather than trying to guess.
And please, please, please go to another broker and let someone worthwhile pick up 7.5% to 30% of your premiums in commission. The one you've got now could do with the free time to study up on motor insurance anyway.
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Cannot add anything to Marks point except, try Tesco.
They added my son who was then 18 with points and a ban (don't ask) as THE MAIN user off my Golf GTi for peanuts (well cash actually but it was a small amount :)).
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Thanks for all the replies.
My son is/was quite a keen cyclist but doesn't really fancy the ride home, the route isn't particularly cycle friendly, mostly 40/50 limit with drivers at that time of night tending to believe that it's the M25. Plus it's at the end of a 14 hour day by the time he's completed a full day at college and then an evening shift in the warehouse shifting loaded pallets so he tends to be a tad tired.
Cab fare is about £5.50 so £5.50 x 5 nights x 48 weeks = £1320 p.a.
So he might as well get a licence and insurance for that outlay, granted it's close costwise but he feels that he wants to learn now while he's got the time and no committments and that a licence will help his CV.
I haven't really got scope for switching vehicles around, van is insured by my company for employee drivers only during the course of their work, wife's car is 2001 Vectra CDX 2.0, not really a wise choice for a learner/new driver even if he could find someone who would even think about writing that risk for less than he earns!
Mark, thanks for confirming that I'm not the one who has lost it. You have confirmed virtually what I thought from the outset and also confirmed some of my other suspicions about my broker. I have been with the same broker for some years and their service was always very good and at keen prices, not always the cheapest but pretty close as to make no difference. Unfortunately they have expanded over tha last three or four years into online brokering and now you get the feeling when you ring that you are talking to the average call centre fodder, not anyone with real insurance experience as it used to be. No insult intended to anyone in a call centre, probably works well enough for 90% of their clients but fails due to lack of training and experience when you need an out of the average answer. So probably the time for a move has come.
Thanks also for the suggestions of Tesco and RLV, I've put them on my list for when the time comes along with Norwich Union, Elephant and CIS.
Did have a quick look at the new Pay-As-You-Drive offer from NU but it charges all miles on the vehicle at the set rates regardless of driver, so not really suitable in this case.
Once again thanks for the comments, wish me luck!!!
Cockle
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