Car insurance for young drivers

[Adrienne]

Hello, any idea on best route to get my 17 year old daughter insured other then as a named driver on my car?
Can I have 2 cars and put her on the 2nd car as a named driver to start her off? - or am I better going straight and getting her her own insurance in her own name but it will be hugely expensive. I think me buying a 2nd car in my own name may be the best option? - any thoughts or advice appreciated.

 

[ClubMan]

Can I have 2 cars and put her on the 2nd car as a named driver to start her off?

Who would be the main/primary driver on the second car?

What sort of license does she have? Learner or full?

Be careful of "fronting" where your daughter is a named driver on a policy but is, in practice, the main driver. It's illegal.

Motor insurance

Motor insurance is a compulsory requirement to drive a car in a public place. A current Certificate of Insurance is required to get motor tax.

www.citizensinformation.ie

Young Drivers​

If you are a young driver, you should consider joining a parent's insurance policy as a named driver. This will enable you to establish a safety record and may reduce the cost of your premium in the future. Some companies offer discounts to young people seeking insurance in their own name if they have been a named driver.

However, you must not engage in the practice of ‘fronting’; that is, where the main driver of a vehicle (typically a son or daughter) declares a more experienced driver as the main driver (usually a parent) to reduce the cost of their insurance premium. Fronting is illegal and can result in the cancellation of your motor insurance policy or a fraud conviction.

 

[cruchan09]

My 17 year old son recently got his first car (2008 Golf 1.4 petrol) on a provisional licence with no experience and he is insured with 123.ie on the young driver scheme. It cost us €2k to insure him (he saved and bought the car and we 'loaned' him the insurance). That was based on a tacker being fitted to the car to monitor his driving and make sure he isn't driving over the speed limit (great from my point of view) and he is allowed drive up to 10,000 kms per year. You set the annual mileage limit when you buy and the price is based on that as well as other factors. If we had limited him to 6,000 kms a year it would have been €1,700. It's not cheap but not as bad as we thought it was going to be.

We live in a very rural location and having him drive will be a big bonus. We used my email address when setting it up so I get a monthly email detailing how much the car has been driven and if there are any speeding issues. Three speeding issues or one case of what they consider to be very unsafe driving cancels the policy. Some of his mates refused to get trackers in their cars and are forking out nearly €3k for cover. They will insure cars as old as 2007 I think and small petrol engines are cheaper to insure than small diesel engine (even 1.2 diesel car quotes were really high).

 

[phoenix53]

My 17 year old son recently got his first car (2008 Golf 1.4 petrol) on a provisional licence with no experience and he is insured with 123.ie on the young driver scheme. It cost us €2k to insure him (he saved and bought the car and we 'loaned' him the insurance). That was based on a tacker being fitted to the car to monitor his driving and make sure he isn't driving over the speed limit (great from my point of view) and he is allowed drive up to 10,000 kms per year. You set the annual mileage limit when you buy and the price is based on that as well as other factors. If we had limited him to 6,000 kms a year it would have been €1,700. It's not cheap but not as bad as we thought it was going to be.

We live in a very rural location and having him drive will be a big bonus. We used my email address when setting it up so I get a monthly email detailing how much the car has been driven and if there are any speeding issues. Three speeding issues or one case of what they consider to be very unsafe driving cancels the policy. Some of his mates refused to get trackers in their cars and are forking out nearly €3k for cover. They will insure cars as old as 2007 I think and small petrol engines are cheaper to insure than small diesel engine (even 1.2 diesel car quotes were really high).

I take it that he still has to have a fully licensed driver with him at all times while on a provisional, so you would know the distance and speed without any report while an L driver. Does the reporting still continue for the two years they are N drivers? Fair play to him for saving up for the car himself.

 

[cruchan09]

He still needs a licensed driver with him but that driver won’t always be me or his Mam so the tracker gives some peace of mind when his accompanying driver is someone else (like one of his qualified cousins or a mate).
The tracker option is open to fully licensed drivers as well as provisionals, if fitted it keeps the cost of cover down.

 

[Silversurfer]

My son was a named driver on my policy when he was 17 before and after getting his licence. All young drivers are heavily loaded under 25 yrs. The years he was on my policy were allowed against his no claims bonus when he took out his own policy. The broker we used was New Ireland.