Car insurance new learner

G

guerngirl

Registered User
Messages
114
Is it generally more cost effective in the long run to add a new learner driver as a named driver to a fully licensed driver’s existing insurance policy, or to get a policy directly in the leaner drivers name?

Learner is age 17

Fully licensed driver is 50 but recently lost no claims bonus so only has one year of no claims on policy on own car.

Plan is to buy a second car and get a new policy:

A) either in the name of the 50 year old with 17 year old as named driver

B) or a policy directly in the learner’s name with the 50 year old as named additional driver.

Thanks.
 
No I can see how you may think that but the 50 year old will be the main day to day user of the car - 2nd car household - but the learner will use the car a couple of times a week also so not fronting.
 
Plan is to buy a second car and get a new policy:
Click to expand...

Point of clarification is needed.

Currently you have 1 car?

How many people are currently insured on that car?

In general loading will involve a mix of age and experience (full vs provisional)
 
guerngirl said:
Is it generally more cost effective in the long run to add a new learner driver as a named driver to a fully licensed driver’s existing insurance policy, or to get a policy directly in the leaner drivers name?
Click to expand...
The only way to find it is to shop around as widely as possible online and maybe via a couple of brokers. It's impossible to say in the general case given that premiums will depend on the specifics of the situation and these are rarely directly comparable from one policy to another. E.g. two cases with practically identical underwriting criteria but a different address can result in wildly divergent premiums.
 
Last edited:
Currently we have 1 car, two people insured on it.

I would becone main driver of second car/car 2 with learner as named driver. Husband would become main driver of car 1 on which he is currently named driver.

Appreciate all the replies above. Sounds like I need to go through the process with a few brokers to get a definitive answer. Thank you.
 
My 17 year old recently completed his driving lessons. We were insured with an post, however they suggested we contact Aviva. He got insured for six months, including 12 lessons for 545.
 
guerngirl said:
I would becone main driver of second car/car 2 with learner as named driver
Click to expand...
You just need to be cautious with this approach and ensure you are the one doing most of the driving of that car. Otherwise you open yourself up to accusation of fronting which could result in a fraud conviction and cancelled insurance.
 
guerngirl said:
Sounds like I need to go through the process with a few brokers to get a definitive answer.
Click to expand...
I was in a similar position earlier in the year. You could try a few online providers such as Allianz, Aviva etc.

You could get a few sample quotes using the registration numbers of a few sample cars on Carzone that you might be interested in.

You could tinker around with quote applications and compare the cost of insuring in your own name(with your child as a named driver) relative to your child as the main driver (and both you and your husband as the named driver).

I tried both approaches and while the first of these options was a little cheaper, I went with the second option of having my son (on a learner permit) as the main driver. The difference was about €150 or so which I thought might be of greater benefit in the long run.

However, he had a one-year no claims bonus from being a named driver on my policy last year so that may have made a difference to him being accepted for a quote as a main driver.
 
You need to be careful about trying to game the system with regard to main and named drivers when, in practice, it's obvious who is the main driver and who is a named/occasional driver. Uberrima fides and all that...
 
ClubMan said:
You need to be careful about trying to game the system with regard to main and named drivers when, in practice, it's obvious who is the main driver and who is a named/occasional driver. Uberrima fides and all that...
Click to expand...
There was nothing of that nature in my approach if that’s what you’re responding to.
 
Salvadore said:
There was nothing of that nature in my approach if that’s what you’re responding to.
Click to expand...
I was referring to this. It sounds potentially dodgy to me.
Salvadore said:
You could tinker around with quote applications and compare the cost of insuring in your own name(with your child as a named driver) relative to your child as the main driver (and both you and your husband as the named driver).
Click to expand...
 
ClubMan said:
It sounds potentially dodgy to me
Click to expand...
Only if you allow yourself to think so.

Choices of driving patterns can be determined or influenced by the relative cost of insurance for the various options.

The OP has already explained that she is considering the option of moving her principal driving to a second car on which her child would be a named driver with the alternative of having her child as the main driver on the second car. It makes perfect sense to consider the relative cost of insurance for both options before arriving at a decision.

In my case, the choices were 1) to change my own car to something more suitable for a learner and to remain as the main driver or 2) to get an additional car on which my son would be the main driver. Again, the relative cost of insurance was an important factor. I eventually went with option 2.

Nothing dodgy whatsoever about this approach. It would only become dodgy if the eventual driving pattern were to differ from whatever was stated on the formal application.
 
Last edited:
Pinky22 said:
My 17 year old recently completed his driving lessons. We were insured with an post, however they suggested we contact Aviva. He got insured for six months, including 12 lessons for 545.
Click to expand...

just to add some additional info to this, once they've completed the 12 lessons you can add another 3 months insurance + 6 lessons for €330 but as the policy was being renewed anyway, I just added my son on as a named driver for the year which added around €500 to the policy.

He still hasn't done his test and I've been told by friends that Aviva are not the cheapest when it comes to have novice drivers on your policy, but I have other kids who may want to do the driving school deal so I'll probably stick with Aviva for that reason.
 
shweeney said:
nce they've completed the 12 lessons you can add another 3 months insurance + 6 lessons for €330
Click to expand...
Just on this, had exactly the same setup with Aviva having moved to them when I renewed my own insurance to avail of it and given the wait for driving tests had reason to extend the initial six months. I asked Aviva the cost of adding my learner on as a named driver for the remaining six months of the policy and this was considerably cheaper than the 3 mths top up referenced above. Have since renewed my policy (and still waiting on a test - long story) and the renewal with Aviva was cheaper than other insurers. So it definitely pays to query all possible options
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register