Car insurance for my 17yr old - GULP!!

[europa]

Can I suggest a refurbished ex MOD n/a defender, easily available for around £5K; contact Fraser Barsby - he writes for LRO & runs rugged.com where he specialises in such rebuilds.
Then phone call to Footman James f/c with named driver(son) restricted to 6K @ yr, with EU recovery for £168.
The local college where my son attends currently has at least x3 of these in the student car park :shock:
Regards M.

What is this guys web address?, rugged.com seems to be non related??

No worries, I've found it http://www.ruggedguide4x4.com/about_us.html

[Nev]

I had an email back from Footman James today.

"Unfortunately at the moment we do not have any underwriters that would cover a young (under 21) on an ex military vehicle. Our insurers pulled out of this line of business mid December whilst rates were reviewed and as yet we still have no definitive answer as to when the schemes will be available.

I am sorry that i could not assist you further."

Which is fair enough a very courteous reply and within a day of me asking, i would use this company.

However it seems that the underwriters who are in the business of asking a "premium" to cover a "risk" really dont want to take any risks. I cant imagine that this is anything other than making a hefty chunk of drivers :(

[TooTall]

So sorry Nev - thought the FJ deal was still :live: :shock:
Regards M

[Nev]

So sorry Nev - thought the FJ deal was still :live: :shock:
Regards M

Not to worry, it seems it was definitely there up to a couple of months ago, suspect the underwriters saw it as a loophole and decided to shut it tight :twisted:

[imagedoctor]

I don't know if you've heard of them, but there are a number of new insurance policies which use trackers to monitor how and when you drive.
The claim to be designed for drivers who otherwise might face large premiums.

I recall hearing of one, can't recall the name, that essentially gave you a quota of points and then deducted points for "poor" driving, you were insured until the points ran out, when you could top them up again.

An example is
http://www.theaa.com/insurance/pay-how- ... rance.html

I don't know if these will help significantly, but it is another avenue to explore.

[markrlondon]

I don't know if you've heard of them, but there are a number of new insurance policies which use trackers to monitor how and when you drive.
The claim to be designed for drivers who otherwise might face large premiums.

I recall hearing of one, can't recall the name, that essentially gave you a quota of points and then deducted points for "poor" driving, you were insured until the points ran out, when you could top them up again.

It has to be said that these seem to me like schemes designed primarily to make high premiums more acceptable (or more seemingly 'affordable' by spreading the cost on a per-use basis). At the end of the day it seems exceptionally unlikely that they will cost less unless you just don't drive.

It's not something I'd want to make use of.

And if they ever became widely popular the government would make them mandatory for everyone, prices would not in fact come down, and the government would no doubt insist on access to the usage data.

[NickMSM]

Blimey, I knew premiums for young drivers had shot up but that is beyond daylight robbery :shock: I wouldn't waste the £3k+ Nev, there isn't any petrol for him to go anywhere anyway :D

Most has been covered above, try a limited mileage with you on the policy as a named driver. Will he need it for commuting? That's another excuse to jack the premium. Cannot believe they want for the Yaris quote!

And people wonder why there are so many uninsured drivers out on our roads... :x

[Craig]

A colleague uses NFU Mutual for his insurance with young named drivers and says they were much cheaper.

[burrotaxi]

Just renewing insurance on my wifes Fiat 500 and thought I'd have a ring around. Tried the Co op and the usual quote for her with me as a named driver was 231, if I added my 17 year old son it went up to 1700. I was given the impression that he would be able to generate his own no claims so whilst this is still pricey it might be the best option as it appears that there are no other restrictions. My first inclination is to think these prices are unfair but bearing in mind the eldest came home with tales of one of his friends turning his Clio over in a ditch the other day because he was speeding I'm not so sure.

[Rhino77]

I don't know of any new drivers that are'nt named drivers!

[sestrel]

Giving the lad a nearly new car too! It doesnt really matter even if his name is gabriel and he has golden wings: he absolutely will turn it into scrap in a year.
Good learning curve for him, bad curve for your wallet. Someting cheap is the way to go as a first car. I had a morris minor. At least I could fix it when it stopped running!

[Argee1977]

I don't know of any new drivers that are'nt named drivers!

I passed my test in January this year, 35 years old (had lived in cities so late to the driving thing ), i bought a nearly new Golf GT Sport, so not a small or slow car, insurance for me was £800 including business travel.

[Qwerty]

Here's my advice to anyone looking to insure their 17 years olds, coming from someone who was 17 a few years ago.

1. Stick to 1.2 litre or smaller engines. I got a 1.7 litre diesel 4 years old thinking that as a diesel engine, its performance speedwise would be similar to that of a 1.2 petrol. Insurance companies don't care, they just see 1.7 litre and shove it up your ass.

2. Forget insuring your kid as main driver. Named driver is the best you're going to get.

3. Never, ever buy a new car. I bought a 53 plate car when I was 17 for £3k, which would have been back in 2007 and I was charged a fortune.

So yes, given all that I was still charged 2k a year insurance as named driver on my 53 1.7 litre diesel Astra. Ended up paying 1.7k the year after and i'm 21 now and still paying 1.4k as the named driver with not one single accident, claim or point to my name. Insurance companies really don't like young people sadly.

My car was worth 3k when I bought it, I have since paid well over £5k in insurance, not to mention repair bills etc. Driving certainly isn't cheap!

[Omegamanic]

Driving is an expensive luxury at the end of the day and only getting more expensive.

I'm lucky that my insurance is reasonable. My first quote, for my first car, was around £3500 over 20 years ago! I foolishly bought a golf gti cabrio as my first ever car, I loved it - but the money could have been better spent - in fact if I had bought watches with the money I;d have been happier ;)

[adrianw]

So yes, given all that I was still charged 2k a year insurance as named driver on my 53 1.7 litre diesel Astra. Ended up paying 1.7k the year after and i'm 21 now and still paying 1.4k as the named driver with not one single accident, claim or point to my name. Insurance companies really don't like young people sadly.

!

No insurance companies can ripp everyone off because the government condones it, otherwise they would do something about it, it's robbery pure and simple. I have to insure my 17 year old son in two weeks time, the best quote at the moment on a 2007 Renault Clio 1.2 is £3500, I can understand penalising him if he had done something wrong, this encourages young people to drive uninsured, it's cheaper to buy a new car if they crash.

[gunslinger]

When I was 18 in the early nineties I bought a clapped out Peugeot 309 and for third party cover only -- £1500. :shock: :shock: so nothing's changed.

[BondandBigM]

In real terms its probably still reasonable. It's just a risk assessment, look at the statistics mostly its not if but when they'll crash and why should my insurance be through the roof to pay for it.

You also need to consider not just your precious little angel but also the third party damage, how many people they might maim/kill along the way or the £75k Merc they might hit or and so on.

When my daughter was learning to drive at 17 the deal was I'd buy the car and her mother would sort the insurance. I bought her a £100 banger and stuck 6 months tax on it, she couldn't get into to much trouble as it spent most of its time broken. She never asked again.......job done :lol: :lol:

At least three (that I know of) of Big M's daughters pals have cars and all have had accidents on the other hand her daughter being a bit smarter than the average bear goes everywhere in a taxi and I'll bet she doesn't spend anywher near the money in a year on fares it costs the average under 21 year old to put a motor on the road these days......just a thought :)

[watchthisspace]

It's criminal. I sell cars for a living - 17 year olds usually buy my old part exchanges as first cars. £500-£1000 for the car + £3000+ for insurance...ouch!