Nightmare with Insurance.

[ChrisCampbell]

Hi PH'ers, before i start this post may be quite long so cheers to everybody who takes time to read it, even more thanks on offer for some help! :P

I'll start by explaining a bit about myself before i dive into the issue, I'm Chris, i'm 20 and i live in a suberb of Liverpool (fortunately a low risk postcode). I've had my full UK licence for 2 years (3 in june). Due to me studying and having a low income i've spent the time driving my mothers car as a named driver on her insurance policy which we've kept running for the duration. The first car we bought was a mk4 2000 VW Golf 1.6SE, it cost us £180 per month which we drove for 3 months before the car became problematic and it made more sense scrapping it then fixing it. The next car we got was mk6 Ford Escort 1.4, it cost £147 a month and we kept that one for over two years. Once again we had issues with the Ezzy so we got rid and bought my grandads mk2 Ford Mondeo 2.0 GLX which took us up to £230 a month (a bit dear) which we drove for a month before a daft cow mixed up 1st gear and reverse at the traffic lights, before flooring it into my car which i've found out is a write off.

We've been with the same insurance company for the entire time ive had my licence and as a result of my mum having full no claims bonus i've been building up NCB's equivalent to 7 years claim free driving. Our company has always been the cheapest no matter what car we've got quotes on which is handy as we'd lose our NCB if we went with another company and buying a different car and then finding the insurance deposit is next to impossible on our budget.

You're probably reading this thinking well what's the bloody problem? well this is where it gets weird. With our latest car (Mondeo) being written off we've been given £700 to replace our current car, so seeing as i'm not far off turning 21 and have recieved a further years NCB since we insured the last car i'd have expected to have a bit more freedom in car make and engine size so i've spent the best part of today looking for family cars (Mondys, focus, golf etc) to have a look at.

First quote i got was a 2001 Mondeo 2.0 Petrol, they want £70 more a month, meaning it's £300 a month and way over our budget.
Second was a 2001 Mondeo 2.0 TDCI, they want £50 more a month.
Third was a MK4 Golf 1.9 TDI, they want £60 more a month.

So for a laugh i decided to get a quote on the very same car i had when i was a completely brand new driver the MK4 Golf 1.6SE which i was paying £180 a month on nearly 3 years ago. I couldn't believe my ears when i was informed it would cost £245 a month for the same car....

I literally don't know what to think, how the feck can it be so much dearer despite me being an older and a more experienced driver, i know the price of stuff has gone up in the last 3 years but by 32%? That's outrageous if im honest.

Has anything similar happened to you guys? What did you do?

Thankyou for taking the time to read this!

Edit - Think i've posted in the wrong section here lol, how do i request a move?

Edited by ChrisCampbell on Tuesday 17th April 18:38

[Dan_1981]

You had an accident.

Doesn't matter whose fault. Statistically your more likely to have another one.

Oh and at age 21 how have you got 7 years no claims?

Oh your also going to get lots of hassle about fronting.

[FloppyRaccoon]

You were involved in that accident where the Mondeo got written off. Yes it wasn't your fault, but your insurance still goes up. It's just how it works.

Hope you weren't driving it more than your mum though

[ChrisCampbell]

Nah she uses it every day for general driving, i use it once or twice on the weekend as i'm away from home mon-fri.

@Dan - It's one of those schemes to keep you with the same insurer, because we've driven for 3 years without claim they've added a few on, if we were to go with another company we would have 0 NCB's.

[FunBusMk2]

You'd have better responses in SP&L or GG but as I'm not a mod I can't move it.

Anyway, what's with the "we" accruing NCB? If you get a policy in your own name I'm not sure if you'd have much NCB from being a named driver on another policy.

I await to be corrected.

[ChrisCampbell]

Well me mum had max no claims bonus prior to me learning to drive, once i got my licence she bought a Golf and because i can't justify running my own personal vehicle not being at home of a weekday she suggested that i could use her car when i'm at home aslong as i pay the difference to her increased insurance. So when she added me to her policy the insurer informed us that because my mum had max no claims (never claimed in 35 years on road) that we (as in everyone on the policy including me dad) would build up a company specific no claims bonus as an incentive to stay with the company. When i finish studying and get myself a van i'll have to build up my own NCB but for the time being whilst i'm still a named driver, our insurer deducts the equivalent of 7 years NCB from the full cost of the insurance.

Hope that shall suffice, i'm not good with constructing sentences

Edit - Just had a re-read, i see what you mean by 'We', what i mean is i would start with no NCB on my van, whereas my mum would keep her max NCB and if my dad was to start his own insurance he would also have 0 years NCB, but that's unlikely as he drives a company vehicle and is only insured on my mum's car in case of emergency.

Doule edit - What do you mean by fronting, like money laundering? Lol me dads a driver, me ma's a housewife and i'm at college, we've got no money to launder or i'd have my own car haha

Edited by ChrisCampbell on Tuesday 17th April 23:24

Edited by ChrisCampbell on Tuesday 17th April 23:26

[AlexiusG55]

ChrisCampbell said:

Doule edit - What do you mean by fronting, like money laundering? Lol me dads a driver, me ma's a housewife and i'm at college, we've got no money to launder or i'd have my own car haha

Fronting is when you put a lower-risk driver on the policy as the main driver even though they'll be driving the car less than a different higher-risk driver. It's illegal, but from what you're saying I don't think you're doing it.

So if you have your mum as main driver and you as a named driver but she hardly ever drives the car and you do every day, that's fronting. I think it only applies to the main driver- you can name your granny as a named driver if she agrees and that reduces the cost, even if she'll only drive the car once in a blue moon.

Of course, there are tricky edge cases- what if you both drive the car about the same amount, or one uses it for more journeys but does fewer miles, or one has it for going to and from work and the other has it the rest of the time, or...

Also, why is this thread in this forum? Apart from a brief mention by the OP that he'll buy a van when he finishes studying, it's entirely about insuring cars.

Edited by AlexiusG55 on Wednesday 18th April 09:57

[aw51 121565]

Chris, if your dad got his own insurance policy after giving up his company car, he may be able to get the same NCB as the number of years he has been claim-free on the company car - a letter from his employer would usually suffice for this, but he might have to start with 0 NCB.

I'm afraid, though, that you'll probably start with 0 NCB if you get your own first policy with a different insurer to your mum's insurer . I'm not sure your mum's insurer would give you or your dad the 7 year NCB on your own policies with them either, but if they do - well, that's a bonus (pardon the pun) isn't it .

With regards to the premia rising, this will be because of your accident. Not fair, but it gets us all to some extent after being the innocent party in a prang .

And I doubt if you are 'fronting' from what you've said, so don't panic about that .

[F i F]

Direct Line give up to 5 years NCB for company car drivers taking out insurance.

[simoid]

FunBusMk2 said:

Anyway, what's with the "we" accruing NCB? If you get a policy in your own name I'm not sure if you'd have much NCB from being a named driver on another policy.

I await to be corrected.

Some insurers offer no claims discounts for named drivers, so it could be along those lines.



P.S. remember this is PH, any young driver who is not a main driver is automatically 'fronting'

[mph999]

I'll probably get shot down, but is there any way the OP can claim against the 3rd part y for the increase in his insurance costs.

At the end of the day, this is an expense he wouldn't have had had he not been hit.

M

[10 Pence Short]

Unfortunately, the price of stuff goes up.

My advice would be not to put so much importance on the NCB (your current insurer would like you to because you're more likely to stay with them if you do). If you do leave, check whether you will have any NCB to take with you and, if so, how much.

Then go on all the comparison sites and sites of insurers not on those to get quotes. You may find insurers who offer deals significantly lower than others.

For example, my current insurance was £200 cheaper than the nearest quote (and when it's 'only' £400, you can appreciate it is a hefty percentage).

Other than that, it's tough st!

[KevinA3DSG32]

Unless you are lucky with choice of insurance company you do not have any no claims at all. The policy is in your mother's name, not yours, so it is her no claims (now partly a moot point with the existing claim). You may find an insurance company willing to mirror the no claims of your mother's policy if you are lucky.

[blindswelledrat]

As I understood it, insurance had gone up horrifically over the past 3 years due to a huge increase in personal injury claims.
Plucked out of thin air but I seem to remember average rpeimums had risen by 60% or so

[mcflurry]

FunBusMk2 said:

Anyway, what's with the "we" accruing NCB? If you get a policy in your own name I'm not sure if you'd have much NCB from being a named driver on another policy.

I await to be corrected.

The named drivers on my Tesco policy also get one years equivalent discount, for each claim free year, on a new policy they take out in their own name, also with Tesco, as long as it's run cuncurrently to my policy

[JustinP1]

ChrisCampbell said:

Has anything similar happened to you guys? What did you do?

Chris, you are 20, and you live in Liverpool. Even a low risk area of Liverpool is a high risk compared to say Shropshire.

On top of that, you want to drive a reasonably powerful car, especially for your age. That is an invitation for wallet rapeage.

Now, on top of all that, you have demonstrated to the insurance company that you have been in a position where your car has been written off once already. So, they assume from this indicator that you are more likely to write off a second car than someone who has been accident free.


You are the perfect storm of high risk. You are going to get shafted wherever you go.

The solution is to downsize. The insurance companies view a car with say a 1.2l or 1.4l engine to be less likely driven by someone who wants to rag it around, or stolen by someone who wants to do the same. Also, as a smaller car, with less mass, you are less likely to cause damage to other road users and roadside objects.

That, unfortunately is the reality of the situation here.

[simoid]

JustinP1 said:

The solution is to downsize. The insurance companies view a car with say a 1.2l or 1.4l engine to be less likely driven by someone who wants to rag it around, or stolen by someone who wants to do the same. Also, as a smaller car, with less mass, you are less likely to cause damage to other road users and roadside objects.

That, unfortunately is the reality of the situation here.

And less likely to be reversed into at traffic lights?

[Decky_Q]

Chris, you are getting 'driver experience' discount not NCB, only your mum has NCB.

To get driver experience you must be claim free, you had a claim so you lost your entitlement to any driver experience and have reverted to 0 discount while your mum Im sure has retained her NCB as it was non fault.

This is a pretty crappy situation but you were in a precarious spot as the rules for driver experience discounts is very very strict so slightest sniff of danger and its over and you revert to 0.

All I can advise is to shop around, try everywhere, but Im not gonna advertise where.

Good luck, you will be able to get it for around £1500-2000 if you keep looking imo.

[LoonR1]

I can't be bothered repeating a lot of what has been said so far. Instead I'll mention inflation. Inflation means that prices go up!!!!

As insurers will be dealing with products that have risen in price then why do you think the premium should be deflationary?

[simoid]

LoonR1 said:

... why do you think the premium should be deflationary?

'cos we've all got a year extra experience, and you make all your monies from young drivers in powerful cars!