Car insurance and named drivers

[neonplanet40]

I apologise if this is a stupid question, but need some advice/2nd opinion on this issue..

Looking at car insurance quotes, and would have 1 extra named driver on the policy. On all the comparison sites and subsequent insurance sites, it asks the question "Who will be the main driver?"

Now my understanding of this is, the main driver should really be the policy holder. However, you can select a named driver for this question. Is this allowed? I thought that having a policy in your name but a named driver being the main driver was fraud? If this is to be discouraged/fraud, why do they allow a policy to be taken out in someone else's name but a named driver to be named as the main driver?

If I put myself as policyholder but partner as main driver, insurance is a lot cheaper. But if she is policyholder and me as named driver, and she is still down as main driver, it shoots up £200+..

Doesn't make sense . . .

Thanks for the help.

[abaxas]

Main driver is whoever uses the car the most.
This doesn't have to be the person who takes out the insurance.

I guess you are a larger risk than your partner.

[neonplanet40]

Main driver is whoever uses the car the most.
This doesn't have to be the person who takes out the insurance.

I guess you are a larger risk than your partner.

So why would I ever do it the other way around and pay so much more? Is there something I'm missing here?

[abaxas]

Main driver will do more miles than a named driver.

[peterb]

Putting on my pessimistic hat, you will be fine until you need to make claim. There may then be some searching questions about occupations and who reallyis the main driver, particularly if it is to the main driver who has the accident!

Insurance contracts are made in the basis of utmost good faith, where you undertake to be scrupulously honest in disclosing everything that affects the risk.

If you can justify who is the main user (car registered in their name, commutes 50 miles a day for work, you use it to go shopping at weekends) then that's some justification. If the car is registered in your bpname, but you are not the main driver, that might be harder to justify.

I, assuming you have one vehicle. If you have two, they might both be registered in one name, but you could say that one is for your use, the other for your partner.

TBH it's something you should discuss with your insurance company or broker. It's a specialist area, and getting it wrong could catastrophic.

[neonplanet40]

Putting on my pessimistic hat, you will be fine until you need to make claim. There may then be some searching questions about occupations and who reallyis the main driver, particularly if it is to the main driver who has the accident!

Insurance contracts are made in the basis of utmost good faith, where you undertake to be scrupulously honest in disclosing everything that affects the risk.

If you can justify who is the main user (car registered in their name, commutes 50 miles a day for work, you use it to go shopping at weekends) then that's some justification. If the car is registered in your bpname, but you are not the main driver, that might be harder to justify.

I, assuming you have one vehicle. If you have two, they might both be registered in one name, but you could say that one is for your use, the other for your partner.

TBH it's something you should discuss with your insurance company or broker. It's a specialist area, and getting it wrong could catastrophic.

So just let me make sure I understand this clearly.

If I take out the policy in my name. I then name my partner as the main driver (she will drive more than me) and me as named driver. This is perfectly legal?

If so, why would we get her as policy holder and main driver and me as named, if it costs hundreds more? It just seems bizarre.

I just wanted to make sure I understood it clearly. Thanks.

[peterb]

It's legal if she really is the main driver and covers more miles than you, and you can demonstrate and justify that if you come to make a claim

If you can't, then you risk your claim being rejected because you made a false statement on the proposal.

But this is something you should discuss with the broker or underwriter directly, and preferably get their opinion in writing.

[OilSheikh]

My dad is the main driver and I am the additional driver. I drive the car more than him.
In my 3rd year now and have had no issues

[DDY]

My dad is the main driver and I am the additional driver. I drive the car more than him.
In my 3rd year now and have had no issues

That's called insurance fronting and it is illegal.

If it does become an issue, the penalties can be very costly.

In the best case scenario*, your insurance policy will be cancelled. This will make it very difficult and much more expensive to take out insurance for both you and your father in the future.

In the worse case, if a third party claims against your insurance after an accident, your insurance company can pursue you for costs related to that - which could run in to many figures.

Either way, you could wind up with a criminal record which will then ruin your career prospects forever.

EDIT: Thinking about it, the best case if the insurance company clocks on to you, they may insist that you make the necessary amendments and everything will fine and dandy. But insurance companies have been known to spontaneously cancel policies without warning if they think you've given them dodgy information, leading to the above and may inadvertently get you collared by the bill for driving without insurance.

[Butcher]

My dad is the main driver and I am the additional driver. I drive the car more than him.
In my 3rd year now and have had no issues

You might have an issue if you are involved in a crash. If you're driving more than other drivers you are the main driver; by not telling the insurance company that, you are committing fraud. Best case they refuse to cover you in a claim. Worst case a couple of years in prison.

[DanceswithUnix]

If so, why would we get her as policy holder and main driver and me as named, if it costs hundreds more? It just seems bizarre.

Because by paying hundreds more, *she* starts accumulating no-claims discount. The flip side of that, she would not be risking *your* no claims discount.

That may not be a big thing or even much of a thing at all, but policy holder does make a difference.

[Guy]

My dad is the main driver and I am the additional driver. I drive the car more than him.
In my 3rd year now and have had no issues

You might as well be driving round with no insurance.

[OilSheikh]

Geez, you guys sound like terrified sheep. Do you guys also pay TV license fees even if you don't watch Live TV ?

For example, My Dad drives once a month and I drive once every weekend. Pray tell how the insurance company will know when we each drive ? If there's an accident, the same procedures apply regardless if I was driving or my old man was driving.

Do you lot really think teenagers pay £5k in insurance to drive their cheap cars? It's a practice that has been going on for decades.

[abaxas]

Obviously you've never worked in insurance.

If they think they and get out of a claim, they will.

[DDY]

I don't watch TV and don't pay the licence fee, but I don't quite get your point?

It's going to be damn near impossible for the insurance company to prove who's the main driver in your situation. I can concede the risk you're taking is very low, but that's not my point, which is that the penalties are severe.

I don't doubt that this practice has been going on for decades, the insurance companies have been very tight lipped about how they deal with such practices, but the financial ombudsman services have reported that they deal with 100 to 200 disputes over fronting cases a year. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programme...ox/7052569.stm

If someone can't afford to pay car insurance, they shouldn't drive.

[Guy]

Not terrified sheep, but actually not trying to cheat the system at every opportunity.

If you're the main driver and it's not declared then you're committing fraud. Simple as.