Car Insurance for Youngsters

[Guest]

The 3 points was for failing to remain at the scene of a 'third party injury' accident. :-(

Apparently the whole police attitude was that the other party would not have reported it if it wasn't true! (and of course the 'witness')

I'm sorely tempted to get an accident camera something like this in case I meet one of these crash-for-cash goons.

[Dolpher]

The Classic Car route was also my big plan to get my son on the road when he turned 17; he would have the use of my Mk2 Spitfire on which I have been doing a ‘nut and bolt’ restoration for the last 7 years. The car will have completely new steering, suspension and brakes and be assembled with meticulous precision. But the problem is that it will still be (when my son is 17) a 50 year old car with none of the safety features that we value in our modern cars. Not only does it not have any air bags or side impact bars, it has nothing more than a thin sheet of fibreboard between the engine/gearbox and the cabin, a glass bodied fuel filter, a steering column that runs from the front of the car to within inches of the driver’s chest and many other hazardous features that have been designed out of current vehicles. In the 30 years that I have owned this car I have never had an accident of any kind, but I know this is due to sheer luck rather than judgement.

Last year I borrowed a friend’s 2CV for a photo shoot and parked it outside my house. My next-door neighbour, who is a retired fireman, called out “I’m very sorry to see you driving one of those Adrian, we never pulled anyone alive out of one of those”

My wife has always driven the biggest, heaviest cars we could afford, mostly Saabs, and we have come to the conclusion that we want our son to be driving something similar. Until we can afford whatever that costs to insure it he will have to rely on the mum and dad taxi service.

 

Adrian

[newbryford]

 

My wife has always driven the biggest, heaviest cars we could afford, mostly Saabs, and we have come to the conclusion that we want our son to be driving something similar.

Adrian

 

I hate to say this, but sometimes, those "heavy" cars lull the driver into a false sense of superiority and "I'm alright Jack".

The advert that always made me chuckle was the Volvo ad for their "Side Impact Protection System". The clip shows a Volvo pulling out in front of a Transit type van - many times, I've wished I was driving the Transit........... (as a biker in a past life, I have an aversion to Volvos)

 

Admittedly - I do feel quite safe in my Fiesta with nice steel bars in the doors..................................

 

Cheers,

Mick

[PhilJ W]

Estate cars have always been cheaper to insure as the statistics show that they are involved in fewer accidents.

[Mike Bellamy]

Best quote my son (17) got on a 1.0 saxo was £1700 from Quinn.

I've heard that Quinn are giving good details for young drivers.

 

When we were looking around they came out as one of the cheaper ones - perhaps that's why they went bust

http://news.bbc.co.u...and/8595018.stm

 

Their web site is still operational but is now run by

Quinn Insurance Limited (Under Administration), trading as QUINN-direct

 

Mike

[Ron Ron Ron]

Quinn have been under administration for almost 2 years now, as that BBC article shows.

They have been trading successfully under the safety of administration awaiting sale of their various operations to other /another insurance groups.

 

My son is with them and had a minor claim about 10 months ago. They acted very swiftly and efficiently in handling the claim and paying up.

 

They are not quoting as cheaply as they did before going into administration, the administrators will probably be behind that; but their quotes can be "negotiated" down by a good margin.

 

 

.

[ste234]

I had my learners insurance with Quinn, as soon as I passed my test they hiked the price up far too high, so I went elsewhere, got it cheaper as I said earlier.

 

As far as I know Quinn were better for learners, but once you passed it was no better!

[Guest Natalie Graham]

A long time ago now but I bought my first motorbike when I was 17. The bike cost me £70, the insurance (TPFT) £65.

[skipepsi]

A long time ago now but I bought my first motorbike when I was 17. The bike cost me £70, the insurance (TPFT) £65.

 

Motorbike £45 insurance £22.50 I am older obviously!

[edcayton]

NSU Quickly moped £5, insurance £5. Crash helmet (insisted on by Mum) swapped a Hornby Dublo 2-6-4 tank for it.

 

Ed

[Guest Natalie Graham]

I got two crash helmets with my bike, although I didn't often wear one, and a full tank of petrol which the vendor eagerly showed my by taking off the filler cap and pointing into the full tank with the lighted cigarette he had between his fingers. I didn't really get a good look in the tank, I was busy walking quickly backwards across the driveway.

[Jenny Emily]

When I got my first car I thought insurance then was a complete rip-off (£1200 TPFT for a car I bought for £150) but given the prices quoted these days I really feel sorry for young people. I've always bought older cars from the luxury end of the market. I've found that these cars tended to be a lot better made than cheaper models and therefore at 15+ years old were still pretty reliable. My first car was a Volvo 740GL with 200,000+ miles on the clock and I doubt many other 20 year olds had such beasts. It lasted me for 50,000 miles of relatively cheap motoring before the back axle began to die and it was punted on (for more than I paid for it, as the buyer was eager to get the genuine Volvo towbar that it had).

 

I've discovered that a lot of insurers offer sizeable discounts for possession of professional licences like HGV and PCV, on the assumption that the driver is better trained in driving techniques and therefore less likely to be involved in accidents. What I did find was that even after the first year insurance quotes began to tumble as I got a good insurance track record. After passing the age of 25 insurance became relatively cheap. Old habits die hard and my current car is an N reg Volvo 850 - I love bangernomics when the type of car is chosen carefully.

[Tim V]

Morris Minor £45, insurance £40.

[RANGERS]

When I got my first car I thought insurance then was a complete rip-off (£1200 TPFT for a car I bought for £150) but given the prices quoted these days I really feel sorry for young people. I've always bought older cars from the luxury end of the market. I've found that these cars tended to be a lot better made than cheaper models and therefore at 15+ years old were still pretty reliable. My first car was a Volvo 740GL with 200,000+ miles on the clock and I doubt many other 20 year olds had such beasts. It lasted me for 50,000 miles of relatively cheap motoring before the back axle began to die and it was punted on (for more than I paid for it, as the buyer was eager to get the genuine Volvo towbar that it had).

 

I've discovered that a lot of insurers offer sizeable discounts for possession of professional licences like HGV and PCV, on the assumption that the driver is better trained in driving techniques and therefore less likely to be involved in accidents. What I did find was that even after the first year insurance quotes began to tumble as I got a good insurance track record. After passing the age of 25 insurance became relatively cheap. Old habits die hard and my current car is an N reg Volvo 850 - I love bangernomics when the type of car is chosen carefully.

 

Beware of this one, my experience found that although I carry both LGV and PCV entitlement on my licence, I'm not directly employed in a job which requires it. When my insurers found out after I had to send them a copy of it, they increased the quote by sixty odd pounds. Apparently they regarded "professional driving" a much higher risk than the office job I was employed in at the time. The fact I wasn't employed driving in any capacity at the time seemed irrelevant, the mere fact that I could do it (my employer was in the transport industry) placed me as a higher risk.

[Jenny Emily]

 

Beware of this one, my experience found that although I carry both LGV and PCV entitlement on my licence, I'm not directly employed in a job which requires it. When my insurers found out after I had to send them a copy of it, they increased the quote by sixty odd pounds.

 

Sounds like they were trying to fleece you. Aviva are currently giving me a discount for having an HGV licence. As they don't insure the HGV, I guess they figure the more time I spend driving that then the less time I'm driving the vehicle that they do insure.

[edcayton]

I wonder if this is to do with shift work. my son is a paramedic and has had to do special driving courses to get his C1 license, and others run by the ambulance and police services. He is a very good driver, but admits that driving home after a 12 hour night shift he is far from being at his best. Short of suggesting a short sleep at work before he comes home I don't know what to suggest.

 

I'm sure there will be shift workers on here who may have some bright ideas?

 

Ed

[Black Sheep]

my wife has just transferred roles within the NHS from being a staff nurse to community, the costs to insure her are slightly less than when she was a staff nurse despite her now using the car as part of her role.

 

I do recall a student nurse at the university I was at, being involved in a (single car) collision on the way home, at which point the university put an instant ban on students doing long days (13 hour shifts) until they were in their third year - they presumed the risk of a 13 hour day to be higher than a 12 hour night shift (and they 'have' to do some nights as part of their training.

[Pixie]

When I passed my test back in April last year, I'd been prewarned by various people to expect the worst from insurance companies and they weren't wrong! For a 23 year old male graduate in a steady job (Not sure if those two points makes a difference, but they did ask!) driving an 11 year old 1.2 Fiat Punto the cheapest quote I could find was around £1700. Including all the people I could with the longest time without any claims got it down for a smidge over £1400 for a fully comp package or £1350 if third-party.

 

I just hope it falls a fair bit once a year or two no claims builds up. Certainly an item to review each year, the cynical part of me says that companies offer the lowest quote and putting a negligable difference between fully comp and third party to get you in and not reduce them as much in the hope you won't look too carefully. A bit like these banks who advertise brilliant interest rates on savings accounts, only for them to plummit to 0.001% on day 366...

 

Pix

[Black Sheep]

with a years no claims it will drop, and will also drop when you are 25 and 'mature'

 

on an older car such as your punto, if the car is badly damaged, they'll just write you a cheque

for 3rd party only, they'll assume you're going to drive like a muppet and bodge it if you break anything, hence the high amount.

 

its worth shopping around each renewal time, as insurance companies, like mobile phone companies, can only get new custom by stealing it from a rival company, Three will entice customers from O2 by offering the same package for a few quid less, Direct line will offer people in a set post code a reduced rate for that year, in the hope that you'll not look at the full price renewal and just pay it the following year,

[45156]

insurance companies, like mobile phone companies, can only get new custom by stealing it from a rival company,

 

That is certainly true - I was in the insurance business for many years, and real "New business" is very rare indeed - a very large percentage of the business was churned from other operators - often fuelled (at that time) by obscenely high commissions payable to intermediaries who as a result did their utmost to move a client's insurance from company to company to reap high reqards.

 

Nowadays, the same is still true, insofar as the definition of new business is concerned, but insurers do tend to shy away from high risk business, and churning of business for a discount is only viable once the high risk nature of the insured event is reduced.

[Ron Ron Ron]

....driving an 11 year old 1.2 Fiat Punto

You can't change your age (23 at the time),

...your lack of driving experience (just passed the test),

...or your lack of a NCB (first policy).

Hence you will be clobbered on those aspects.

 

However the choice of car and its age are a combination that are guaranteed to cost dearly.

Why? Because that make and model, at that sort of age will be predominately driven by young drivers and statistically will have more claims recorded against it.

i.e. the car is also a high risk.

To offset that, the value of the car is virtually nil.

 

 

...for 3rd party only, they'll assume you're going to drive like a muppet and bodge it if you break anything, hence the high amount.

There won't be any assumptions, might do's or maybe's about it. Insurance risks are accessed on statistical facts.

3rd Party on that type and age of car, will probably put it into a category where there will be a history of more accidents and claims than the average for fully comp. The risk won't be based on what may or may not happen.

 

.

[The Stationmaster]

There won't be any assumptions, might do's or maybe's about it. Insurance risks are accessed on statistical facts.

3rd Party on that type and age of car, will probably put it into a category where there will be a history of more accidents and claims than the average for fully comp. The risk won't be based on what may or may not happen.

But it remains a fact that in the case of younger new drivers Fully Comprehensive insurance can be and is cheaper than 3rd Party Fire & Theft with all other components in the mix being constant. My son was by modern standards a late starter as a motorist (early/mid 20s post uni) and every single quote he got gave a noticeable, and sometimes quite signnificant, discount for Full Comp.

[Suddaby]

Well finally got him insured, but it cost £1900, rates had gone up since before Xmas, so they wanted £2200, but agreed to the lower figure in view of discussions prior to Xmas. Goodness knows what it will cost next year! He has to have a spy in the cab though, and can't drive between 11pm and 5am.

Preparing my nerves for some serious frazzling on Sunday now!

 

Kevin

[Ron Ron Ron]

But it remains a fact that in the case of younger new drivers Fully Comprehensive insurance can be and is cheaper than 3rd Party Fire & Theft with all other components in the mix being constant. My son was by modern standards a late starter as a motorist (early/mid 20s post uni) and every single quote he got gave a noticeable, and sometimes quite signnificant, discount for Full Comp.

Absolutely Mike. The point I was making is that the reason for that will be largely based on statistics that show that there have been more accidents and claims involving those on 3rd party, than those on fully comp, in a like for like comparison. Hence the quotes for 3rd party being as high, or higher than for fully comp cover.

 

There is also the element of the insurance industry wanting to promote fully comp insurance, because of the way they handle claims between each other.