Learner Driver Insurance
Discussion
So my lad is fast approaching his 17th birthday…
Due to us both having autos sorted him out with a manual car of his own (Mini Cooper).
Was trying to get his policy sorted out but most places I tried wouldn’t set up a policy in his name because he wasn’t 17 yet. Got a quote from Marmalade to get him going for a month, then the plan was to sort out a full policy after. I called them as he will be getting a personal plate on the day (that he doesn’t know about) to see how best to manage this. Turns out Marmalade won’t cover him on his own car short term (even though I have my own policy on it) so they quoted me for a year’s cover as a learner with me and the wife as named drivers….£2700 and had to have a black box fitted. f
k my old boots.
I had researched the pre and post insurance so knew this was a bonkers price.
10 minutes later all sorted with Adrian Flux for just over £300 with basically zero excess and the policy is set to start on his birthday, with doing the plate swap on the day inc. No black box required.
How can a company who claim to specialise in learner drivers be x9 more expensive…the mind boggles.
Obs he’ll likely have to have a bb once passing.
Due to us both having autos sorted him out with a manual car of his own (Mini Cooper).
Was trying to get his policy sorted out but most places I tried wouldn’t set up a policy in his name because he wasn’t 17 yet. Got a quote from Marmalade to get him going for a month, then the plan was to sort out a full policy after. I called them as he will be getting a personal plate on the day (that he doesn’t know about) to see how best to manage this. Turns out Marmalade won’t cover him on his own car short term (even though I have my own policy on it) so they quoted me for a year’s cover as a learner with me and the wife as named drivers….£2700 and had to have a black box fitted. f
k my old boots.I had researched the pre and post insurance so knew this was a bonkers price.
10 minutes later all sorted with Adrian Flux for just over £300 with basically zero excess and the policy is set to start on his birthday, with doing the plate swap on the day inc. No black box required.
How can a company who claim to specialise in learner drivers be x9 more expensive…the mind boggles.
Obs he’ll likely have to have a bb once passing.
I must admit I’m a bit lost with this. You should have bought the car and insured it for you and your wife, then added your son as a learner driver on his 17th birthday.
This is not ‘fronting’ because he can only drive the car with you present and it’s perfectly reasonable and normal to use ‘your’ car to teach someone to drive in.
On passing his test, you would (and will) experience real pain, as the premium will be in the thousands as a newly qualified driver with his own car.
Marmalade are now completely out of the black box, mileage purchasing new driver market now. I don’t know why they made that decision, but I can understand why they might have been a bit baffled with your proposal.
This is not ‘fronting’ because he can only drive the car with you present and it’s perfectly reasonable and normal to use ‘your’ car to teach someone to drive in.
On passing his test, you would (and will) experience real pain, as the premium will be in the thousands as a newly qualified driver with his own car.
Marmalade are now completely out of the black box, mileage purchasing new driver market now. I don’t know why they made that decision, but I can understand why they might have been a bit baffled with your proposal.
It's pretty standard to get silly quotes, or no quotes at all, if the insurance company doesn't want your business, in other words, your risk profile doesn't match their target segment, which might've changed since you last used them. Mini Cooper is a relatively higher performance variant, so it's not surprising that some insurers won't want to insure it for a young driver.
When our eldest was approaching 17, we got a load of quotes on different cars and they varied hugely between cars, both during the learner period and after getting his licence. Ended up getting him a 3 year old Peugeot 107 which worked out quite well. We didn't mess around with us being the keeper and policy holder for the insurance then adding him as a named driver either, that definitely would've been a lie and fronting, plus he earned NCB from day 1 as he passed his test before the end of the term, we upgraded the policy to a full licence policy and at the end, Admiral awarded him a full year's NCB.
When our eldest was approaching 17, we got a load of quotes on different cars and they varied hugely between cars, both during the learner period and after getting his licence. Ended up getting him a 3 year old Peugeot 107 which worked out quite well. We didn't mess around with us being the keeper and policy holder for the insurance then adding him as a named driver either, that definitely would've been a lie and fronting, plus he earned NCB from day 1 as he passed his test before the end of the term, we upgraded the policy to a full licence policy and at the end, Admiral awarded him a full year's NCB.
r159 said:
Financially it doesn t make much difference doing it either way, and once passed for what it is, the premiums are very reasonable.
Marmalade as you say are just not interested.
Marmalades algorithms and data sets clearly don’t like the concept of a learner on a Cooper even if in his name which isn’t really what they usually do. Marmalade as you say are just not interested.
I presume that Flux as yet won’t be able to get an actual firm price for when your son passes though.
Few years ago but all 3 children went the same route ie policies in their name as learner with us as named drivers and a mileage restriction of 7k.
All Admiral.
Yes the price obviously increased substantially when they passed but they still got a full years NCB when the anniversary was up irrespective of when in the year they actually passed.
vaud said:
How much will the policy be for a 17 year old driving a Mini Cooper once they have passed?
Can t imagine it is an attractive risk profile
Exactly and of course always a chance that they may not even be prepared to quote. Can t imagine it is an attractive risk profile
It’s a balance of trying to work out the most cost effective and easiest way of getting them to that all important first year’s NCB.
croyde said:
I got quotes fully comp on a Lotus Emira ranging from Hastings £450 to Carole Nash £4,600.
And I'm 63, full no claims, no points and 45 years of driving experience.
It was so much easier, and cheaper when I was 17.
I'm just glad that non of my three have shown any interest in driving.
You’re glad?And I'm 63, full no claims, no points and 45 years of driving experience.
It was so much easier, and cheaper when I was 17.
I'm just glad that non of my three have shown any interest in driving.
You’ve basically given them a disability. Unless in London, they will need to drive.
Bonkers!
The way we did it was to get specific learner insurance (google it) from Sterling Insurance (others are available, Collingwood springs to mind), then set up a full insurance quote for the day of the test about 3 weeks out. Fortunately she passed 1st time, and quotes weren't too bad £700 with a BB, £1400 without.
Foss62 said:
I must admit I m a bit lost with this. You should have bought the car and insured it for you and your wife, then added your son as a learner driver on his 17th birthday.
Bad plan, surely?... You want him earning his own NCB from the moment he starts driving. Good choice re Mini Cooper. Little SB learnt in hers, and took it (and me!) to Cowley for the recent PH event.
NDA said:
croyde said:
I'm just glad that non of my three have shown any interest in driving.
It makes a positive difference when they can - I am no longer a taxi service.
Apart from the youngest who is an adult and lives with me in London and works 10 mins walk away, the others have made their way in the world with no interest in cars or a need to have one.
End of last summer I sold my Alpine and at the grand old age of 63 I was carless for the first time since I was 17.
No need for one, no more parking issues, fines for not reading every sign, grid locked roads plus I have my over 60s Oyster card for free travel on the tubes, buses and trains.
I lasted 3 weeks
I fully understand the need for a car if you live outside the big cities though.
I had quite a good experience with the Bert clan on a Admiral family policy. Ended up with 5 of us on it and probably 7 cars at its peak (me being the greedy one). Everyone also earned their own NCB on their own car in the policy. Cost was sensible. Nothing at all racy for the offspring though (Mini 0ne, Skoda Fabia and Rover 25)
Spogg youngest had a Mini cooper d, paid £350as a learner, when he passted his test it went to £3200, so sold it got a Golf 1.6 tdi, insurance went down to £2400
Now he has changed it again to a focus petrol and his new quote with now 1 years NCB (30% diecount) its down to £1400. no black box, as the cause more issues than they solve.
Now he has changed it again to a focus petrol and his new quote with now 1 years NCB (30% diecount) its down to £1400. no black box, as the cause more issues than they solve.
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