Specialist young driver insurance

[VS02]

Hi

Probably been done to death and have my flame suit on if anyone is ready to laugh at me.

I am 19, nearly 20, and a student at the University of Manchester. I drive a BMW 330e (self bought). Previously it was insured with Admiral, however sadly I was absolutely fked over by a hit and run claim (that went 50/50 due to me not having a dashcam and there being no witnesses). The car stays at home.

I have 0 NCB now as well.

Now no one will touch me when I want to insure it when I come back and go for a drive.. I paid for it to be insured in my Mum’s name with AXA, but they wont touch me nor the car when insuring temporarily

Previously I had a quote for £2.5k which at the time I couldn’t afford, from Hastings. Now when I look at quotes I get quotes of 3-3.5k. Hastings themselves will no longer insure me.

I can’t add parents as named drivers due to them both being insured on it with AXA

Of course I expected insuring a BMW to be expensive, but not 3k expensive. I bought it stupidly because Admiral insured it for very cheap and I was very happy with it. Now the claim means that they wouldn’t touch me for the next year. Cars are my passion and I was planning to modify it and make it my own, I was bored of my 60bhp Polo. Good thing I never bought a Golf R, the other car I had my eye on.

I called Adrian Flux, who gave me a quote of 5k.

I can’t admit defeat and get rid of the car so soon (love it), so what other insurers would be suggested by the PH masses? I refuse to go for a black box, especially after 2 years of driving without one. I am not a boy racer nor a dangerous driver but I don’t like that sort of nannying.

Feeling very dejected now staring at it on my drive, especially after all the work I put in to buy it.

Cheers… help out a idiot

[w8pmc]

I think as the saying goes; you might be fked with little/no option but to downgrade until back in a suitable position.

As regards the hit/run, surely that fact alone would exclude it going 50/50 as any insurer would view the fact the 'other' driver legged it as an admission of guilt. Also, the circumstances must give cause to the blame going the other driver's way.

Usually, 50/50 would only occur if theirs's reasonable doubt that any single driver is to blame or if one of the drivers is seriously injured & both with the same insurer so as to hopefully limit potential payout.

I'd have fought that decision much harder as it's ultimately that which has put you in this position.

Some insurance companies (Admiral for one which probably won't help you), will allow a named driver to be specified as the 'main' driver which keeps the Legals in check, however you may 'not' then be able to collect NCB.

Other than that, I've no suggestions but have a feeling my 1st point will be the one that plays out.

[anonymous-user]

w8pmc said:

I think as the saying goes; you might be fked with little/no option but to downgrade until back in a suitable position.

This. Look at it from the insurers point of view, you are a young male trying to insure a powerful car with zero no claims having recently made a claim.

[alscar]

If car insured in your parents / Mums name then how much would it be from Axa to simply you add you as occasional named driver or have they simply refused to quote ?
Obviously you could move the insurance to someone else and try this too.
You won’t accrue ncb but you might get insurance.
Yes it will be expensive even as a named driver because of your age and the car and the record but that’s life I’m afraid.
Obviously you could try the likes of Adrian Flux for a policy in your name or a broker but I still can’t see it as being cheap.
Failing all of the above try TPFT insurance which might be cheaper / easier to arrange.
Or worst case try a cheaper car.
Good luck.

[VS02]

Wow, thats depressing. I am back to square one so fast. I am going to get an absolute bking from my parents, who advised me not to get a car in the first place while at university. Oh well, young and dumb I guess.. going to pursue other avenues first but it is a serious possibility then that I will have to give up the car ..

[VS02]

w8pmc said:

I think as the saying goes; you might be fked with little/no option but to downgrade until back in a suitable position.

As regards the hit/run, surely that fact alone would exclude it going 50/50 as any insurer would view the fact the 'other' driver legged it as an admission of guilt. Also, the circumstances must give cause to the blame going the other driver's way.

Usually, 50/50 would only occur if theirs's reasonable doubt that any single driver is to blame or if one of the drivers is seriously injured & both with the same insurer so as to hopefully limit potential payout.

I'd have fought that decision much harder as it's ultimately that which has put you in this position.

Some insurance companies (Admiral for one which probably won't help you), will allow a named driver to be specified as the 'main' driver which keeps the Legals in check, however you may 'not' then be able to collect NCB.

Other than that, I've no suggestions but have a feeling my 1st point will be the one that plays out.

I was stupid to accept the 50/50 offer from Admiral, i should have known that I would be absolutely shafted. The accident was 1 year ago and the claim still hasnt been settled. Admiral were not willing to fight my case and told me to look elsewhere - fearful that I could not do anything else I just took it on the chin and accepted 50/50.



Any suggestions of other insurers to try?

[Artsy]

At the risk of saying something you don't want to hear.

You're at uni - give up the car for now and enjoy being a student and going out. Do the odd track day or similar with the money that you will save and also save up to get another fast car when you're done with uni and your quotes will be better anyway.

Barring all else, would you consider a motorbike? Same acceleration/speed with infinitely lower costs.

Ultimately you'll be able to replace the car when the time is right - it's not like a rare model that you've never going to see again.

[JordanM200]

It will indeed go down as a 50/50, as the Insurance company will not be able to claim back any costs, and have paid out of their own pocket so will in fact go down as a fault claim.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Joey Deacon said:

Look at it from the insurers point of view, you are a young male trying to insure a powerful car with zero no claims having recently made a claim.

The fact that he's male makes absolutely no difference.

[AlexGSi2000]

I remember those days of crazy insurance quotes - doesn't feel like long ago.

Firstly - well done for having a car like that at your age.

When I was your age, my car was everything, I wanted the best car I could afford - now I care a lot less. Have the car I always wanted for the summer / weekends and the daily.

I found that the best way of getting insured at that age was picking something oddball - a mate of mine bought a Passat 1.8T and insured it for a few hundred quid at the age of 18, probably down to the fact they were grandad cars and not many young people drove them.

I wanted a Saxo VTR/S / Clio 182 but insurance wouldn't touch me - the second I looked at something rare (Ibiza Cupra R - of which I think there were only a few hundred of), the quotes dropped dramatically.

If I were to offer any advice, I know its a bitter pill to swallow, but maybe keep the 330 to one side or sell and find something abit older and obscure.
May be able to find something fun in the classic car bracket (over 18yrs old) and opt for classic insurance.
Added benefit of that is, if you play your cards right, you may not lose any money on it.

Edited by AlexGSi2000 on Wednesday 26th October 16:53

[EthanSmale]

If it helps....

Cars have always been everything to me, but I gave up my car at university because I couldn't afford it. It really upset me at the time.

In hindsight, it was the better thing. You can do cars better when you're working, I found. I got into the student lifestyle (something you can't really do again) and went back to cars when I was working.

There was a time and a place for being a student and the many years since then have been my time and place for doing cars.

[vikingaero]

Just remember to budget for a dashcam next time. £50 will get you a decent one with a memory card.

[VS02]

I am only looking to insure the car temporarily as a means to get around when at home . I already gave up the car at the end of August hence my ignorance about insurance. The annual insurance was just a formality as temporary insurance is hard to come by. I've spoken to some brokers today who explained that insuring the car monthly and then cancelling whenever I don't need it could be a way to go; in hindsight around £250 to insure this for a month in my situation isn't dreadful if not ideal.

I am registered disabled so I am eligible for a Motability vehicle.. could put the 330 to the side and make a 1.0 stbox a daily snotter for nothing

[Donbot]

It's crap but it might be worth waiting till your 21. As long as it's insured and you have somewhere to keep it might be worth keeping.

I sold my car before going to uni due to the stupid cost of insurance and ended up regretting it. Sadly my crystal ball didn't work and the car had almost doubled in value by the time I left.

[Chainsaw Rebuild]

To be honest mate it looks very much like you need to sell the car.

Can you be added to your parents car? Failing that just go without or get a small, low powered and cheap car.

Motorbikes are a good shout, you could run a 125cc bike on a cbt for next to nothing.

[Donbot]

Chainsaw Rebuild said:

Motorbikes are a good shout, you could run a 125cc bike on a cbt for next to nothing.

The OP is registered disabled, so that probably won't work.

[VS02]

Chainsaw Rebuild said:

To be honest mate it looks very much like you need to sell the car.

Can you be added to your parents car? Failing that just go without or get a small, low powered and cheap car.

Motorbikes are a good shout, you could run a 125cc bike on a cbt for next to nothing.

My parents drive a 4.2 V8 audi, a Golf r32, and a 2.5 Lexus, so nothing better unfortunately.

And as above I can’t get a bike unless I want every bone in my body broken due to my disabilites

Luckily for me, I don’t need a car at University because Manchester has exceptional public transport links. At home though in the home counties, I am not as well helped and need a car to get around.

Edited by VS02 on Wednesday 26th October 19:16

[Donbot]

Looks like you will need to downgrade then. Small, slow cars can be fun and at least it gets you about.

When I started driving the power of your stereo was more important than the power of the engine

[Chainsaw Rebuild]

Sorry you can't ride a bike op, my mistake.

Perhaps you should lean into this situation and make the most of it. Sell the BMW and buy a few hundred pounds worth of Toyota Aygo, or similar.

Save the BMW sale money and the money you save on tax/insurance/fuel/parts for an awesome car when you are full time employed.

[66HFM]

VS02 said:

I am only looking to insure the car temporarily as a means to get around when at home . I already gave up the car at the end of August hence my ignorance about insurance. The annual insurance was just a formality as temporary insurance is hard to come by. I've spoken to some brokers today who explained that insuring the car monthly and then cancelling whenever I don't need it could be a way to go; in hindsight around £250 to insure this for a month in my situation isn't dreadful if not ideal.

I am registered disabled so I am eligible for a Motability vehicle.. could put the 330 to the side and make a 1.0 stbox a daily snotter for nothing

Hi Op,
My Mother-in-Law is registered disabled and has a Mobility car, although she does have the option to pay extra to receive a better / quicker /more luxurious car...