New Driver (Test Passed) Insurance

[w8pmc]

Quick question & hopefully a straight forward one.

Currently we have 3 cars on an Admiral Multicar Policy. My car with me as Policyholder & wife as named driver, Wife's car with her as Policyholder & me as named driver & lastly my middle Son's car (bought by me & V5 in my name) with me as Policyholder, wife & middle Son as named drivers (we've been using his car for driving practice alongside his formal lessons)

Middle Son is taking his test on Wednesday & assuming he passes, what would i need to change as regards insurance for his car?

Just did a trail update quote changing him from a Provisional license holder to a newly qualified Full license holder & the overall policy premium only increased by £277 which seemed very low. That said I then realized this would still have me as the Policyholder on his car with him still being named & I'm not sure this is the correct way forward.

No option on the Admiral website to alter him from being named to being the main Policyholder etc. so no doubt that would require a phone call.

The car would remain legally owned by me & me as the Reg'd keeper for the time being, so should i just do as above & change his License status but keep everything else the same, or am i best calling Admiral & requesting a quote to swap the Policyholder status for his car?

[w8pmc]

NGee said:

The simple answer is 'what does your policy say', if you are not sure then, as you say, the best thing is to speak to them.

However bear in mind that it doesn't matter who the policy holder is, it is the 'main driver' that is the important bit.
Insuring a car in your name so as your son can get get cheap insurance on a car which is, to all intents and purposes, his car, is called 'fronting' and is illegal.

(Not suggesting you're trying to do that, just pointing it out!)

Thanks for the response.

Checked the Policy (twice) & can see no reference, thus why I went online to see what I could change regarding 'his' car & I couldn't change Policyholder/Named, only his license status or employment details etc.

Definitely not about the cost, but clearly was thrown at such a small increase changing his license status, which made me think that can't be right.

That's what i thought regarding 'fronting' which was why i posted, but as you say, likely I'll only get the accurate info direct from Admiral, so will give them a call

[w8pmc]

Emeye said:

If he is going to be using the car more than you, he needs to be the policy holder - you can be the administrator of the policy.

I found the online portal is limited to only one change at a time. Even speaking to them it can get messy. And they charge you more for making a change on the phone.

Thanks. He will indeed be using the car more than me from a physical journeys perspective. Based on mileage though, it's likely I'll do more miles in the car annually as he'll be doing purely local journeys to/from College etc. but I'll be using the car for the occasional trip to my office in Leeds (my M5 has become a little expensive in the fuel dept.)

[w8pmc]

Dark Star said:

For me I would put your middle son on his own policy with you and your wife as named drivers.
I would also put the car in his name to keep him from potentially getting stopped if they see him in a car owned by someone flagging up as older than him. Although by no means necessary it would keep things simple.
His car as in registered to him with his insurance would be my choice.

Fair point, but not keen on adding a keeper (car was purchased brand new) which if i swap to him I'm assuming would happen?

The car is funded via a PCP (in my name) as he's still only 17, so would having it legally owned by me but reg'd to him not add confusion?

Bottom line, i realize it's gonna cost to have a 17yr old insured on his own car as a newly qualified driver (car is Insurance group 1 though which should help), but i of course want to stay the correct side of rules/regs, but without adding hassle.

[w8pmc]

QuartzDad said:

Possibly doesn't allow provisionals to be policyholders. If you change his licence status and save the change, the option to make him the policyholder may become available. Although from memory of when my kids were that age, Admiral were none too keen to quote for 17yo policyholders.

Did wonder that, but following License change it then moved forward to pay the additional premium. Didn't proceed as he's only taking his test tomorrow & no guarantee he'll pass. Only tried to gauge what the premium might increase by, but all i learnt is the increase would not be significant, but that being him staying as a named driver.

[w8pmc]

OK, quick update as nothing panned out how i'd expected.

Firstly, Son did pass his test on Wednesday (first time & he's still only 17), so that was a huge relieve, followed by a few days of worry as we agreed he could collect the car, even though i was out of the country on holiday.

So, based on advice in this thread (thank you) i called Admiral to explain the situation & aimed the policy for his car so he was legal/safe to drive solo. Now the online quote of £277 was an anomaly as it didn't load the premium correctly based on the increased risk being a newly qualified young driver (i tried to get an explanation but wasn't happening).

Moving on i got a verbal quote of £1030 for him to remain as a Named Driver, but now become the Main Driver & this figure i was more than happy with. It was a challenge getting agreement as the Main Driver as Admiral really don't like/want a 17yr old becoming a Policyholder & if i wanted this the premium would be £2850. I asked for an explanation to which i got 'we don't like Policyholders being Under 18' & i asked for a clear explanation of the difference in this case & was told (several times), that although he'd get credit for time without a claim, it wouldn't actually be NCD (think the same as how Company car drivers are viewed when taking out their own insurance).

They did repeat several times that he'll be noted as the Main Driver & for his vehicle the address used has been changed to his Mothers home address which is where the car will spend more time overnight than my address. They also confirmed that they have no interest in Main driver status based on number of journeys &/or mileage, so didn't care who does either.

I'm hopeful the outcome is as expected & it was a challenging hour on the phone to them to sort this, but looks like all's good