Avoid fronting on car insurance for young drivers

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Car insurance companies are rejecting thousands of claims a year as parents and young drivers lie in order to get cheaper car insurance premiums through a fraud called “fronting”.

Fronting is the term used when a young person who has a car in their own name insures it by adding their parent as the main driver and themselves as named driver.  By doing this premiums can be reduced by hundreds of pounds, however any claim is then rejected by the insurer leaving the young driver liable for potentially thousands of pound of bills as well as criminal prosecution.

Younger drivers car insurance premiums can cost up to several thousand of pounds, possibly more than the cars value itself due to a mix of inexperience in driving, a lack of no claims bonus and the car they are driving so making such a simple saving can seem an attractive proposition, until a claim is made and ultimately rejected.

If a claim is made and its proven the policy was fronted then the claim will be rejected but more importantly the driver will then be seen to be driving without insurance and liable for prosecution through the courts, with the outcome being a hefty fine and 6 points, as well as the costs of the original claim.

Although cheap car insurance can be tricky to get for younger drivers, it’s still not impossible, and without carrying out any act of fraud, younger drivers can reduce their premium by following these tips

• Shop around – not only on premium but also on benefits, policies will vary by what they offer so what maybe the cheapest premium may not have the best overall offering

• Likewise, look at what is included in the policy - Many car insurance companies will pre-select options such as legal cover or motor breakdown cover which can add over £50 onto the premium.  In most cases these can be bought cheaper as separate products. 

• Add an older driver – Adding a parent or older driver as a named driver to the policy can give significant discounts and more important this practice is legal!

• Consider a larger voluntary excess – By selecting £500 instead of £250 premiums can be reduced by as much as 10%.  By opting to pay a higher amount in the event of a claim you’re sharing the risk with the insurer who can pass the savings back to its customers

• If you have a garage use it – some insurers will give a discount for keeping your car in a garage when it’s not in use rather than it being left on the driveway or an open road.

• Fit an alarm and immobiliser if your vehicle doesn’t already have one, the greater the security the less likelihood there is of anything happening to your vehicle and again this will lead to a reduction of up to 2-3% of the premium.

Younger drivers do unfortunately get a raw deal when it comes to getting car insurance, however the advice to anyone would be to avoid the temptation to use fraudulent practices such as fronting and look to more selective methods such as shopping around as a means of getting cheaper car insurance for young drivers,

2009-07-03 14:39:17 © Moneyextra.com

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