You just can’t escape motor insurance. It’s a legal requirement but in the event of needing to make an accident claim or, more importantly, having one made against you, you’ll be grateful you have it. However, younger drivers have difficulty finding car insurance, never mind finding the cash to pay for it. If that sounds like you, you might be thinking about breaking the law to save some money. If there is ever an accident claim, you might very well regret it.
Not even half of the major companies providing car insurance will cover a teen driver. A policy with one of those that will is likely to cost as much as £4,000 which is usually more than the car’s value. Because the average male teen driver accident claim is worth much more than the sort of claims their female counterparts might make, the boys pay the most for insurance.
Insurance companies are right to perceive teenage drivers as more likely to have an accident claim made against them. In this age group, drivers are ten time more likely to kill or injure someone than drivers with experience. Nonetheless, some parents are acting illegally in their attempts to bring down insurance costs.
According to the Motor Insurer’s Bureau, one in every five teenage drivers has no insurance cover at all. Many more do what is known as ‘fronting.’ This is when parents claim to be the main driver of a car and name their child as another driver when in fact the child is the main driver. For some it is a harmless way of saving a bit of cash. It is against the law.
If an accident claim is made and the insurance company suspects that the teenager was the main driver, there can be serious consequences. Both parents and teenagers can be prosecuted and may struggle to get insurance again in the future. Insurers can also refuse to pay out some or all of the accident claim settlement.
Attitude surveys seem to show that many people use ‘fronting’ and that people believe it is harmless. However, saving money, however much, is not worth the risk of prosecution or of having to pay for an entire accident claim settlement when the insurers refuse to.
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