Insurance for an 18 year old boy

[scoob101]

My 17 year old son passed his test a few months back and I told him I would give him £2000 towards his first car. So we started looking at peugeot 106 1.1 group 3 ins and the quote came back at £2500. Checked out a few more small similar cars and all the quotes are around the same price. Now these cars were ranging from £1000 to £1400 to buy, how can an insurance company justify this.
In my opinion there is no wonder there are so many youngsters driving around with no insurance if this is the case across the board, as it stands now my son cannot have a car because he cannot afford the insurance. Anyone got any advice ? He will be 18 in August will it come down at all then ?
We dont mind paying £1500 insurance on a £1500 car (even though that is ridiculous enough) but £2500+ is just taking the mickey.
Thanks.

[scoob101]

Sorry the title is a mistake he is 17 now and 18 at the end of August.

[hc4361]

It is not the insurance for his car that is expensive, it is the third party insurance that racks the price up.
He could cause hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of insurance claims, when you take personal injury in to account.
Or he could write off a brand new Rolls Royce.

[scoob101]

But that can be said for everyone young and old, I still cant see how they can justify these sort of premiums.

[Bob69]

£2500 sounds very cheap.....i beg do differ EDDIE, high risk yes, but can they really justify £2500?

[michael9]

I think the quotes you have been given are quite cheap, as normally young drivers pay around £3000 plus per year. You could also try price comparison websites to compare quotes. Try http://theycompare.co.uk , http://confused.com , http://reducemyquote.com

[scoob101]

Was thinking about pass plus myself and my son said he would do it, but I have been told that not all insurance companies recognise this and the ones that do dont give that much discount, I think I will have to ring a few insurance companies next week and speak to someone instead of doing it via the internet.
Anyone who thinks that £2500 insurance for a 1.1 106 that is worth approx £1200 is cheap really must be earning too much money.

[Bob69]

I believe what you are saying EDDIE, just dont think that £2500 for car insurance is cheap that's all.

[scoob101]

No its far from cheap and I just cant see how they can justify that sort of money for such a cheap low powered car, I do understand that young boys are high risk for insurance companies but it seems to me that they are just screwing them because they can

[Bob69]

How about your son going under your insurance for a couple of years, just an idea?

[hc4361]

That's illegal and called fronting. Insurance companies are well aware of it and do take action.
http://news.bbc.co.uk.../moneybox/7052569.stm

To be honest, I don't know why you seem shocked at the quotes. It's been this way for years for young drivers.

[factor-fiction]

I'm afraid £2500 is probably a pretty good rate- and I expect insurers probably make a loss on these policies for young drivers. Some refuse to insure younger drivers altogether.
Young drivers are more likely to have accidents due to all sorts of reasons- inexperience, poor judgement, showing off, etc. An accident can costs many thousands of pounds. If someone is injured the insurer may have to pay out hundreds of thousands of pounds. The value of the car is only a minor factor,
So £2500 seems to be the going rate. If it's too much then maybe he should wait a couple of years- a car idoesn't seem to be essential at age 17.

[AlBags]

Get a Fiesta 950 or 1.1 for 500 quid and then one of those new insurances that don't cover 11pm to 6am (I think it is)
That should cut it down quite a bit.
Can't be proud these days, driving at 17/18.

[theshedman]

Hi, I know it is a lot of money to pay but the way the insurers look at it is either pay up or stay off the road. My sons had the same problem and one of them had a Peugeot 106, he managed to get insurance from Quinn I think they were called they are on-line. Paid about £700 the first year then went down by £200 the following year. He was 20 though so it may be bit more for an 18 year old. Worth a look though. Good luck.

[New Judge]

As has been said, scoob, it is the Third Party liability that racks up the premium, not the value of the insured car. (In fact you will find that there is not much difference between the premium for Third Party Fire & Theft and comprehensive cover which covers accidental damage to your son’s own car). Insurers base their premiums on the relative risks posed by different groups of drivers and young male drivers are the most accident prone.

Don’t even think about “fronting” for your son. As has been said, insurers are wise to this and will adjust “your” premium accordingly. As well as this it is illegal and he may be guilty of driving uninsured if it is discovered as the insurers will cancel the policy retrospectively. Apart from that, your son would do better to accumulate his own No Claims discount, which he cannot do if you are the policyholder.

Yes, many young drivers do drive uninsured. I’m sure you’re not suggesting that your son does so and I’m sure you’ll advise him that it is not a good idea. Although the fine will almost certainly be less than any premium he may pay the offence attracts a minimum of six penalty points. This has two serious implication: new drivers who accumulate six or more points within two years of passing their test revert to provisional status and have to retake their test; and insurers will load future premiums even more when the offence is declared.

[Bob69]

Sorry i should have made myself more clearer, what i meant to say was - your son goes under your insurance and uses your car, as a named driver.

[redcrx]

20 years ago my first car cost £300 and i was paying £480 a year for insurance.
Why does everyone think this is a recent occurance?

uninsured drivers will be another reason why rates are so hight for everyone, not just young drivers.

try looking for a group 1 car, increase the excess on the policy and also look at taking pass plus test.

adrian flux apparently offer discounts for young drivers http://www.adrianflux.co.uk/car-insurance/