Insurance Fronting

What is ‘fronting’ and why is it important NOT to do this?

Insurance fronting is the term used to describe the process of taking out insurance for yourself but trying to save money by putting the policy in someone else’s name.  Nice idea, but you won’t be legally insured.

Generally this illegal activity is most acute amongst younger drivers.  Let’s take an example….

You’re 17 or 18 years old and you’ve just passed your test.  Fantastic!  With a bit of financial help you’ve found a car or motorbike to buy and you can’t wait for the freedom this will give you.  Then you start checking out insurance quotes.  Suddenly the world doesn’t look so rosy.  For the vehicle you’ve got your heart set on, the comparison websites are indicating a premium of more than £2000 – if indeed they will give you a quote at all.  Ouch!

So what do you do?

You quickly realise that the problem is your age and lack of driving or riding experience.  With a zero no claims bonus you’re being quoted the full whack – and that doesn’t come cheap.  You’re also being penalised because of the high level of claims from younger drivers and motorbike riders.  

So what about getting a parent or older brother or sister to take out the insurance in their name, with you as just a ‘named driver or rider’?  Wow, see those insurance quotes fall !

It sounds like the perfect solution, except for two things :-

• You won’t be legally insured because you’re not the main driver, and
• You won’t start building up a no claims discount
  

Here’s what the BBC website has to say about ‘fronting’:

“If an insurance company believes ‘fronting’ has taken place, it can refuse to pay any claim.   The young driver can then be treated as driving without insurance and face a fine with six points penalty points on their licence.” On top of that nightmare your licence gets revoked back to a provisional again and you may even have to cough up the money to pay the claim!!!!
It can also land you in court on a fraud charge.

So what’s our advice?

Bite the bullet.  Accept the fact that your car insurance is going to be expensive at first and will then fall dramatically for each year of claims-free motoring or riding.  For example an 18 year old male can go from £2500 in the first year to less than half that with a years no claim bonus and a full licence over 12 months.

Stay inside the law and you will be fully covered in the event of you having an accident.  You will also be on the happy road to reduced premiums each year, as a result of building up your own no claims bonus – something that wouldn’t happen if you were insured on your parents’ policy.

How can Premium Choice help?

We’re specialists in insuring young drivers and riders and offer much cheaper premiums thanks to our panel of expert underwriters.  If you’ve tried the insurance comparison websites, now it’s time to deal with experts in insuring younger people.  A good place to start would be our pages on young driver insurance and young rider insurance. 

Or you could just contact us and get the ball rolling.  We think you’ll be surprised at the difference you’ll find when talking to a company which specialises in insuring younger drivers and riders.

Cheap Insurance for young drivers and riders - 0800 130 3744