Named Driver No Claims

I'm not sure it makes any difference who's name the car is in as you still have to provide details for the named driver and if there's any accidents or motoring convictions, they'll still whack up the premium, when we bought my youngest son a car, we had to insure it in my eldest lads name as my husband and i both had speeding convictions, in the end we sold it because the premiums were crippling and he wasn't even driving it!.

Insurance companies these days, while quite happy to take your money, hate paying out and ensure they claw back every bean they can off you, I can't understand why, when insurance is compulsory, it isn't provided by the government as in so many other countries.

This happened to us a few years back. We have always had one car (I work from home, so the daily commute from bedroom to office isn't too problematic) but my wife needs one to get to work. She had a bump a few years ago in our old car. To be fair, our insurers then (Direct Line) paid up without too many problems, even if we did have to pay a £100 excess.

However come renewing the premium time our insurance quote had gone up by around £500. The cost of the repairs to the car were less than this.

To combat this I looked around to insure the car in my name. The problem was that I did not have my own no claims as I'd always been on my wifes policy. Plus then they ask you to name a second driver and then want the details of any accidents. To cut a long story short the cheapest we found was still nearly £300 more than we were paying originally and we had to pay that in full at the start to get that deal.

I loathe insurance companies with a passion that verges on the manic. They are so quick to take your money and pass on any pathetic reason for a price hike, but the moment you actually need them to do the job they are paid to do, they initially try to free themselves of the obligation, and then just put the cost of what they have "paid" (bear in mind, in most cases you will have paid them far more than what the repair cost them in the first place) back onto your premium with a couple of hundred more for good measure.

It makes a mockery of the system and as Witch Consumer says. If car insurance is compulsory it should be a year fixed fee (with reductions for those who do not claim) administrated by the government or a governmental body, like the TV licence and Council tax.

Anyway Tony, I'd give it a go. You will probably find someone willing to offer you a cheaper deal than your current insurer though I fear with little or no no claims you are going to find the price much higher. Totally unfair but when has insurance been anything different?

I have heard about companies offering no-claims bonuses on named drivers as well as policyholders but as above I doubt there is much benefit to be had, given that you'll still have to name your wife and list her accident history. I suspect there is no substitute for the old-fashioned method of hitting the phones and then playing one company off against another to find the lowest possible quote. And I entirely echo the comments about insurance companies - the business is an unbelievable scam. Surely there is a gap in the market for a fair, transparent insurance company? Or do you think they would go bust?!

Just a thought Tony - have you not protected your NCB?