How much does it cost to add a driver to car insurance UK?

If you are a younger driver without much time behind the wheel, you’ll likely be shocked by the high premiums presented to you by insurers. With the average car insurance premium for those aged between 18 and 24 in the UK costing £1260.49, most young motorists will be looking for ways to get their premiums down considerably. Adding a named driver is a great way of doing this. Two-thirds of parents are named as additional drivers on their children’s policies, So how much does it cost to add a named driver to your car insurance policy?

How much to add a driver to your car insurance?

The cost of adding additional drivers to your car insurance will vary greatly between individuals. This is because when seek to add a ‘named driver’ or ‘second driver’ to your car insurance policy, insurers will look at that drivers own unique individual driving history and risk profile. The reason many motorists, in particular young drivers, seek to add an additional driver to their car insurance is that this can be an effective way of reducing premiums. This will however depend on the risk posed to insurers by the additional driver. Generally speaking, you will want to add an experienced motorist with a clean driving record as a named driver to your policy in order to get the benefits of reduced premiums. These named drivers are usually parents or older siblings.

Young drivers can save over £350 on their car insurance through having a low-risk named driver added to their car insurance policy, so it is certainly worth adding an additional driver in many cases. We found that the greatest reduction in car insurance premiums came from adding female family members to a policy over male family members. This is due to the fact that whilst insurers cannot take gender into consideration when evaluating premiums, male drivers are statistically more likely to have motoring convictions and make more costly claims. This means that male relatives in general tend to offer the least effective reduction to a car insurance policy as a named driver, however this is not a universal rule. You may also be required to pay a small admin fee for adding an additional driver to your policy if it is not near your renewal date.

How to add a second driver car insurance

When considering adding a named driver to your policy, you should contact your insurer to check the terms and conditions of the policy and whether there will be any admin fees for making amendments. Typically you will not be required to give lengthy details of the named driver you have chosen however you will be required to produce some basic details.

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Employment
• Motoring history and convictions over the last 5 years
• Licence details

What are the benefits of adding a named driver?

Adding a named driver is a great way of reducing your premiums if you are a younger driver without much experience on the road. It essentially lets the insurer know that you will not be the only driver using the car and so a more experienced, typically older, additional driver can serve as a reassurance to providers. However, you should not put down the older driver as the main driver of your car if this is not the case. This is called fronting and is insurance fraud – this can invalidate your coverage and make future coverage more expensive and difficult. It can also leave you open to prosecution should your insurer decide to escalate things.

Is it worth adding an additional driver?

Adding an additional driver for the short term is likely to cost you more than it’s worth, however in the long run and with the right additional driver – it can certainly be a good way of reducing what you pay for your car insurance. In some cases it may be easier and cheaper for you to simply take out a temporary car insurance policy for driving a friend’s car as opposed to adding an additional driver. It is usually cheaper to add an additional driver to your car insurance when it is near its renewal date. Young drivers can still save over £350 on their premiums by having a reliable additional driver added to their policy, typically a parent, so in many cases it is worth having an additional driver added to your policy, there are some caveats however.

• Fronting – lying about who is the main driver can invalidate your insurance and lead to £5000 fine and 6 penalty points.
• Main drivers can see their premiums rise if there is an accident.
• No-claims bonus may be affected for named driver if car is involved in an accident/claim.

Above all, don’t lie to insurers about who is the main user of the car – this can open you up to a whole host of issues and many parents will also be reluctant to give fraudulent information in the hope of getting their children cheaper premiums.

What happens if you crash as a named driver?

If a named driver has a car accident whilst driving the insured vehicle, the main driver or main policyholder will need to make a claim on the policy. This will unfortunately impact their no-claims discount if they have one built up – even if it was not them involved in the accident. That is why it is important to fully discuss with the added driver the Ts&Cs of the policy and what adding an additional driver to your policy will entail.

Add a driver to your car insurance

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This article is intended as generic information only and is not intended to apply to anybody’s specific circumstances, demands or needs. The views expressed are not intended to provide any financial service or to give any recommendation or advice. Products and services are only mentioned for illustrative rather than promotional purposes