hi there I have seen the above post from you and want to know do you still work for norwich union as I wanted to know a few things email back thanks

Yeah somethin doesn't add up there, tho to be fair, for a 17 year old, trying to drive a 1.4 16valve rover, its hardly suprising for that cost!
Aim for a smaller engine! Think, if (for example) there is an incident which requires you to take a 50:50 blame for, that insurance premium will rocket skywards faster than u can say, i can't afford to pay this any longer. Aiming for a smaller engine not only means a lower premium, but lower fuel costs, tax costs and saves u alot in the long run.

I have always had minis. Mainly because they are a status symbol, because my mum had em when she was younger, and because of their small high mpg engines and extremely low tax and insurance group1 or 2. My first premium was £900 dropping to £700 and the beginning of this year £350! I'm still longing for the 21 boundary as it'll drop considerably again. But because of the small engine and low premiums I've been able to afford nicer cars, and infact just last week even with my small income managed to get a second car! I'm only 20, and of course normally running 2 cars is expensive. But they are both small engines (mini is a 1 litre) (peugeot 106 1.1 litre) and I am paying less for both cars than I did for the one car back in my first year.

Now as a young driver I should know, speed is apparently cool, as are modifications to your car, again i should know I specialise in sound systems! But trust me, having a small engined old banger is better than something that could quite literally get u killed. 3 weeks ago I was involved in a nasty accident with a young driver. My arm was broken, my shoulder displaced and my lovely silver mini was a complete write off. He was 17 and driving a 1.6 16v peugeot 106. the accident was his fault as he was going too fast. Not saying all young drivers are fast hoolagans behind the wheel, but with more modern cars you don't actually realsie the speed you are going sometimes. I was in a mates Focus ST on the motorway and before I knew it he was curising at 100mph, because the car was comfortable at that speed and he barely noticed it. My mini starts shaking at 70mph!
Lets just say with the peugeot incident he can't afford the insurance anymore and has had to go to an old banger with a 1 litre engine to bring his premium down.

In my personal experience if you want a small premium but a nicer car in a few years the best thing to do is wait till you have a couple of years driving and no claims bonus before you venture into the 16v leagues. My next mini is worth over £4000 because of the low insurance and because of saving I can afford it, still only with a 1 litre engine. My 21st birthday present will be a honda 1.6 16v mini conversion which will only be £200 more on the insurance because of my no claims, clean record, and slow cars!

But thats just my views on it.

Sulz

You're missing the point here. The cost of £400 doesn't matter. In the slightest. It's the damage you could cause to others.

Why are you getting £3900 anyway? Something isn't adding up here. Any mods, convictions, accidents. What size engine, type etc. What are you not telling us lol?

hi,

I understand this fronting issue however i will be sharing the car with my father so i'm not sure that is an actual issue.

Just to clear up yes i meant Me as a NAMED DRIVER on my DADS policy.

Also - if i take out my own policy the insurance quotes are in excess of £3900 which is a rip off as the car is only worth £400!!!!!!!

I need to get my self insured ASAP and i'm simply trying to find the cheapest solution!

Thanks!

Dacouch

I was just about to say that the ecar policy is not a typical 'pay as you go' policy, with technology used to check on usage, as applied under the NU scheme. It is just a month by month contract.

Having looked online about ecar, there does appear to have been problems with the Insurance details not appearing on the motor insurance database. Because it is a monthly contract, near the end of each month the details are not on the database for a short period, so people have been stopped by the police. Also some have had problems contacting them.

Huckster

Its not a proper pay as you drive policy, its a policy that you take a months cover at a time and has the debatable benefit of 1 years "No claims bonus" after 8 months cover.

The other issue is ecar are not the greatest Insurer and are registered in Gibralter

http://www.ecarinsurance.co.uk/payasyougo.php

A quick search of the forum archives brings up Coyote's comments on this

here in this thread (July 18th) http://www.moneysupermarket.com/community/forums/t/car-insurance-for-young-drivers-6629.aspx?PageIndex=5

and here http://www.moneysupermarket.com/community/forums/post/industry-news-pay-as-you-drive-128990.aspx

He or she is nothing if not consistent!

Felicity

In one sentence? That's difficult. I wrote a novel on it before when 'Squirrel' (if memory serves) thought it was the way forward. Think it was this very thread but certainly on a MS thread.

Hmm. One sentence. I'm struggling to condense all the faults into one. Hmm.... Okay.... "Just look at the business model for this scheme" ...?

Coyote:- Cheaper?? - ecar - Pay As You Go / Drive???? No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no..... NO. WHY don't people listen????!!

Coyote

Should I take that as a NO then. This is not an option.

In one sentence, why should other posters avoid this?

Huckster

- Cheaper??
- ecar
- Pay As You Go / Drive????

No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no..... NO.

WHY don't people listen????!!

Sulz Syed:

Another poster to this site found a much cheaper policy with ecar insurance, through their monthly pay as you go policy. This is designed for occasional drivers, so you would need to have a good look at the policy to see if it meets your requirements.

Agree with the other comments. If you front a policy with an older driver as policyholder, when in fact your are the main driver, you will have a problem if you come to claim.

Huckster

Good spot Sparky! My post should read 'the main driver on a car' - I'll edit it now (more coffee, I think!).

What alarmed me in Sulz Syed's post was 'thats with my dad as the name driver!! ' - which looked to me like he meant the main driver, not an additional named one.

Sulz, enlighten me? Do you just mean named driver and am I overreacting?

Cheers,

Felicity

Hi Felicity,

There is a difference between being a named driver and being the policy holder, and I'm not sure which Sulz Syed was suggesting.

Taking out a policy in your own name with your parent as a named driver is one way of reducing the premium.

I'm no longer a young driver but I have my sister as a named driver on my policy as it still reduces the insurance cost.

I do agree that you should be careful not to state anything incorrectly as the risk of the insurance being canceled when you need it most.

You also need to take care where the policy holder needs to be the registered keeper of the vehicle (so if you are the owner you should be the main policy holder)

Sparky.

Hi Sulz Syed,

Please remember that saying a parent is the main driver on a car when they aren't is illegal. It's called fronting and insurers are getting pretty hot on it. You run the risk of being left uninsured - meaning you could end up responsible for another person's car, any personal injury claims, everything.

I really recommend you are straight with your chosen insurer - the risks are just too high.

Check out our article 'How young drivers can put brakes on insurance costs' for some further tips. The most important one, I think, is taking the Pass Plus - it pays for itself so quickly.

Cheers,

Fliss

Hi jay,

I passed my test last month brought myself a rover 214 16v - Looking to get car insurance its only a group 6 !

Cheapest quotes anywhere i have found is around £1800 thats with my dad as the name driver!!

Does Norwich union still do this open policy? because they have changed the company to Aviva now so im wondering if you still have it?

Please let me know

thanks for your help mate!