One in Ten Parents are Fronting Children’s Car Insurance
Fronting is a fraudulent car insurance tactic in which parents buy a policy in their own name, even though their child, who is named on the policy as an additional driver, is actually the main driver of the vehicle. The intention is to save money by basing the premium on the less risky driver.
In 2015, The Co-operative Insurance reported that 81% of parents know that fronting is illegal, but one in ten parents of 17-25 year-olds admitted to doing it at some point, most commonly for a period of around two years.
Over a third of parents admitted to currently fronting their son or daughter’s policy, which equates to around 100,000 of today’s young drivers in the UK. Around 14% of parents who have fronted or are currently fronting a policy say that they would do it again in future, believing they’ve saved around £299 on the cost of their child’s insurance.
Fronting is a risky business – the consequences could be a maximum of six points, which would effectively mean that a young driver within two years of passing their test could have their licence revoked.
The practice also runs the risk of leaving the driver uninsured in the event of a claim, though 94% of parents mistakenly believed they would be covered if they had to claim.
The message to parents is clear – you may not be helping your child in the long-term by fronting their policy.
Companies such as The Co-operative Insurance are attempting to tackle the huge problem posed by fronting. Head of Telematics, Steve Kerrigan, said, “Insurers such as ourselves are increasingly pricing car insurance based on the riskiest drivers rather than who is presented as the main driver in an effort to combat the impact of fronting.”
This tactic by insurers would result in higher premiums even for those policyholders whose son or daughter was genuinely just an occasional driver of the family car.
The study found that parents in the North East, Yorkshire and the South East front their children’s insurance more than other regions of the UK, but parents in East Anglia, Wales and the South West were the least likely to engage in the fraud.
Released On 20th Oct 2015
