Car insurance

What is fronting?

Fronting means putting someone (usually a parent) on an insurance policy as the main driver and yourself as a named driver, when actually you'll be the one driving the car most of the time.

Fronting is used as a way to make an insurance policy cheaper, as the main driver will usually have more driving history and therefore be seen as a lower risk.

What's wrong with fronting?

Where do I even begin?

1. It's illegal

   That's quite a big one. Knowingly putting the wrong information on your policy is insurance fraud. That is very, very bad.

   Say you're going off to uni and you need a car as your halls are way off campus. You can't afford a policy with you as the main driver, so your dad puts you down as a named driver and himself as the main driver.

   You go merrily off to Cardiff Uni and promptly crash the car. Your parents live in Cornwall and the insurance company starts to take an interest in why your dad's car is the other end of the UK. They put 2 and 2 together (insurers are quite good at that) and suddenly you or your dad could be looking at a fraud charge.

   Insurance fraud is a criminal offence, so you or Dad could also be facing a criminal record, which has serious consequences. Ironically, one of those is much higher insurance - insurers tend to charge you more if you've had cover cancelled or refused in the past.

   Looks like you'll be walking into uni every day after all.

2. You're not covered

   If the details on your policy are incorrect, your policy could be invalid. That means you're driving without valid insurance - which is also illegal.

   If you crashed, not only would you face a big bill for any repairs because your insurer could refuse to pay out; you'd also risk being charged with driving without insurance. That's another criminal offence that affects your insurance in the future.

      

3. You're not earning your own No Claims Discount

   As a new driver, you need all the help you can get when it comes to those insurance costs.

   Aside from getting a black box, your No Claims Discount is your best friend.

   Your first year as an insured driver will be expensive but if you get to the end of it without making a claim, your insurance will probably drop considerably.

   

   If you're a named driver on someone else's policy (fraudulent or not), you're not earning your own NCD. So if you decide to get your own policy the next year, the chances are you'll still face that big cost.

I know: being a new driver can be scarily expensive. But there are other ways to get those insurance costs down - legal ones!