suggestions for learner driver insurance

[andrewbishop66]

our daughter is just learning to drive (aged 17) and is the proud owner of a 63 minor. We are having a problem sorting out insurance for her, any suggestions or info would be gratefully received. We looked at footman james but sadly she does not reach the criteria, i.e not 25 with full license.
thanks Andrew Bishop

[mike.perry]

Is she a member of the MMOC? There should be a scheme for young learner drivers through the MMOC insurance with FJ. I insured my daughter, aged 17 to learn to drive in my Minor with what was then Aon, now FJ. If you are having any problems then contact the Derby Office.

[Blaketon]

This subject came up on another thread and I said

I'm surprised that Minor insurance would be silly money (Or rather more silly than normal). They are not usually driven by boy racers and relatively, they are not costly to repair.

My first car (1982) was a 1974 Mini 1000 and that cost me £148 TPF&T. I think, relatively, things have gone up since then.

I can still remember the "Young driver" stuff. Yes, we have lots of boy racers, who drive "Prattmobiles" locally and they are a menace. However , when I was 19 years old, I saw a complete idiot, trying to overtake over a brow, on a three lane road, into a roundabout. I had not long joined the road and the joker concerned was a couple of cars in front. The white line was against him but it didn't stop him trying to overtake and having a near miss. As I approached the brow, I saw him pull out again and disappear over it. Then I saw tyre smoke and as I got to the roundabout, he was on top of it. He reversed out, nearly collecting a car that was coming round and drove off erratically. The driver was 65 if he was a day. I have never forgotten that and it just goes to show, you can’t always judge a book by its cover. Yes, if the car has silly over the top plastic appendages, those woeful “Ponse” lights, that boy racers seem to fit to the rear of their cars and a two gallon tail pipe, then that might be a clue but a pretty obvious one.

That doesn't really help you I know but as Mike said, your best bet could be via the club. I've been with http://www.peterbestinsurance.co.uk/ for years and they have all my cars on risk.

Before I was 25, I used Jack Wallis Partnership (Bear in mind my MG Midget is fairly highly modified). I can't find them on Google, so maybe they are no more. The only reference to them, I could find, was in the MG Car Club V8 Register Notes. They say

70. Insurance for the MGBV8
Godfrey Joly
Now the cost of insurance for the MGBGTV8 is a topic V8 enthusiasts have to bear in mind but there are two items of good news on that front, both provided by our friendly brokers, the Jack Wallis Partnership in Southampton. Report from Victor Smith. (Jun 80)

This is somewhat out of date!!!

If its any consolation, I have just had the renewal for said modified Midget (Valued at £10000, 1500 miles per annum) and the total premium, plus extras, come to £111.00 It does get better .

[andrew.searston]

best to have ur own insurance as i would never live it down if i crashed a car and lost my dads no claims.
my bro is paying £2100 a year for a pug 106
so roughly what do people recon a year full comp for a 17 year old???

[MColes]

When I passed my test aged 19, my own policy, 948 engine, standard car no mods, fully comp and unlimited mileage my first years insurance cost me £1200 . This year the renewal cost me almost £700, which is still a lot but I was happy as it was a lot less than last year.

As an aside I swapped my car a few weeks back to a later minor with a 1098 engine, alloys, spax suspension and the price did not increase - just an admin fee of £20 to switch the polic over.

[andrew.searston]

not to bad then nothing near as much as what my brother is paying

[aupickup]

insurances for youngsters was all ways expensive even in the 60`s when i learnt to drive and my first car was a morris 1000 van and that cost me £50.00 a year, 3rd party fire and theft and i had a triumph tr6 that cost me £150.00 a year fully comprehensive

[MColes]

If you limit the mileage could be a lot less. I asked how much it would be if I limited my mileage to 3000 miles and the price went down to around £800-£850 I didn't go with that though as I thought I'd do more miles than that (turned out the car was on ramps more than I drove it ).

Worth limiting your mileage if you can to get the price down. If I remember correctly with Footman James you could either limit the mileage to 3000 or 6000, above 6000 had to be unlimited. Dont know if these mileage bands have changed since they merged with AON.

[StaffsMoggie]

Does anyone else agree that the way insurers treat young drivers is nothing but legalised age discrimination?

While it is true that there are many young prats on the road with no respect for other drivers or the law, there are just as many older drivers whos driving leaves much to be desired.

Even the classic policy providers want it their own way. No cover for under 25s and must have full licence? Just what do they think a learner in a Moggie is going to do? They are not exactly the fastest car on the road after all...

[aupickup]

its allways been like that

[Blaketon]

Does anyone else agree that the way insurers treat young drivers is nothing but legalised age discrimination?

See my post above. My answer is Yes but in some cases with good reason. What I objected to was the automatic stereotyping. I used to ask people whether all older drivers were nutters because I had seen one crash on to the middle of a roundabout.

It can work at the other end of the scale. One of the reasons why my parents each have a car is that they are both now over 70 and they each have insurance in their own names. So we understand, once you are over 70, it is difficult to get cover if you don't already have it or to swap companies. The other reason is that my father wanted an MG Midget . He has sort of come full circle, as his first car was an MGA (Though he had two other MGs in the past).

As Andrew.searston says, it is better to get your own cover, as you can build up NCB (Though some classic policies don't have this). Also there is the issue of losing someone else's NCB. Also bear in mind that if the young named driver is the main user, then the price will be the same as if that driver were the policy holder. If you tell porkies, as to who is the main driver, then your insurance is void!!!!

[andrewbishop66]

I was only going by F J web site
She is a mmoc member so I will ring them on monday

Thanks Andrew

[mike.perry]

You did not say that you had only looked at the literature and not actually enquired, quoting membership number. The MMOC went to considerable lengths some years ago to negotiate the young drivers policy. I know because it was partly in response to my requests.
Should you encounter any problems then you should remind them of the policy.

[Sidney'61]

Phone up the insurance companies rather than their websites, although the websites say only over 25, if you phone them them up they will insure people younger (I'm 18 and with FJ). If they are being awkward and they won't then phone up a different day and talk to somebody else (it's amazing how different some quotes can be between different people in the same company!)
I didn't manage to get provisional insurance on the minor but after i passed my test (17) it cost £960 fully comp on a modified 1275 minor limited to 4500 miles.

[hotrodder13]

i managed to get provisional insurace with FJ for £600 third party fire and theft. when i passed my test 2 months later i told them and they changed it to full cover for the same amount. thats a standard 1098cc minor with disk and a servo

[MColes]

i managed to get provisional insurace with FJ for £600 third party fire and theft. when i passed my test 2 months later i told them and they changed it to full cover for the same amount. thats a standard 1098cc minor with disk and a servo

How old were you when you passed your test? How long ago did you pass? Is the policy in your own name?

[hotrodder13]

i was 17 im still 17 passed about 5 months ago and it is my own policy

[MColes]

Any mileage limit on your policy? Otherwise I feel slighty ripped off

[hotrodder13]

no ive got unlimited miles. it would have been 900 pound fully comp but they wouldnt let me change after i passed why how much is yours can i ask.

[MColes]

When I passed my test (last year) I was 19, my own policy, 948 engine, standard car no mods, fully comp and unlimited mileage my first years insurance cost me £1200 . I think the high price was due to the fact that the car I had at the time should have had a 803cc engine in it - FJ seem to frown upon modifications from original spec.

This year the renewal cost me almost £700, which is still a lot but I was happy as it was a lot less than last year.