Nearly half of all parents are illegally fronting car insurance policies for their children, even though they know it to be illegal.

Figures from The Co-Operative Insurance show that 41% of parents are illegally fronting car insurance on a regular basis.

Fronting car insurance is when a driver within a higher risk category – most often a younger driver – is added to a car insurance policy as an added driver, even though they might own the vehicle, or in fact be the main driver.

And as regards fronting car insurance, The Co-Operative Insurance goes onto reveal that 61% of parents who are currently ‘fronting’, would happily do so again in the future.

What’s more, 57% parents know that fronting car insurance is illegal.

But when parents know that fronting car insurance can save them nearly £200 in premiums, the incentive is there to continue.

And the research also found out that 33% of parents know roughly two others who are fronting car insurance policies, or have done so in the past.

The conclusion of the research questions whether parents taking such actions really understand the consequences of fronting car insurance policies. Should they be discovered, the claim might be refused, the policy cancelled, or even a prosecution for fraud might be brought by the insurance company.

Chief Operating Officer at The Co-operative Financial Services, Tim Franklin, said:
“The view that motor insurance fronting is harmless and doesn’t hurt anyone could not be further from the truth. Parents who believe they are helping their children to save money by fronting are not only risking prosecution, but harming their chances of obtaining insurance in the future.

“We recognise that the current economic situation may be acting as a catalyst for motor insurance fronting and we are continuing our work to ensure younger drivers have access to competitive and fairly priced motor insurance. Through our partnership with the Road Safety Charity, Brake, we continue to educate young drivers about the importance of responsible driving through our interactive 2Young2Die website and resource materials.

“There are equally a number of things which young drivers can do to help reduce their premiums such as researching the insurance banding of vehicles before buying and ensuring that immobilisers and alarms are fitted. The quicker younger drivers start earning no claims discount by being the main driver, the more affordable this makes insurance for them in the long-run.”

The message is clear, think before you consider fronting car insurance policies.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

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