You just can’t avoid car insurance. It’s a legal requirement but in the event of needing to make an accident claim or, more importantly, having one made against you, you’ll be grateful you have it. However, younger drivers have difficulty finding car insurance, never mind finding the cash to pay for it. If that sounds familiar, don’t be tempted to break the law to save a bit of cash. If there is ever an accident claim, you might very well regret it.

Not even half of the mainstream insurance companies in the UK will offer insurance to teenage drivers. A policy with one of those that will is likely to cost as much as £4,000 which is usually more than the car’s value. If a female teenage driver makes an accident claim, it is likely to be of lower value than one made by a male teenager, so it is the male teenagers who have the costliest policies.

Statistics support the insurance companies’ assumptions that teenage drivers are likely to have an accident claim made against them. Drivers in this age range are ten times more likely to either kill or injure another person on the roads than experienced drivers are. Nonetheless, some parents are acting illegally in their attempts to bring down insurance costs.

Around one fifth of teenage drivers have no insurance at all, according to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau. Many more do what is known as ‘fronting.’ This is when parents claim to be the main driver of a car and name their child as another driver when in fact the child is the main driver. This might seem like a money saving option but it is not a good idea. It is against the law.

If an accident claim is made and the insurance company suspects that the teenager was the main driver, there can be serious consequences. Parents and teenagers can be prosecuted and might find it difficult to get insurance again. Insurers can also refuse to pay out some or all of the accident claim settlement.

‘Fronting’ might seem harmless and surveys suggest many people are doing it. However it certainly isn’t worth risking prosecution, or the cost of a whole accident claim settlement if the insurance company refuses to, no matter how much money you could save.

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