Parents falsify car insurance to save children money
Forty one per cent of parents are illegally fronting their children's car insurance despite knowing that it is against the law, according to figures from the Co-operative Insurance.
Car insurance fronting occurs when a higher risk driver, such as a younger driver, is added as a named driver to a car insurance policy, when they are actually the main driver or owner of the vehicle.
If a driver is found to be fronting they may have all or part of their claim refused by their insurer, their policy cancelled and could even face prosecution for fraud which could lead to a criminal record.
This worrying set of statistics is exacerbated by other research which has found that nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of young drivers questioned on the road safety charity, Brake, and The Co-operative Insurance's unique road safety awareness website 2young2die.org.uk have admitted to driving without any insurance at all.
Tim Franklin, Chief Operating Officer at The Co-operative Financial Services, said: "The view that car 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."
The Co-operative Insurance recognises the challenges facing parents and young drivers in obtaining car insurance and believes that collaboration is needed by all parties to address the issue.
Tim continues: "We recognise that the current economic situation may be acting as a catalyst for car insurance fronting and we are continuing our work to ensure younger drivers have access to competitive and fairly priced car 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.
"We also provide flexible insurance for young drivers where their premiums can be calculated based upon where, when and how they drive, whilst we also continue to accept the Pass Plus driver training qualification as a means of providing further insurance discount.
"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."