Named Drivers: The Legal Way to Cut a New Driver’s Premium
When you’re trying to bring down the cost of your first car insurance policy, adding experienced named drivers is one of the easiest things to try.
For many new drivers, adding a parent as a named driver can reduce the premium, sometimes by hundreds of pounds. It only takes a few extra details when getting a quote, and you can compare the price before and after adding them.
There is one important rule, though: the person who drives the car most must always be listed as the main driver.
Why can adding a parent make insurance cheaper?
Insurers consider a wide range of factors when calculating your premium, including the people who will be driving the car.
New drivers generally represent a higher risk because they have less experience and little or no insurance history. Adding an older, experienced driver with a clean driving record can sometimes reduce the overall risk associated with the policy.
For example, if a parent will genuinely use the car occasionally, some of the driving will be done by someone with considerably more experience behind the wheel.
That doesn’t mean adding a parent will always make your insurance cheaper. The difference depends on the insurer, the car and the driving history of the person you add.
The easiest way to find out is to get quotes both ways and compare the results.
Who should you add as named drivers?
Parents are an obvious choice, but a named driver doesn’t necessarily have to be your mum or dad.
Generally, it makes sense to try someone who:
- Has plenty of driving experience
- Has a clean or relatively clean driving record
- Has few or no recent claims
- Will genuinely drive your car occasionally
Remember that the insurer will consider the named driver’s history too. Adding someone with recent claims, driving convictions or penalty points could actually increase your premium.
You also shouldn’t add someone purely to try to reduce the price if they’ll never drive the car. The information on your insurance policy should accurately reflect how the car will actually be used.
Will it affect the parent’s own insurance?
Simply being added to your policy doesn’t transfer their no-claims discount to you.
Their no-claims discount remains attached to their own insurance policy, so becoming a named driver on yours doesn’t use it up or reduce it.
However, if they’re involved in an accident while driving your car, they may need to declare that incident when getting future insurance quotes. Insurers commonly ask about previous accidents and claims regardless of which vehicle or policy was involved.
This is worth explaining before adding someone to your policy so everyone understands what they’re agreeing to.
Named drivers vs main driver
This is the most important distinction to understand.
The main driver should be the person who drives the car most.
A named driver is someone else who has permission and insurance cover to drive the vehicle.
So, if it’s your car and you drive it to work or college every day while your parent occasionally borrows it, you should be the main driver and your parent can be added as a named driver.
Don’t swap those roles simply because putting your parent down as the main driver produces a cheaper quote.
If you’re actually the main driver but deliberately list a parent instead, this is known as fronting. It’s a form of insurance fraud and can lead to serious consequences, including cancelled or voided cover and refused claims.
There’s a simple way to work out who should be listed as the main driver:
Who genuinely drives the car most?
That’s the person who should go down as the main driver.
How do you add named drivers?
You can usually add a named driver while getting your initial insurance quote.
You’ll normally need some basic information about them, which can include:
- Full name
- Date of birth
- Driving licence details
- Occupation
- Driving history
- Previous claims or accidents
- Driving convictions or penalty points
- Their relationship to you
Make sure you answer these questions accurately. The insurer uses the named driver’s information when calculating the overall risk and price of the policy.
You may also be able to add someone after your policy has started, although your insurer could change your premium or charge an administration fee.
When getting a Rooster quote, you can add a named driver and see how they affect your price before committing to the policy.
Named drivers FAQs
How much can adding a parent save on car insurance?
There’s no fixed amount. Depending on the insurer, car and parent’s driving history, the difference could range from very little to hundreds of pounds.
Get a quote with and without the parent added to see whether it makes a difference in your circumstances.
Does a named driver actually have to drive the car?
They should genuinely be someone who will drive the car occasionally. Your policy needs to accurately reflect how the vehicle will be used.
If the named driver actually uses the car more than the person listed as the main driver, you may have incorrectly structured the policy.
Can a named driver build a no-claims discount?
Generally, a traditional transferable no-claims discount belongs to the policyholder rather than named drivers.
Some insurers may recognise named-driver experience or offer their own discounts, but this varies between providers.
Does being a named driver affect a parent’s insurance?
Simply being named on another policy doesn’t use their no-claims discount. However, if they’re involved in an accident, they may need to declare it when getting future insurance quotes, even if the accident happened in your car.
Can I add more than one named driver?
Usually, yes. Many insurers allow you to add several drivers to a policy.
However, every additional driver can affect the price differently. Rather than assuming more named drivers will automatically make your insurance cheaper, add each person to the quote and see what happens to the premium.
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