Renault Clio III - Insurance advice

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Mon 16 Dec 2019 13:09
Renault Clio III - Insurance advice - malct

Hi, We have a 1.5 Renault clio on a 17 plate and next month i need to insure the car.

normally i can insure the car for around £200 and lucky to do 8000 miles a year

I am looking for advice on who's name to insure the car in.

I am 58 years old and my wife is 45 and my wife uses the car more than me since she works and i am retired.

I understand at some point, my insurance will go up with my age, so now i am thinking, when should i think about insuring the car in my wife's name who only passed her test 30 months ago.

since my wife passed her test , she is the named 2nd driver.

I understand that some married couples take turns in insuring the car!! And advice on this?

on another note on the main driver , My wife does more miles than me due to going back and forth to work, but if we are going out for the day, then i always drive.

Any tips or advice would be great.

Thank you

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Mon 16 Dec 2019 14:47
Renault Clio III - Insurance advice - catsdad
Aren't you answering your own question? If your wife does more miles than you, she is by definition the main driver. It's a moot point whether the insurer will ever pick this up unless you tell them but there is a theoretical risk they could investigate in the unfortunate event of a major claim. That aside I presume she is specifically insured to drive to and from work? Just beware that if she then uses the car for work calls/errands she needs cover for business use.

As for when the age/experience differential impacts on costs then you could create dummy quotes on any of the car insurance comparison sites with your and you wife's details reversed to see what effect it has as to which is the main driver. Maybe I am over cautious but when I've browsed sites to check options I use dummy names to avoid any issues.

I would be surprised if there are currently material cost differences whoever is the main driver as I think 58 is too young to incur much penalty. However insurance can provide surprises. But don't lie about who is the main driver to save a few quid. It could just bite you.
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Tue 17 Dec 2019 06:37
Renault Clio III - Insurance advice - expat
Maybe I am over cautious but when I've browsed sites to check options I use dummy names to avoid any issues.

I would clear the cookies also before you go back to a site. They use those to track people logging into their web site and adjust prices accordingly. It isn't the only way they do tracking but it is one you can control. The airline sites track people so that they can increase the prices for people who come back a second time. They assume that you have been elsewhere and not found a better deal so they try to take advantage of that. I would not be surprised to find insurance doing that also.

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Tue 17 Dec 2019 12:37
Renault Clio III - Insurance advice - Gibbo_Wirral
I would clear the cookies also before you go back to a site. They use those to track people logging into their web site and adjust prices accordingly. It isn't the only way they do tracking but it is one you can control.

I'm not sure if it was on here or not, but someone had their insurance cancelled because they'd been putting lots of different details into a comparison site and then selected the cheapest.

Clearing cookies is all well and good but there's one factor that won't change - the car reg.

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Mon 16 Dec 2019 14:49
Renault Clio III - Insurance advice - madf

If your wife is using it to drive to work,,, I would recommend she is the main driver for insurance purposes..And insure in her name.

If she has an accident driving to/from work, there can then be no quibbles about insurance cover..

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Mon 16 Dec 2019 14:55
Renault Clio III - Insurance advice - badbusdriver

Completely agree with catsdad, as your wife does the most miles she is the main driver, so the insurance should be in her name.

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Mon 16 Dec 2019 15:42
Renault Clio III - Insurance advice - Falkirk Bairn

Simplest & Cheapest way

Insure the car in your name as the owner in your name with your wife as main driver.

I assume you have some NCB - she does not as she is just a name on the policy.

Simples

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Fri 27 Dec 2019 14:55
Renault Clio III - Insurance advice - HGV ~ P Valentine

I do not see what difference it makes as to who you put as the main driver, and since you both use the car I do not reckon that the mileage makes a difference either unless it is excessive.

I would only suggest ( don't really know for sure ) that the person who has had their driving license the longest go as main driver as it may reduce the cost of the insurance, the idea being the more experience you have the less likely you are to have an accident.

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Mon 16 Dec 2019 19:20
Renault Clio III - Insurance advice - FiestaOwner
I am 58 years old and my wife is 45 and my wife uses the car more than me since she works and i am retired.

My policy is with Direct Line. I am the policy holder and I also have 1 additional named driver on the policy.

Being the policy holder I automatically have business cover with Direct Line. My named driver doesn't have business cover, don't think they would be covered for commuting either.

I would think your wife should be the policyholder and the main driver. However, check she is covered for commuting and/ or business use as required (often these uses can be at extra cost).

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Tue 17 Dec 2019 10:34
Renault Clio III - Insurance advice - malct

Thank you for your replies

I guess i have been interpreting "main driver" differently to what the insurance companies will think, Because i will cover more miles in the car over the year than the wife, But only drive the car a couple of times a week compared to the wife driving 5 times a week.

I was concerned about getting my wife some no claims on her driving history, But maybe wait a few more years.

Regards NCD, I always protect.

Regards Business usage, My wife does work in a restaurant and i keep telling her NOT to use the car for anything, and last night on Ch 5 was a Police program where a lady got caught using her mobile and she told the police that she was checking with her boss where the delivery address was, She had no business insurance and her car was taken off her.

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Tue 17 Dec 2019 11:47
Renault Clio III - Insurance advice - RichardW

It would be best to ask the advice of the people insuring the car, rather than bunch of randoms in a forum who hope they have the right answer....!

It may cost a few extra quid to get the 'right' answer, but that will cheap compared to the cost if there is a prang, and they decide you have given the 'wrong' answer!!

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Tue 17 Dec 2019 12:35
Renault Clio III - Insurance advice - malct

My insurance is due next month, so yes, I will check it all out and make sure everything is above board

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Tue 17 Dec 2019 18:04
Renault Clio III - Insurance advice - catsdad
Malct good luck. You do need to be clear on main user. Perhaps it's a typo but you specifically said she did more miles than you in your first post then said the opposite today?

It sounds as if she is potentially using the car for business outside the scope of the policy and if so you both risk prosecution as you are allowing an uninsured driver to drive your car. Again you'd be unlucky to be pulled but in the event of an accident she (and you) would be exposed to that risk.

Despite this I am sure you will be able to sort it out and sleep soundly.
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Tue 17 Dec 2019 18:49
Renault Clio III - Insurance advice - badbusdriver

My wife does more miles than me due to going back and forth to work

Confused dot com?!

I guess i have been interpreting "main driver" differently to what the insurance companies will think, Because i will cover more miles in the car over the year than the wife

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Mon 23 Dec 2019 12:56
Renault Clio III - Insurance advice - malct

Just a update.

Spoken to the insurance company regards my wife driving.

since my renewal in due in a month time (19th Jan 2020), I was made aware that they would cancel the insurance from now until i re insured the car.

Basically, I had to hand over my NCD and put them into my wifes name, Either that or she would be starting at 0 NCD at £600, So by transferring, It made little difference to the price, Mind you, the lady first quoted £260, then it went to £224 and when she pressed buy, it came out at £204 and £13 back from unused days on my last policy.

Least's its all sorted now and above board

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Mon 23 Dec 2019 16:30
Renault Clio III - Insurance advice - thunderbird

I was made aware that they would cancel the insurance from now until i re insured the car.

Just to make you aware, whenever you insure a car in the future when you are asked the question "have you ever had a policy cancelled" you will have to say yes. They may well accept your explanation that it was because the main driver had changed but if they don't you will be entering a whole world of pain and expense.

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Mon 23 Dec 2019 18:30
Renault Clio III - Insurance advice - malct

Hi Thunderbird, just spoke to the rac motor insurance regards the cancellation and everything is ok, they said that it was me who cancelled the policy and not them, it was the fact that I would not be insured it I carried on using the car with me been named driver and because I took out the new policy with the new details, everything is good and do not need to declare anything.

On another note, never knew that you can transfer my NCD to my wife, but I cannot transfer them back during the term of the insurance and not all insurance companies allow people to transfer,

Not sure on the long term effects on this, will my wife start earning no claims in her own right, do I still maintain my NCD, Google isn't giving much in the way of Answers

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Thu 26 Dec 2019 09:08
Renault Clio III - Insurance advice - Robert J.
Afraid you only have one NCD. If you transfer it onto your wife’s policy you will not be able to use it yourself. She will of course continue to accumulate NCD (without any claims) and could transfer it back into your name at next renewal time. If you want a NCD record for both of you, you will need two policies and another vehicle to insure.
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Fri 27 Dec 2019 14:57
Renault Clio III - Insurance advice - HGV ~ P Valentine

PS

I would advise against taking turns you will lose any no claims bonus, and have no chance of building it up.

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