Children’s car insurance policies could be illegal

The price comparison site 'moneysupermarket.com' has published figures showing that many parents are unknowingly breaking the law when signing up for car insurance.

The figures show that more than fifty per cent of drivers add their children as second named drivers on their insurance policies, rather than the child taking out a policy in their own name in order to save on premiums, known as "fronting". However it is illegal to do so and constitutes insurance fraud.

If the fraud is discovered by the insurance company, the insurance policy is likely to be invalidated and the child and/or parent in question, to be found guilty of driving without insurance.

What's more, it will soon be the law that even being in possession of an uninsured vehicle can give rise to fines and seizure of the vehicle concerned, following the forthcoming implementation of the new Continuous Insurance Enforcement regime, in June.

Drivers that are registered on the DVLA'S register but do not have insurance may be notified of this fact, allowing them to obtain insurance before being caught by the regime. However, such notification should not be relied on and drivers would be best advised to ensure that they have the correct insurance in place immediately or that they have applied for a Statutory Off Road Notice confirming that their vehicle is not in use.