My sister was just handed down a Corolla from a family member as she is turning 18 in 2 weeks but is still only a learner driver and will be till at least the end of the year. I have found Budget Direct I had problems with insuring her. She is the registered owner of the car. I'm looking at comprehensive insurance can anyone point me in the right direction with what company is best for this situation?
Best Insurance for Learner Driver
1271190 on 26/05/2016 - 18:30
Comments
With the self insurance, how many years of saving and no accidents would you need in order to save about $20k for a new car you hit? Or even more if you hit a lux car.
How many of you have caused an accident involving tens of thousands worth of damage?
Accidents can happen to anyone, of course, but I've been driving for about 20 years and have never caused one. It's not that hard to be careful, obey speed limits, not text while driving, etc.
The driver in OPs case is Learner driver who is about to turn 18, why are you comparing your '20 years of experience' to an 18yo ??
You only need to cause 1 accident to rack up a huge bill. A new car door replacement can be $1k alone not including labour for a Jap car, probably more for a lux car. If you write off a BMW, you're gonna be saving for a long long time, or maybe even declare bankruptcy, unless you have ~$80k savings available since the day you started driving?
Self insurance is even stupider if you driver a brand new/expensive car. Insurance isn't only handy for when you're at fault, it's also handy when you're not at fault. Im pretty sure most people who were at fault in accidents thought they were being careful.
So you are suggesting not to take an insurance? What if she hits a bunch of expensive cars…with an average price of 70k+ mark on the freeway. They are all written off, and she now has a bill of $420,000 for just the vehicles. The owners now also want to claim loan car, trauma, personal injury etc. What happens then?
I think if you're speeding or texting on the freeway, half a mill in cash is not your biggest worry, not by a long shot.
Best to not drive in a way that has a significant chance of killing yourself or somebody else.
Driving cars is no joke.
You should know from your 20 years of driving experience, that you can still cause as accidents without speeding or texting- if not, then you're not very experienced despite the years. What do you think Learners/unconfident drivers lack compared to experienced drivers?
I don't think self insurance is quite right for her at this point. Thanks anyway though.
Self insurance isnt right for anyone, third party is a must at a minimum, as above having no insurance and being at fault means you're responsible for the other parties vehicles
I would have thought this would apply for all insurers?
Do I need to list a learner driver on my policy?
No, you don't need to list a learner driver on your policy.
If the learner has an accident, your excess will be calculated on the fully licensed driver accompanying the learner. Once the driver is on their probationary licence, they can be added to the insurance policy.
http://answers.nrma.com.au/app/answers/detail/a_id/18/relate…
She is the registered owner of the car might I add, I don't know it's all insurance company's but budget direct required the registered owner to be named on the policy and being 17 and a learner it raised flags and I was unable to proceed for the online form.
Isn't insurance, besides the compulsory third party insurance, a bit excessive? I recently got my P's and didn't have insurance at all whilst on my L'sl. The car was in my parent's name, and my name was only added into the insurance policy the day after I got my P's. I reckon you're the most careful on your L's because of fear of injuring, compared to on your P's where you develop the worse habits, hence insurance for your P's is vital.
so what you are saying is the car was insured, just that you weren't listed on your parents policy?
Third party property damage insurance is even more important as a learner. Only takes one little slip to damage something, and if that is a brand new car you're up for a pretty penny.
Insurance is essential if you drive a car.
I 'self insure' my car for its own value. Had a cheap car for around 8 years and saved a couple of hundred each year by sticking with third party property only. No need for comprehensive as I have had an at fault incident in over 20years and I have access to enough cash to either make a repair or buy a replacement cheap car if I do crash at fault.
Yes, when I was learning I wasn't in my parent's policy for comprehensive insurance nor the compulsory third party insurance. I was very careful and going really slow, couldn't get into a "fault accident", so I guess the only way I could get into "trouble" was if someone's car hit me.
Since the OP's sister's car is in her name, she would have to get the compulsory third party insurance. If she is driving an old car for learning, the compulsory third party insurance should suffice, don't need to get the comprehensive insurance, like what euphemistic did. Obviously have a few professional lessons first.
I was learning with a very old car, so it didn't matter if I did some cosmetic damage to my own car, which I did in carparks (scratches on paintwork).
Don't think you understood what I meant, or you aren't stating clearly. You say you weren't in your parents policy, but did they have a policy? If so, the vehicle was still covered, but if there was an incident you would have been covered, but had to pay an additional excess as a non listed driver.
If someone borrows my car and they aren't listed, the damage is still covered under my insurance, but with an additional excess.
Think you are also confusing CTP and TPP insurance. My car has compulsory third party (CTP) as part of the rego, it only covers injuries to other people and wouldn't cover damaging someone else's car. Third Party Property (TPP) covers damage to other cars or property, but not your own. Comprehensive covers damage to anything, including your own vehicle.
Doesn't matter how slow and careful you may drive, it is still vital to at least have third party property damage in a car. What if you, while driving slowly and carefully in traffic, had a front tyre blow out which swerved you into the car next to you? CTP is fine if the other driver is injured, but wont cover you for repainting the side of a BMW in metallic paint ($$$)
TLDR: If you can afford to run a car, you can't afford not to have TPP insurance as a minimum.
Can you not insure it in your name and just add her as a listed driver? I wasn't aware insurance companies even asked if you were the registered owner
if she is the registered owner of the car, then the policy has to be in her name.
If her Corolla isnt worth much Third party would be best.
You might get away by listing the driver who is teaching her as the most frequent driver, but the policy is normally rated on the youngest driver anyway.
Try Suncorp (they own most of the others eg NRMA, GIO, AAMI, Budget direct) as they wont decline any un-nominated driver, they just charge an undeclared driver excess.Thank you!
It is possible that getting your parents to cover the car might be cheaper by using a family discount arrangement. Some companies used to do this, not sure if it still happens. If was cheaper because of the no claim discount being applied to a new driver. I think it was because the insurance company thought if your parents were good drivers, then you were also more likely to be a good driver.
How old is the Corolla?
For older cars, and younger drivers, insurance is very expensive. I'd recommend you consider "self-insurance":
For my 1998 Corolla, I just saved the $800 a year (it'll be more for a learner) they wanted to insure it, and used that money to buy a 2011 Corolla when it died (in 2014).
Not only did I end up with a better car, for cheaper, I didn't have to worry about the company not paying me if I had a claim, and the money was there for other emergencies (it can sit in a home loan off-set account and "earn" you interest).