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What is fronting?

A major problem in the insurance industry at the moment is the issue of 'fronting'. Fronting occurs when a young person is the most frequent user on the car but the insurer is falsely told that a parent is the main driver. This practice has financial and legal ramifications.

We try to ensure that every one has the correct premium by ensuring that all our customers are on the correct policy for their circumstances. Whilst we know the vast majority of our customers have taken out their insurance in good faith, we want to ensure that nobody be caught out in a situation whereby we will not cover a claim due to an invalid policy.

Young Drivers: Fronting

The Financial Ombudsman Service claims it currently handles between 100 and 200 fronting disputes each year, indicating that car insurers could be dealing with around 1000 'fronting' claims cases in a year¹. These claims often end up with the claimant facing prosecution, and potentially prison.

We understand that it can sometimes be unclear who the main driver of a car is so we have provided clarification below to explain situations in which we would treat the young driver as the 'main driver'.

  • If a young driver regularly uses a car to drive to or from work / place of education then they should be the registered main driver.
  • If a young driver uses the car on a daily basis, then they should be the registered main driver.
  • If the car is maintained by the young driver, then they should be the main driver.

If you think that your policy may need amending, or you would like to discuss this with our customer services team, then please do not hesitate to contact us on: 0845 673 0000

(¹ Source: BBC Radio 4's Moneybox Programme, 20th October 2007)

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