Fronting happens when someone knowingly gives false details about the main driver, often to reduce the premium. It can amount to insurance fraud.
Fronting is when someone knowingly gives an insurer false information about who will be the main driver of a car or van. This is often done in an attempt to obtain a lower premium.
A common example is a parent taking out a policy in their own name and listing their child as a named driver, even though the child uses the car most often. Report Fraud describes this as a type of insurance fraud known as fronting..
The policyholder and main driver do not always need to be the same person. It is also legal to add other people as named drivers. However, the details given to the insurer must accurately reflect how the vehicle will be used.
The main driver is usually the person who uses the vehicle most often or makes most of its regular journeys.
An insurer may consider:
• who drives to work, school or university
• each driver’s expected mileage
• who owns and keeps the vehicle
• where the vehicle is kept overnight
• who uses it at weekends or for longer trips
Insurers may assess this in different ways. You should answer each question based on the facts and ask the insurer or broker if you are unsure.
Check the policy terms and contact the insurer or broker if the pattern of use changes, for example if a named driver is expected to take over the daily commute or become the main user. Tell the insurer about any change the policy requires you to report.
When buying personal insurance, a customer has a legal duty to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation.
Incorrect information about the main driver can affect how the insurer assesses the risk, decides whether to offer cover and calculates the premium.
Where information is inaccurate, the first question is whether the customer took reasonable care when answering the insurer’s questions. If reasonable care was not taken, a qualifying misrepresentation may be classed as careless or as deliberate or reckless.
The insurer’s remedy depends on that classification and what it would have done if it had received the correct information. The remedies for a qualifying misrepresentation may include applying different terms, changing a claim payment or, in some circumstances, treating the policy as if it had not existed.
An insurer may investigate the information given when arranging a policy or handling a claim. It may check who uses the vehicle, the journeys being made and where the vehicle is normally kept.
Depending on the findings, the policy terms and applicable law, the insurer may ask for more evidence, apply different terms or a different premium, reduce or refuse a claim, or cancel or avoid the policy where the law permits.
A customer may also need to disclose a cancelled or void policy when applying for insurance in the future, where an insurer asks for this information.
A finding of fronting does not automatically mean that an uninsured-driving offence has been committed. This will depend on the policy position and whether the driver had valid cover at the time.
Drivers must have at least third-party motor insurance to use a vehicle on UK roads. In England, Scotland and Wales, driving without valid insurance can lead to a £300 fixed penalty and six penalty points. If the case goes to court, the driver can receive an unlimited fine or be disqualified, and the police may seize the vehicle. Separate rules and penalties apply in Northern Ireland.
Always state who will really be the main driver. Give accurate details about mileage, commuting, business use, vehicle ownership and where the vehicle is kept.
Adding an experienced person as a named driver is not fronting when they genuinely use the vehicle and the correct main driver is declared. Whether this affects the premium will depend on the insurer and the full details.
Check the policy documents when you receive them. Contact the insurer or broker if any information is wrong and follow the policy’s requirements for reporting later changes.
Ask the insurer to explain its decision and the information it relied on. You can follow its complaints process if you believe the policy or claim has not been handled fairly.
After the insurer has had the opportunity to respond, eligible customers may be able to take a motor insurance complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
We arrange car insurance, van insurance and convicted driver insurance through a range of insurers.
We will ask about each driver and how the vehicle is used. Providing full and accurate information helps insurers assess the risk correctly.
Taking reasonable care to answer these questions accurately helps insurers assess the risk using the correct information.
