Earn no claims bonus as a named driver

A named driver is a person who is legally allowed to drive the same vehicle as the main driver and whose name has been registered on the car insurance policy for that particular vehicle. The policyholder is the one who will be using the car the most and is regarded as the main driver by the car insurance company. You can add other drivers on the insurance policy and they will become the second, third, fourth driver etc. The additional drivers are referred to as the named drivers on the policy.

How it works

The de facto standard is that car insurance companies award no claims discount (NCD) only to the main driver/policyholder. So if a son has been driving on his dad's policy, he will not have any no claims bonus (NCB) when he takes out car insurance for himself, that is, have a policy in his own name. There are however a few companies out there which will allow you to earn NCD while being a named driver. They probably realised they were penalising for no reason good drivers who have not claimed.

What's the catch

Just like "if it's too good to be true, it probably is", there are 3 things which you need to be aware of with this named driver no claims discount(NDNCD):

• First, you have to stay with the same insurer to take advantage of that scheme; you cannot use the NDNCD you got from Directline if you plan to move to Aviva for instance as it is not transferable
• Second, you *may* not receive the same amount of discount as the main driver does; so if the main driver gets 50% discount for being 1 year claim-free, you may only get 45% (check with your respective insurer to know the exact details)
• Third, you need to be purchasing a car insurance policy in your name name; you therefore need to shift from a named driver to being the main driver/policyholder

Please also note further restrictions such as an age and/or NCD limits can be enforced. For example, an insurer may state you only become eligible for NDNCD once you reach 19 and you can only get up to 3 years discount max. Always check the tiny print!

The insurers who reward named drivers for being claim-free

Many young drivers start by being on their parents' policy first and it is great to know insurers are taking this into account now and offering discount for those who can show a good driving record. Below is a list of car insurance companies which value their named drivers:

• Direct Line Car Insurance (first company to offer NDNCD!)
• Co-operative Insurance (named drivers get 50% off 1st year, 60% 2nd year and 65% the 3rd year)
• Privilege (ability to earn up to 5 years NDNCD)
• Aviva
• Churchill
• Admiral
• Diamond
• Elephant
• The AA
• Tesco

Although it would be ideal if you could take out a car insurance policy in your own name right from the start, we understand that sometimes it may not be a viable solution because of affordability. In those cases, NDNCD is a great way to earn NCD by redeeming your good driving for some well earned discounts.

If you have any questions or would like to share your experience about NDNCD, please leave a comment .