Nobodycould have been more surprised than I was when I learned that I could have my 17-year-oldson as a named driver on my DLA insurance policy.  Certain models that appear on the Motabilitywebsite make the point of forbidding anyone under 25 years from driving, butthis is a lad who just passed his driving-test, at the first attempt, only lastApril.  We have paid nearly £1,500.00 tohave him as a named driver on his Nanny’s little Fiat, so to find out he coulddrive mine for an additional £73.00 p.a. came as something of a shock!

OK,so there are additional factors, like an insurance excess of £450.00 for anyclaim where he is the driver, but that is reduced to £300.00 if he has takenthe ‘PassPlus’, which he has.

Thequestion arises, however, that the DLA  car must be of principal benefit to thedisabled person in whose name the car is registered, regardless of whether ornot they can drive. A disabled teenager of 16 can qualify to drive; DLA carscan be fitted with mobility aids that enable even the most challengedparaplegic to live independently.  Ablind person can qualify, too. It must, therefore, be understood that the caris for the principal benefit of the claimant.

Asa DLA driver, I am only too happy to let my wife take the car to go to Tesco; Iwill benefit from the things she buys. My lad can now drive my car to the pharmacy to collect my prescriptions;that’s a benefit.  And if he is preparedto share the driving when we go and watch the Wolves play, well, that’s abenefit, too. But he can’t use it to drive to the V Festival or Glastonbury.

Havingsomeone to share the driving is one obvious benefit, and someone who can runerrands when you don’t feel up to it yourself is another.

Thepresent cost of motor-insurance for under-24s is a huge impediment to youngpeople gaining driving experience; in fact, the premium is increased when theyoung driver passes their driving-test. For those reaching the age of 25,premiums are reduced quite significantly, provided there have been no claims,of course, and, as an additional bonus, for someone of that age who can showevidence of having been a named driver on another policy, there will be furtherreductions.

Richard