Warning to parents on car insurance 'fronting'

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Many parents are inadvertently committing insurance fraud by putting their children on their own motor policies, it was warned today.

"Fronting" involves parents insuring a vehicle under their own name, despite the fact that it is used mostly by their son or daughter.

But the Motor Insurance Bureau warned that not only was this illegal, but by declaring false information on their policy, people were invalidating their insurance, meaning they would not be able to claim on it.

It added that, by failing to have the correct insurance in place, the policyholder and driver also ran the risk of incurring penalties, fines and even being prosecuted.

Despite the potential penalties, 35% of drivers said they thought fronting was just a loophole in the law, while 10% viewed it as a legitimate way of obtaining cheaper motor insurance.

Ashton West, chief executive of MIB, said: "There is a lot of confusion amongst drivers about the importance of giving accurate information about the main driver to an insurer.

"There is a need to help drivers understand and appreciate the importance of being adequately insured."

* YouGov questioned 2,342 people during December.