Why You Should Avoid Car Insurance Fronting

When it comes to purchasing car insurance, it’s common to do some shopping around, asking various companies for an insurance quote to see where you can get the best deal. This is a great way to ensure you are getting the best auto insurance for the best price.

And while that’s totally legal — and even encouraged — there is another common money-saving tactic for finding cheap insurance that is illegal: Car insurance fronting. While this may seem like a good idea in the moment, it could end up costing you big time. 

What is fronting?

Car insurance fronting is when someone, who is not the primary driver of a vehicle, tells their auto insurance company that they are the main driver to get a less expensive car insurance rate. In other words,  if you say you’re the main driver of a vehicle on an insurance policy when you actually aren’t, you are fronting. 

Why do people decide to front someone?

Car fronting is most common amongst high-risk drivers — those who have a hard time finding an auto insurance company who will cover them due to major traffic violations and tickets on their record or a history of car accidents that were their fault. High-risk drivers also include young drivers, under the age of 25, who have never had car insurance and those with poor credit. 

In these cases, people may have a hard time finding affordable car insurance policies or, in more extreme circumstances, an insurance company that will cover them at all. It’s in situations like these where car fronting becomes an attractive option. The high-risk driver may reach out to or rely on a low-risk driver to front them when it comes to getting an auto insurance quote. 

The most common situation where fronting is an issue is with parents and children. Because younger, less experienced drivers tend to receive higher insurance quotes when shopping around, it’s not uncommon for parents to step in and try to find a loophole in the process by claiming they — the older, more experienced driver — will be the one using the vehicle the majority of the time. As innocent as it may seem, car fronting is a serious matter. 

Is fronting considered insurance fraud? 

Yes! Car fronting is illegal, and if you engage in it, you are committing insurance fraud and could be sued by your insurance company. Plus, insurance fraud is a punishable crime. From hefty fines to driving bans to jail time if law enforcement gets involved, there are immediate and long term consequences for car fronting that could cost you — even more than a regular insurance policy would have. And if you thought it was hard to get auto insurance before because of a high-risk driver status, if you are convicted of insurance fraud, you are almost guaranteed to have higher premiums or be denied a car insurance policy altogether. 

Am I a culprit of car insurance fronting?

By now you’re probably going over your auto insurance policy in your head, trying to figure out if you are a culprit of car fronting. There’s no need to worry for long because it’s actually pretty simple to determine; just ask yourself this question:

Who is the main driver of the vehicle? 

For policies with more than one driver, you’ll need to think for a moment about who drives the car most frequently. Is that person driving to and from a regular, consistent destination like work or school?

If your name is on the auto insurance policy but someone else is using the car more than you, you may be a culprit of car fronting. Considering daily use and percentage of use are also good ways to determine who your car insurance company would consider the main driver of a vehicle. If the true main driver is the name assigned to the car on the insurance policy, you are in the clear!

Price-friendly alternatives to car insurance fronting

However, if you know that you have fronted someone on an auto insurance policy, or you had someone do it for you to save money, the time is now to find legal alternatives for inexpensive car insurance.

Even if the insurance company hasn’t caught on yet if you find yourself in a situation where you have to file a car insurance claim it may become too hard to hide. And the last thing you need while trying to navigate an insurance claim is having to navigate an insurance fraud charge at the same time. 

While car fronting may seem like your best option for inexpensive car insurance, the risks and repercussions are simply not worth the potential reward, especially when there are other ways to save money on car insurance, like finding car insurance companies who have affordable policies designed specifically for high-risk drivers. 

If you’re looking for cheap auto insurance to cover you, your child, or another high-risk driver, look no further. Humble Eagle is here to provide you with an exceptional car insurance policy at an even better price. Contact us today for your free online quote and say goodbye to feeling like your only option for cheap car insurance is car fronting. There is a better way!