James May’s “pretend to be dad” comment criticised
Top Gear presenter James May's advice that parents should "front" insurance policies for their children has come under fire from insurers, the Guardian reports.
In Sunday's episode they raised the problems faced by young drivers, teenage males in particular, when trying to buy car insurance and suggested pretending to be “your dad”.
James May said: "It soon dawned on us that the only realistic way of getting covered when you are 17 is by going on your parents' insurance. So we got back on the phones pretending to be dad."
Hayley Parsons, chief executive of Gocompare.com is quoted as saying: "While few people would take Clarkson's suggestion that a sex change could help 17 year old boys halve their premiums seriously, fronting is a common fraud and we would urge parents to avoid the practice as, if found out, the consequences could be severe."
Richard Hammond did point out that drivers who do put themselves on their parent's insurance and then crash will find themselves without cover if the insurance company discovers the truth.
