Motoring Discussion > Insurance - Being a Medical Student Tax / Insurance / Warranties
Thread Author: zippy Replies: 35

 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - zippy
I am adding my eldest (provision driver) to the family car insurance and I am astonished to note that it is £489 as a student and £525 as a medical student. Any ideas as to the reasons?

It can't be because they go out drinking all the time - there isn't the time with all of their studying?

 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - ToMoCo
Too tired to drive safely after all that studying/stupid long hours placement?

I take it they (insurance co) must have actual stats that they deem medical students a higher risk.
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - henry k
>> Too tired to drive safely after all that studying/stupid long hours placement?
>>
May well be.

>> I take it they (insurance co) must have actual stats that they deem medical students a higher risk.
>>
On a motoring program a few days ago it was stated that GPs are number 1 for insurance claims and hospital consultants are number two.
Med students must be in there somewhere.
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - zippy
Suppose so. 30 to 35 hours of lectures each week then private study. Volunteering on the wards etc.

Still its a bit of a pain when you have to pay the extra premium without earning the extra money yet!
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - Alastairw
In my long ago experience the drunkest, hardest partying students were either medics or mechanical engineers. Might have something to do with it.
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - jc2
My insurance company at the time added my daughter for free provided she did not take it to her university when she was a medical student-her university(Cardiff)advertised that they had the most student bars of any university.She broke her wrist while there-we thought playing hockey for the university but one of her friends told us later that she fell over leaving a pub.
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - henry k
>> Suppose so. 30 to 35 hours of lectures each week then private study. Volunteering on
>> the wards etc.
>>
>> Still its a bit of a pain when you have to pay the extra premium without earning the extra money yet!
>>
It could be worse!
Daughter has still to complete training ( just had 3+ years "off" doing research and half time ward surgical work) She had another 18 months of training to consultant level.
Since sixth form ( no gap year) she will have 20 years of study/research/experience to consultant level so NHS salary is not fantastic after that slog.
Just as well she is dedicated to her role and the NHS.
I am staggered at private medical costs. Some car dealers servicing charges are higher than top surgeons labour charges.
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - rtj70
So what is her pre-tax salary then? Can't it get quite lucrative being an NHS consultant practising privately at the same time?
Last edited by: rtj70 on Thu 24 Jul 14 at 23:15
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - Alastairw
A consultant salary can be well into six figure ime. Granted they work hard, and have a lot of responsibility, but the previous Labour government's craven attitude when confronted by the BMA and others has resulted in a very inequitable system, in my opinion.
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - rtj70
>> A consultant salary can be well into six figure ime.

That's what I thought too. But Henry K seemed to imply their daughter was hard done by or something. By choice is what it sounds like for additional training. And no criticism about salary from me... we need consultants!

Back 30 years ago I could never have contemplated medical training and maybe I'm not the right sort of person. Now maybe I realise I could... Academically it would have been easy to get there.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Fri 25 Jul 14 at 00:58
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - henry k
>> >> A consultant salary can be well into six figure ime.
>>
>> That's what I thought too. But Henry K seemed to imply their daughter was hard
>> done by or something. By choice is what it sounds like for additional training. And
>> no criticism about salary from me... we need consultants!
>>
My daughter is not hard done by but not on a great salary. She is unbelievably dedicated and works far in excess of rostered hours - no overtime! She is undertaking research and specialist training which means she presents at conferences around the world ( now not on expenses) .
For a job saving lives (unfortunately not always) you certainly need the right mentality.

 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - henry k
>> So what is her pre-tax salary then?
I do not know. I do know she earns much much less than indicated in the link.
She is not working the full shifts as she is doing research - her choice.
www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/explore-by-career/doctors/pay-for-doctors/

She has already done four and a half years of research and committed to a further four years.
Hence not yet a consultant unlike some of her friends who were fellow med students.

Can't it get quite lucrative being an NHS consultant practising privately at the same time?
>>
I assume so. £100/150 per consultation but room has to be paid for.
Top surgeons and anaesthetists , _ I have paid just about £200 each
The big bills are for the hospital use - £1K a day plus ( outside Harley Street )
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - rtj70
Her choice to earn much much less. If indeed she does. I assume she earns enough.

I still wonder why you posted in this thread about car insurance. You posts have nothing to do with insurance. And only raises a topic about doctor salaries that you can't contribute to.
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - henry k
>> I still wonder why you posted in this thread about car insurance. You posts have
>> nothing to do with insurance.
My first post WAS about insurance for medics.

>>And only raises a topic about doctor salaries that you can't contribute to.
>>
Perhaps my contribution is that not all hospital doctors earn what the press publish ?
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - Mapmaker
Henry, your daughter has just managed to pack into the three years of a PhD (OK, four now but the last few months don't count) more than most people pack into an entire life.

No idea what she earns, but anybody who gets 'round to having lunch at 9pm' as she seems to deserves admiration!
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - henry k
Mapmaker.
Thanks for your kind words.
The amount she has packed into her life since leaving sixth form absolutely staggers me.
While working ward shifts / research etc. she also gained her FHEA to enhance her teaching skills.
That is only part of her involvement in so many activities in that period.
The downside is that we, as parents, worry about her getting sufficient rest time.
Recently I have had to revert to "taxi driver" to slightly ease my concerns and try to allow her to have more rest and maximise her time.
I hope things will get easier once she has completed her Viva.
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - Duncan
>> Can't it get quite lucrative being an NHS consultant practising privately at the same time?
>> >>
>> I assume so. £100/150 per consultation but room has to be paid for.
>> Top surgeons and anaesthetists , _ I have paid just about £200 each
>> The big bills are for the hospital use - £1K a day plus ( outside
>> Harley Street )
>>

And then some.

Someone I know very well had heart surgery in 1990. He had private medical insurance. The bill for the surgeon on a Saturday morning was £3,500. the bill for the anaesthetist was half that. Two men were operated on that morning, so the surgeon made £7,000 and the anaesthetist £3,500!!

And that was 1990!
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - Jetski
There's the old joke:- £3,500 just to put me to sleep?, No, £3,500 to make sure you wake up again.
When my daughter declared her employment as a chef to Direct line they wanted to know if it was at a Pub or Restaurant as it made a difference to the risk.
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - Zero
If you think medical students get loaded against, You should be lucky your eldest is not at Drama School!
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - Runfer D'Hills
If some occupations or the study of them anyway are rated high risk, it makes me wonder which ones are at the other end of the scale and are seen as low risk?

Trainee vicars maybe? Dunno.
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - bathtub tom
Being retired's kept my premiums low.
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - Zero
driving worthless slug like sheds has helped you out there as well.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 25 Jul 14 at 11:32
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - Gromit
People working in the pub trade have always paid higher insurance because - statistically - they're more likely to drink drive.

Doctors must present quite a risk from overtiredness given the hours they're rostered for with minimal breaks.

But of course, actuaries don't deal in whycertain groups are more accident prone, rather in identifying which goups make more, or more expensive, claims and setting premiums accordingly.

As a student, I couldn't get a quote for my father's 1.6 litre VW bus. 1.6 litre cars were considered small enough that an under 25 wouldn't be likely to go boy racing in one. But the numbers showed vans tended to have more fatalities when they crashed - probably from all the mates squeezed in after a night out - so they were flagged high risk
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - Gromit
And accountants, scientists, engineers, researchers, teachers or college lecturers.
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - Fenlander
Zippy is that a learner driving child you're adding... and are those figures the extra amount for a year above the existing policy cost?

We've just put youngest daughter on Mrs F's Polo insurance as she was 17 yesterday and the cost was staggering compared to the not unreasonable uplift when we did the same 2yrs ago for older daughter.
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - legacylad
On the subject of insurance...a work colleague told me yesterday that he had to go and pick up a friend whose car was involved in an RTC last Saturday. It was undriveable and has subsequently been written off by his insurers. There were no injuries to either party, it being a slow speed collision on a minor country road, but the police were involved/informed and it now transpires that the cars MOT has expired. The driver had innocently overlooked it but I have told my colleague that the insurers, who will presumably look into detail prior to paying out, will decline to do so. And he holds a certain position as a pillar of the community! I think that these days you can receive notification of expiring mots by text?
Oh dear, never mind, carry on.
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - Slidingpillar
the cars MOT has expired. The driver had innocently overlooked it but I have told my colleague that the insurers, who will presumably look into detail prior to paying out, will decline to do so. And he holds a certain position as a pillar of the community! I think that these days you can receive notification of expiring mots by text?

This is a read the policy before your friend or you say anymore to anyone. All car insurance policies require you to keep the car roadworthy. That applies, not only on the day of the MOT test, but also for the other 363 days of the year too.

A few insurers do insist on a MOT, but I believe it to be firmly in the minority.

But - and there's always one, if the accident was caused or contributed to by the condition of the car, expect problems.
Last edited by: Slidingpillar on Sat 26 Jul 14 at 13:47
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - zippy
>>Zippy is that a learner driving child you're adding... and are those figures the extra amount for a year above the existing policy cost?

Hi Fenlander,

Yes, eldest is still learning and needs the practice as only drives when home from Uni as the Uni city is too busy for learning apparently

It is for a new policy as our existing insurer (LV) refused to quote (direct call which another call to check). The cost of the policy without the learner is about £250 so it is quite a mark up! Many of the top brands did not quote on price comparison sites either. (9 years without claim for the main driver.)

I remember when my folks added me to their policy as a learner (many many years ago) and it was a couple of pounds extra.
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - Fenlander
It's interesting that it's so hard to fathom just what these rates are calculated on.

Mrs F is with LV and her own policy for her 1.4 Polo is about £240 comp (she's been involved in 2 claims in the past 2yrs... one not at fault).

The quote from LV to add 17yr old learner was an *extra* £428 for the remaining 8mths of the policy! So pro-rata that out and add the existing cost gets you to a yearly of £882. That's more than my 19yr old's own policy for her first car.

We thought Confused.com would undercut that by a mile however £800-£1000 was the lower range.

So reluctantly we went with that uplift from LV and stayed with them.

We do look at things in the round and Mrs F & I have both had years of cheap insurance from LV and eldest daughter's first car insurance was cheaper by hundreds than most of her friends so overall we're about even.
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - Manatee
I can't fathom it. Adding a learner used to be cheap, it was only when they passed their tests that they cost more money.
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - Fenlander
>>>I can't fathom it

No nor me. 2yrs ago eldest was about £240 extra as a learner on a £240 policy which wasn't great but we were OK with it.

But now it's £642 on top of £240.

You're right about the extra expense once they pass. When eldest was added to the policy as a full licence holder she was an extra £480... immediately doubled and not so far short of her own first policy.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Sat 26 Jul 14 at 13:59
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - Lygonos
My annual renewal for the Kizashi in March was £154 with full NCD.

Can't say that seems unfairly steep for a GP in a relatively low risk town, on the wrong side of 40.

(Parkers suggest it is a group 26 car)
Last edited by: Lygonos on Sun 27 Jul 14 at 16:43
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - Fullchat
I had a surprise when I rung up LV to notify change from 59 Focus 1.6 petrol estate to new 2Ltr KX3 Sportage. Policy runs until next February. "Well whats the premium difference?" I ask. "There isn't one" was the reply. Still just under £200. Now that I like :)))))
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - WillDeBeest
(Parkers suggest it is a group 26 car)

That'll be an insurer's euphemism, like 'file 13'.
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - Cliff Pope

>>
>> You're right about the extra expense once they pass. When eldest was added to the
>> policy as a full licence holder she was an extra £480... immediately doubled and not
>> so far short of her own first policy.
>>

We found it was actually cheaper for our daughter to have her own policy than to have her on ours. It went up when she added her sister as a learner, then mysteriously went down again after the second daughter passed.

Perhaps the reasoning is that the more high-risk drivers you have on a policy, the less chance of any one actually driving, because they are always squabbling over who can have the car.
 Insurance - Being a Medical Student - Manatee
Reasoning doesn't come into it, supposedly, it's experience, statistically used.

But you can only mnage what you have measures for.

Then there are policy rules.

My renewal on the Outlander just came up. It was quite reasonable. But they won't quote on my MX5.

Just done the Oulander and the MX5 with LV. No noticeable increase (in fact a decrease from Lancaster's on the MX5) despite my acquiring another SP30 this May.

Her insurer (Prudential) lobbed another £42 onto her premium when we told them about my January 2012 SP30 which we had forgotten to do (as well as charging her extra, retrospectively, for 2011-12, 2012-13, and 2013-14 which we had to pay or be defaulted for, apparently.

Haven't even told them about the latest one that has recently come through. Plan is to cancel and move to LV with that (less than £200 on the new car).
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