Insurance FYI

[Happyoldgit]

Just received this round robin from the local police..

Police are warning motorists who are driving a vehicle not belonging to them using their own fully comprehensive insurance, they may no longer be covered to do so.

Despite the assumption by many that a fully comprehensive insurance policy would cover drivers to use another persons vehicle with their permission, there has recently been a change in a lot of insurance policies and this often no longer comes as standard.

One issue that officers specifically want motorists to check is in relation to driving another person’s vehicle with the owner’s permission when the vehicle does not have an insurance policy in place. With recent changes the majority of insurers now stipulate that the vehicle being driven must at least have third party cover.

If a person is stopped in a vehicle that is not their own and are unsure if their policy covers them to drive another vehicle, officers will have to complete a check. If it is discovered that the driver is not correctly covered it could result in a fixed penalty notice fine of £200 and 6 penalty points or a day at Magistrates Court. The vehicle will also be seized.

Inspector XXXXXX of the Roads Policing Unit said: “Stopping vehicles and checking insurance policies will take up the time of the members of public and of our officers. This information will appear either on the front of your certificate or in the small print, so it is the driver’s responsibility to make sure they are covered.

“We do realise that there is a lack of awareness of this policy change so this is a polite reminder to all motorists to have a double check. However, we are also aware that there will be people out there who are deliberately offending and therefore appropriate action will be used wherever necessary.”

[JJB Serenity]

Cheers Happy,

However,

"there has recently been a change in a lot of insurance policies and this often no longer comes as standard"

I have been telling people for years that it is only permissible to drive other people's vehicles if your insurance policy allows you to. It's not a recent change to policies at all, it has always been the case that each individual policy is different to the next and assumptions should never be made. I wish people would just read the contracts they enter into!!

[simonr]

This year that clause vanished from my policy, along with anyone else being able to drive my vehicle 3rd party. There was a letter which mentioned it - but it was buried amongst loads of other positive and negative policy changes!

On querying it, they said it's because of the insurance database. It must show that a given driver is insured to drive a given vehicle. However this cannot be the case if you have any driver or any vehicle on a policy. The insurers have responded by deleting those clauses.

Si

[pooler70]

Yes this went from 2 of my policies this year also. I still have one which I managed to renew that kept it but it seems they are trying to get rod of it.

[g&t]

Another circumstance to watch is if you are a 'named driver' on a policy, often the clause allowing the driving of other vehicles is restricted to the policyholder only. Also 'classic' vehicle insurance policies don't normally include this level of cover.

[nicks90]

thats been the case on my wifes insurance for years and years. It states she is allowed to drive another vehicle, but named second drivers (eg me) are not. Also specifically states that any other vehicles she drives must also be covered by seperate insurance , eg the owner of said vehicle must have it insured, and that only then will she be covered 3rd party on that vehicle.

my insurance doesnt allow me to drive other vehicles 3rd party. But thats what you get for having a cheap classic policy i suppose.

[Retroanaconda]

Well, at least being young I've never had any of these benefits so can't really miss them!