When is being insured not being insured?

[carlo]

Does anyone know the definitive answer for this one?

 

I can drive other peoples' cars third party on my insurance legally, does the other car HAVE to have an insurance policy itself?  I have had different answers from insurance companies, perhaps we have someone from the boys in blue on here who would know for sure.  If I was stopped because the car was not on the insurance database is it enough to say 'I can drive other cars on my policy?'

[SiC]

Check the T&Cs. I know admiral and direct line both say in theirs (cause I checked) that the car needs a policy in force for your 3rd party cover to be valid.

[DodgeRover]

It depends on the wording of your policy, print it out and keep it with you if using the any vehicle you don't own bit

[Cavcraft]

The other car has to be insured and quite often your insurance won't cover the other vehicle if it's on a trade policy. 

[carlo]

I was more thinking about how the cops are going to view it, not my insurance company.  I presume it's either legal or it's not.

[SiC]

They'll phone up your insurance company and check with them. If they can't verify it there, they can (and usually will) impound the car. See the recent thread on someone who had insurance but forgot the company name...

[vulgalour]

I'd expect police to side on the wording on your policy.  All of the drive-other-cars policies I've had have stated I'm only covered third party on a vehicle that is insured and owned by someone that isn't me and isn't a trade policy.

 

So I can drive the insured cars of friends and family.  This suits me quite well and is need with enough regularity that it's a must on my policy.  Very useful when you need to borrow a car if your own has broken, as has been the case several times in the past for me.  I think this is what it's for more than anything else, sort of emergency insurance.

[beko1987]

Our policy definitivly words as 'the policyholder' can drive any other motor vehicle on a third party only basis as long as valid insurance is on the other vehicle'. Amy got confused once and thought we were fully comp on other cars, we aren't, just each others due to the multi car policy (not that I like driving hers)

[Cavcraft]

I was more thinking about how the cops are going to view it, not my insurance company.  I presume it's either legal or it's not.

 

If they pull you over then surely how your insurance company see it is going to be paramount?

[scaryoldcortina]

I'm a little concerned by people saying cars on a trade policy aren't covered - I sometimes lend customers a car if they have 3rd party cover!

[Pillock]

The cops only care whether you have insurance to drive the vehicle.

 

Whether you have insurance to drive the vehicle is down to what the terms and conditions of your policy say. As these are always subtly different, the clever thing to do remains to read them, take a photocopy, and keep them in the glovebox.

 

If they say you're not insured to drive on a Tuesday, and it's Tuesday when you get pulled, you're having your car seized. If they say you are only covered in a car that has another valid policy, then them's the breaks.

[Faker]

Most insurance companies insist on the vehicle having an insurance policy for that vehicle. The cert. Doesn't have to specify, however every policy holder is provided with a policy shedule, and it's stated in the fine print. Stipulations arose to prevent young persons insuring a 106, and buying a Subaru, registering it in someone else's name and driving under the third party extension. I've only ever come across one provider who doesn't insist that a vehicle must have a policy in its own right - Quinn insurance.

[Faker]

I'm a little concerned by people saying cars on a trade policy aren't covered - I sometimes lend customers a car if they have 3rd party cover!

If the car is listed on the trade policy as yours, it will be logged with mib and be fine. A vehicle in your custody or control for purposes of motor trade, is only covered when you're behind the wheel (for official trade purpose) or on your premises.

[scaryoldcortina]

Ah, that makes sense. The loaner is always one of my personal cars, and on the MID.

 

Also, I stopped using Tradex a few years back when they wanted an extra £300 to cover me for third party SD&P extension on other people's cars!

[Dave_Q]

I've never had the no trade thing stipulated, but always had that the other vehicle must be insured.

[Guest Hooli]

Like others have said, it depends on the wording of your policy.

 

Several years ago I had to go to court over this & my driving other cars insurance was agreed to be valid on a car that had no tax, insurance or MOT of it's own (I was on the way to a pre-booked MOT).

[carlo]

This is what pisses me off about insurance companies, I thought I'd try and ring again tonight to get it clarified.  First of all she says I can, then when I press and say Are you sure, is it legal? - she goes away for ten minutes and says I can't.  Why don't these fuckers know or put the precise wording in the policy, because the policy or certificate makes no mention of it.

[sierraman]

Chances are the police won't waste time while you go home looking for the policy. They'll impound the car, then it's £300 to get it back, whether or not you are covered or not, if you haven't got the policy to hand you are fucked!

[dome]

You can get caught out too if it's a different class of vehicle, for example your own car policy may not cover you 3rd party driving a van. A copper mate has warned me of this.

[barefoot]

The only time I drive other cars is loaners from a garage.

I have always assumed that between the garage and I we have enough cover

To cover it.

[Stroller133]

I think by default the other car has to be insured now. Perhaps a pre booked MOT may be the exception but I believe a car has to be insured if it is taxed, and you need tax to be driving it legally.

Another point is the 3rd Party extension will only be valid whilst you are driving the vehicle, so if you park the car and whilst left unattended it somehow causes 3rd Party Damage (handbrake failure) , your insurance is unlikely to cover it, so you or the owner could be liable.

My Dad used to have a friend back in the 80s who insured a Honda c90 and had a much more powerful bike belonging to his wife (who didn't have a bike licence) and used the 3rd party cover, even used his insurance to tax it, not sure that would have been legal?

[carlo]

^

 

Well a vehicle could be taxed, insured but then the insurance lapses while it is still taxed.

 

I suppose the other side of the coin is whether owner of said car is going to be landed with various notices as cameras pick out an uninsured car on the road, and be asked to name the driver at the time?

[RustyNuts]

Check the T&Cs. I know admiral and direct line both say in theirs (cause I checked) that the car needs a policy in force for your 3rd party cover to be valid.

 

Are you sure about that? I'm with Direct Lie, they'll certainly tell you this is the case over the phone however I've never seen it in writing and have challenged them on this over the phone several times - eventually they back down and admit that they've blundered and that they themselves are suprised there is no need for an in-place policy.

 

They may have changed that recently but last time I checked (last year) it was still the case.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

All my policies have always said the other car must be insured. What happens when you get out of the car? If you leave it parked somewhere etc?

 

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[Mr_Bo11ox]

I've studied the small print of my policy on exactly this point and it says NOWT about it anywhere. Logically I don't see why, if my policy says I can drive other folks cars, they have to be insured elsewhere. What practical difference does that make to anything? Anyway I have never seen a satisfactory clear answer to this question anywhere. 'Check the small print' is all very well, but I've done that and there's nowt. I could ring up Aviva and ask, but whatever they tell me over the phone one wet Wednesday afternoon isn't going to help me when I'm stood at the roadside arguing the toss with son smart arse copper.

[cort16]

You're much more likely to get pull if the car isn't on a policy and there fore not on  MID. If the car I was driving wasn't on it's own policy I wouldn't dick about I'd just day insure it. It's not worth 6 points and trying to argue it out with your insurance company when you rear end a Ferrari FF for 20 quid.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Me too.

[Cavcraft]

When I mentioned trade insurance, what I meant was that someone with their own cover for their own car can find it doesn't cover them for one of mine because I have a personal trade policy. I only know this because in the past when people have asked me to lend them a car and said they were covered, I asked them to double check and their insurance jibbed them.

 

The truthful, but not necessarily 'legally or morally correct' answer is that if the car is on the MID and you're not breaking the speed limit or driving LAC, you'll probably be left alone. One of the reasons buyers like to see reg numbers of the cars they're interested in is because they'll check the MID database and if it comes up as insured, they'll risk driving it home. It's the modern equivalent of 'don't cancel the insurance until I get back as my insurance is valid if yours is' which basically meant they had no cover at all.

 

If you have an accident or get a suspicious copper? I wouldn't like to say and to be honest I wouldn't like to risk it.

[Dave_Q]

Here is mine, this seems pretty clear.

 

 

If it doesn't state anything other than "the policyholder may drive other vehicles" then surely any court would find that you were indeed insured.

 

 

Obvs this is no help when your car is on it's way to the pound and you're walking home because inspector jobsworth has decided you're not insured.

[lisbon_road]

I heard once that the clause for driving another car with owners permission doesn't work for your spouse.  So you have to be explicitly mentioned on their insurance policy.

 

Whether this is universal or not I do not know.