Commuting without commuting cover on insurance?

[MrSanti]

I'll try and keep this short and sweet...

I bought a motorbike whilst working close to home and only got SDP cover (no commuter cover). I was made redundant. I now have a 2nd interview for a job a few miles away. I called up insurance and was quote £68 to add commuter insurance. They also said I had to change my job title on the certificate. That too incurs an admin fee. Money is very tight at moment. What are the risks of riding to work with only SDP insurance. If I have an accident and it someone elses fault will the force do me for having invalid insurance? Also, If I crash into someone's Bugatti Veyron will my insurance tell me to f*** off and I'll be in debt for 1000's of pounds just coz I wanted to save 70 quid?

Any knowledge on the matter is greatly appreciated.

[CYMR0]

MrSanti said:

If I have an accident and it someone else's fault will the force do me for having invalid insurance?

Yes, if they ever find out. Your claim against the third party would still be valid.

MrSanti said:

IAlso, If I crash into someone's Bugatti Veyron will my insurance tell me to f*** off and I'll be in debt for 1,000,000's of pounds just coz I wanted to save 70 quid?

Probably.

Plus, if you do get pulled over by the police and they look into it - imagine if you're wearing a work uniform at 8.30 a.m. and they notice that you don't have commuting cover - you're guilty of driving without insurance, so expect a fine, six points, and vastly increased insurance premiums for the next five years.

[Aretnap]

You'd be driving without insurance and looking at 6-8 points, a fine and seizure of your bike if you were to be caught. You'd also be potentially loable for the full costs of any accident you caused (never mind the Bugatti Veyron, if you left someone needing round the clock nursing care for the rest of their lives you'd be looking at a bill in the millions).

[MrSanti]

Thanks for the replies. Time to fork out 68 nuggets!

[Derek Smith]

I'm not sure that going for a job interview can be defined as commuting as it is to a regular place of business. On my insurance document it states in connection with business. However, definitions vary and you should either read the document or, if not clear on there, phone them and ask.

[Fastdruid]

MrSanti said:

Thanks for the replies. Time to fork out 68 nuggets!

I'd wait until you get the job first! (good luck btw).
Going to a job interview is not commuting but as soon as you start the job then yes you could be in trouble if caught or have an accident.

[gazzarose]

I've wondered about this a few times. I've recently passed my bike test and night an enduro bike purely for weekend offroad, but having never had a road bike I've been tempted to ride it to work one day to show the boys and because k can, but it's not insured for commuting so don't know if I want to risk it. But it must affect guys on here with weekend cars that might be tempted on a nice day, or if your going away straight after work on a Friday would be convenient to take the toy car, the extra premium would be a waste for the couple of days a year. And actually thinking about it, if you woke up one day and the station car didn't start, I think most of us would keep our fingers crossed and take another vehicle if we had one, even if it wasn't insured for commuting.

[williredale]

I changed my weekend car insurance at renewal time to add commuting and it didn't add anything to my renewal price. However when I had to change the mileage allowance mid-term it cost quite a bit for the admin fee. Come renewal time with the extra mileage it didn't actually add much to the premium.

[pork911]

as with all similar threads, why not just ask your insurer?

[numtumfutunch]

I commute my car 1-5 times per year max
The difference between SD&P and that plus commuting is negligible so I always 'fess up

A friend once took his TVR to work to show the lads just as the biker described above with his MX bike
Predictably he was involved in a no fault accident however it all became very messy when his insurers and the police wanted to know what he was doing on the road in rush hour heading towards work on a day he hadnt taken leave

Good luck with the new job

[BertBert]

pork911 said:

as with all similar threads, why not just ask your insurer?

What? "Dear Mr Insurer, I am planning on using my bike for something that you haven't insured me for. Is that ok?"

mmmmm
Bert

[peterperkins]

Going to the job interview is not commuting.

If you get the job and start Monday and intend to go on the bike to your normal place of work then you need the insurance upgrade.

[anonymous-user]

Was commuting ever a part of standard insurance cover (whether TPFT or FC) under the Social, Domestic and Pleasure umbrella? I can't remember that far back fully, but I may have a recollection that it's only been in the last say ten years that commuting has been added as a separate entity. Commuting to a regular place of work could, IMO, be argued to be domestic, as that must be a huge percentage of what most cars on the road are used for.

(And anyway, if women's Facebooks and Match profiles are to be believed, "being a mummy" is a full time job so the school run should come under the same regs as commuting! )

It's a totally different kettle of fish to using your car for work purposes - i.e. site visits or deliveries etc.

(Before Loon comes in and makes me feel like a naughty schoolboy , I'm not having a pop at insurance companies I promise - mine lets me do 10k of at-work mileage for about a tenner a year, and I must make 100 times that on the expenses I can claim )

[Dog Star]

peterperkins said:

Going to the job interview is not commuting.

This.

[Dr Jekyll]

Dog Star said:

peterperkins said:

Going to the job interview is not commuting.

This.

It's also not regarded as business travel, which always seems to me to be a grey area.

[simon1987]

just drive every day to some where near work and walk the rest of the way, that way your not driving to work your driving to the asda near your work or whatever.

[speedking31]

So is doing a single trip to work in a different vehicle considered to be 'commuting'? e.g. hypothetically if I normally drive my car which is properly insured but one day I use my wife's on which I don't have commuting cover.

[supermono]

simon1987 said:

Just drive every day to somewhere near work and walk the rest of the way, that way you're not driving to work you're driving to the Asda near your work or whatever.

^ this (after primary school grammar correction).

Although as regards the driving without insurance, I'm still puzzled as to why the police claim this is not a civil offence between you and the insurance company (other than because They Are The Law). There is nothing contained in your policy document that stops a third party from claiming, therefore you are insured. Ok the insco can come after you for the money if they decide you weren't honest, but I don't understand how/if/why anyone would ever be convicted of driving without insurance for lying/failure to disclose. Perhaps someone in the know can explain.

[Aretnap]

supermono said:

Although as regards the driving without insurance, I'm still puzzled as to why the police claim this is not a civil offence between you and the insurance company (other than because They Are The Law). There is nothing contained in your policy document that stops a third party from claiming, therefore you are insured. Ok the insco can come after you for the money if they decide you weren't honest, but I don't understand how/if/why anyone would ever be convicted of driving without insurance for lying/failure to disclose. Perhaps someone in the know can explain.

Because you're not insured, basically. Section 143 of the Road Traffic Act requires that you only drive if you're covered by an insurance policy. If your policy only covers you to do X and you're actually doing Y then you're not covered by an insurance policy. It's as simple as that, really.

Quite separately to that, there are provisions such as Section 151 of the Road Traffic Act and Article 75 of the MIB agreement which can force an insurer to pay out to third parties even though you're not covered by an insurance policy. However they do not modify the terms of your policy or create an alternative policy for you which meets the requirements of s143. They're there to protect other people from the consequences of your uninsured driving - not to protect you from its consequences.

(It's also not a matter of lying/failure to disclose - it's a matter of buying a policy which doesn't cover certain uses of the vehicle)

[lbc]

simon1987 said:

just drive every day to some where near work and walk the rest of the way, that way your not driving to work your driving to the asda near your work or whatever.

Insurance normally ask if you drive regularly during peak periods which will cover that loop hole.