Insurance legality on death
Discussion
Don Veloci said:
In the case of a policy holder dying is a named driver on said policy still legally able to drive their vehicle covered by the policy or do alternative arrangements need to be made?
Yes, it is understood that upon the death of the policyholders, the first thoughts of his loved ones who are named drivers on his insurance isn't "let's contact his motor insurance company". That isn't a reasonable expectation. They would expect to be notified within 3 months, but it's unlikely they'd bat an eyelid about a named driver having a claim after the policyholders death at anytime before the next renewal. But they would not expect a dead persons policy to be renewed without them being notified, even if the renewal date we quite soon after the death.
Happy Jim said:
9,500 posts all saying the same thing - thanks for your contribution.
OP, the policy will lapse on death of the policyholder.
Rgds
Jim
Most Insurers will happily allow the Policy to continue (subject to named drivers being a reasonable risk) until probate is completed or the vehicle is sold.OP, the policy will lapse on death of the policyholder.
Rgds
Jim
vikingaero said:
Happy Jim said:
9,500 posts all saying the same thing - thanks for your contribution.
OP, the policy will lapse on death of the policyholder.
Rgds
Jim
Most Insurers will happily allow the Policy to continue (subject to named drivers being a reasonable risk) until probate is completed or the vehicle is sold.OP, the policy will lapse on death of the policyholder.
Rgds
Jim
Which is why the OP should speak to the insurer.
My wife and I were named drivers on my mother's policy. After she passed away we rang the insurer and were told that we could continue on her policy. As far as I recall the insurance company said they'd only allow us a month before they'd cancel the policy in any case, but as it expired just over a month later they'd let it run until expiry.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Yes, it is understood that upon the death of the policyholders, the first thoughts of his loved ones who are named drivers on his insurance isn't "let's contact his motor insurance company". That isn't a reasonable expectation. They would expect to be notified within 3 months, but it's unlikely they'd bat an eyelid about a named driver having a claim after the policyholders death at anytime before the next renewal.
Hmmm....I've been involved in this twice in the last few years and one of the insurance companies was adamant that was the end of the policy. They said they'd allow the deceased's son to move the car off the road onto the house drive, and that was it.The other allowed the policy to continue for 7 days.
Having said that, I'm sure absolutely loads of people, especially spouses, just continue to use the car and don't even think about it until renewal. Some on auto-renewal probably only get picked up when the payment doesn't go through.
Sheepshanks said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Yes, it is understood that upon the death of the policyholders, the first thoughts of his loved ones who are named drivers on his insurance isn't "let's contact his motor insurance company". That isn't a reasonable expectation. They would expect to be notified within 3 months, but it's unlikely they'd bat an eyelid about a named driver having a claim after the policyholders death at anytime before the next renewal.
Hmmm....I've been involved in this twice in the last few years and one of the insurance companies was adamant that was the end of the policy. They said they'd allow the deceased's son to move the car off the road onto the house drive, and that was it.The other allowed the policy to continue for 7 days.
This has been ruled upon by ABI from memory.
Thanks for the replies. I was hoping to get a vibe for what to expect before making the call.
Cover continues to expiry (1 week only in this case, but still useful). Company is L.V.
After that we'll need to figure out what were doing as I think we want to keep the car on the road for general use. The car will probably remain at it's current address but the people likely to be using it in the short term are not resident there. The driver resident at the address is provision licensed only. We'll figure it out.
Cover continues to expiry (1 week only in this case, but still useful). Company is L.V.
After that we'll need to figure out what were doing as I think we want to keep the car on the road for general use. The car will probably remain at it's current address but the people likely to be using it in the short term are not resident there. The driver resident at the address is provision licensed only. We'll figure it out.
Don Veloci said:
Thanks for the replies. I was hoping to get a vibe for what to expect before making the call.
Cover continues to expiry (1 week only in this case, but still useful). Company is L.V.
After that we'll need to figure out what were doing as I think we want to keep the car on the road for general use. The car will probably remain at it's current address but the people likely to be using it in the short term are not resident there. The driver resident at the address is provision licensed only. We'll figure it out.
That shouldn't prevent them from being the policy holder - albeit at an increased cost!Cover continues to expiry (1 week only in this case, but still useful). Company is L.V.
After that we'll need to figure out what were doing as I think we want to keep the car on the road for general use. The car will probably remain at it's current address but the people likely to be using it in the short term are not resident there. The driver resident at the address is provision licensed only. We'll figure it out.
Lots of presumptuous nonsense being spouted on this thread from the usual suspects!
Whilst I agree that there will definitely be discretion shown from the insurer in such a circumstance (no insurer wants bad publicity), the only accurate answer here is to contact the insurance company for the fine details. Most insurers have their own guidelines in place for this sort of thing but they will all differ slightly.
Some insurers may request a copy of the death certificate, others may not.
Some may even need (one of) the named driver(s) to become the main.
Although I understand most people on here wouldn’t think advising the insurer of the policy holder’s death is important, the reality is most people quickly realise they need to do it once they jump into the car that is insured by their deceased friend/relative, and as such the insurers do expect it to be done.
Best advice is to contact the insurer as soon as you can to get their advice.
I’ll give you one guess as to where my knowledge comes from.
Sorry for your loss.
Whilst I agree that there will definitely be discretion shown from the insurer in such a circumstance (no insurer wants bad publicity), the only accurate answer here is to contact the insurance company for the fine details. Most insurers have their own guidelines in place for this sort of thing but they will all differ slightly.
Some insurers may request a copy of the death certificate, others may not.
Some may even need (one of) the named driver(s) to become the main.
Although I understand most people on here wouldn’t think advising the insurer of the policy holder’s death is important, the reality is most people quickly realise they need to do it once they jump into the car that is insured by their deceased friend/relative, and as such the insurers do expect it to be done.
Best advice is to contact the insurer as soon as you can to get their advice.
I’ll give you one guess as to where my knowledge comes from.
Sorry for your loss.
Interesting learning experience this one.
Today's lesson being - as soon as official admin is completed (Death certificate) road tax ceases, no continuity.
Just takes a little sorting by filling the appropriate sections of the V5C and completing the online road tax via the new keeper supplement option.
Today's lesson being - as soon as official admin is completed (Death certificate) road tax ceases, no continuity.
Just takes a little sorting by filling the appropriate sections of the V5C and completing the online road tax via the new keeper supplement option.
I've been in exactly this situation recently. I am a named driver on my mother's insurance as I used to drive them on longer trips. My step-father is blind and mum wasn't the most confident driver!
Insurance Co were fine when I explained the situation and let the Policy run. However beware - DVLA will automatically cancel the tax when notified of the death of a registered keeper. That was not helpful! It took 6 weeks to get the V5 in my name so that I could then re-tax the car.
Insurance Co were fine when I explained the situation and let the Policy run. However beware - DVLA will automatically cancel the tax when notified of the death of a registered keeper. That was not helpful! It took 6 weeks to get the V5 in my name so that I could then re-tax the car.
aspirin said:
However beware - DVLA will automatically cancel the tax when notified of the death of a registered keeper. That was not helpful! It took 6 weeks to get the V5 in my name so that I could then re-tax the car.
I've seen articles that say the DVLA is relaxed about that and there's a grace period (perhaps somewhat unofficial) until the end of the month if they're notified beofre 15th and the end of the following month if after 15th.I do wonder what happens to the DVLA record though - presumably it shows the late keeper's name as deceased. So how would the Police etc trace a driver if they needed to and there was no-one at the original address?
Don Veloci said:
Interesting learning experience this one.
Today's lesson being - as soon as official admin is completed (Death certificate) road tax ceases, no continuity.
Just takes a little sorting by filling the appropriate sections of the V5C and completing the online road tax via the new keeper supplement option.
I was just about to post a Today's lesson being - as soon as official admin is completed (Death certificate) road tax ceases, no continuity.
Just takes a little sorting by filling the appropriate sections of the V5C and completing the online road tax via the new keeper supplement option.
, but then I thought about it.The VED is related to the V5C and the V5C is in the name of the deceased. It makes sense, but could easily be missed if it is a family vehicle and the family continue to drive it.
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