Insurance - where is car kept overnight?
Discussion
Just a query really - I'm picking up my new car in the morning and always get a bit worried about insurance matters when it's time to change, specifically about the question 'where is the car kept overnight?'. I work night shift three days a week so my car spends three nights at work, I rent a garage not at my home address and usually keep my car there for up to three nights per week, and then sometimes leave it at my house for one or two days per week if I can't be bothered to drive to my garage.
I previously had it down as being garaged overnight, but thinking about it that's only true for a maximum of 50% of the week. Am I covered for the days my car is at work or parked at my house? Insurance doesn't seem to be very flexible for this kind of thing.
I previously had it down as being garaged overnight, but thinking about it that's only true for a maximum of 50% of the week. Am I covered for the days my car is at work or parked at my house? Insurance doesn't seem to be very flexible for this kind of thing.
From my experience it has been where the car is -mostly- kept. So if it spent four days in a garage on Acacia Avenue, and three days on the street of Dragonborn Drive, selecting the former would be sufficient. I belive most insurers ask where the car is "mostly found" during a specified period - day and night.
I'm not an expert or in the trade, this is just my experience.
I'm not an expert or in the trade, this is just my experience.
I had similar for many years, being as I was a night-shift worker.
(And as an aside, it seems that the premiums are actually CHEAPER if you say it's kept on a driveway or the road overnight, rather than a garage. Go figure. Maybe it's because cars in garages are a total loss if the house burns down? Who knows?)
But anyway, back to the thread. Whenever I spoke to an insurance company at renewal, I always told them that the car was in a dedicated factory car park 4 nights of the week, then on the road outside my house 3 nights.
What they usually did was put it down as on the road outside my house as the predominant 'keep' (dunno why but they did) then they just added a note onto the policy to include the other 4 nights at work.
For me, it didn't raise the premium at all.
So best to cover your arse and be totally honest up front I reckon. You'll probably find no change as I did.
(And as an aside, it seems that the premiums are actually CHEAPER if you say it's kept on a driveway or the road overnight, rather than a garage. Go figure. Maybe it's because cars in garages are a total loss if the house burns down? Who knows?)
But anyway, back to the thread. Whenever I spoke to an insurance company at renewal, I always told them that the car was in a dedicated factory car park 4 nights of the week, then on the road outside my house 3 nights.
What they usually did was put it down as on the road outside my house as the predominant 'keep' (dunno why but they did) then they just added a note onto the policy to include the other 4 nights at work.
For me, it didn't raise the premium at all.
So best to cover your arse and be totally honest up front I reckon. You'll probably find no change as I did.
Ray Luxury-Yacht said:
it seems that the premiums are actually CHEAPER if you say it's kept on a driveway or the road overnight, rather than a garage.
I believe street parking is cheapest on insurance. Parking on the road means that the car does not necessarily belong to the house it's parked outside - obviously drive/garage parking is quite revealing. Not sure about the theory behind garage/drive discrepancies but I'd assume it's along the lines of a car on a drive just needs the keys stolen. A car in a garage needs more money spent on rebuilding garage doors/stolen key fobs etc.I was told that if it's kept in a garage and someone breaks into the garage, the thief then can normally go about their business unseen, and take more time and care when stealing the car as they're less likely to be spotted. (BMW OBD port thefts anyone?)
If it's on the drive or on the street, it's easier for them to be spotted and deterred.
If it's on the drive or on the street, it's easier for them to be spotted and deterred.
Thanks for the replies. I'm don't think I'm going to keep it in the garage overnight from now on anyway, it's in a scummy place off-street, and I've walked down and seen people meeting up to buy drugs there a few times in the middle of the night. My current car is a black Focus so about as anonymous and non-interesting as you could get to the general public, but my new car is less so and it worries me.
The reason it is more expensive to keep cars in the garage is to do with accidental damage. The insurance companies lose more money in paying out from small owner-inflicted claims (scratching the car while reversing in/out, dropping tools on car, denting doors etc) than they gain from the security benefits of a garage.
Think I will ask my insurance when I renew in October the difference between parked on the street and parked in a garage.
I understand the argument of parking in garage increases the risk of accidental damage, but maybe I'm been blinded by the argument of out of sight (of the thieving scumbags) out of mind ? I'm guessing value / price of car comes into it as well ?
Am I right on thinking there is no dedicated Insurance section on here ? Plod and the law been the closest ?
I understand the argument of parking in garage increases the risk of accidental damage, but maybe I'm been blinded by the argument of out of sight (of the thieving scumbags) out of mind ? I'm guessing value / price of car comes into it as well ?
Am I right on thinking there is no dedicated Insurance section on here ? Plod and the law been the closest ?
richs2891 said:
Think I will ask my insurance when I renew in October the difference between parked on the street and parked in a garage.
I understand the argument of parking in garage increases the risk of accidental damage, but maybe I'm been blinded by the argument of out of sight (of the thieving scumbags) out of mind ? I'm guessing value / price of car comes into it as well ?
Am I right on thinking there is no dedicated Insurance section on here ? Plod and the law been the closest ?
Yes, loads of insurance stuff comes up on SP&L I understand the argument of parking in garage increases the risk of accidental damage, but maybe I'm been blinded by the argument of out of sight (of the thieving scumbags) out of mind ? I'm guessing value / price of car comes into it as well ?
Am I right on thinking there is no dedicated Insurance section on here ? Plod and the law been the closest ?
Mine is kept under a carport at the back of my house. I class it as 'private parking' as it's well away from public view and it's on my property.
I'm not sure how accurate that is, but it's the closest category I can find when filling out insurance details.
I do wonder how the insurance company would see it though. Would they try to duck a claim....?
I'm not sure how accurate that is, but it's the closest category I can find when filling out insurance details.
I do wonder how the insurance company would see it though. Would they try to duck a claim....?
All this "wondering what insurance companies think." Every one of them has a phone number. If your situation does not exactly fit one of three or four tick-box options, all you have to do is ring them up, describe the exact situation in detail, and they'll tell you the answer.
That's what I do and it's really not painful. And you can make sure that the specific variation is noted on your file so you have no arguments about it in the event of a claim.
That's what I do and it's really not painful. And you can make sure that the specific variation is noted on your file so you have no arguments about it in the event of a claim.
Lowtimer said:
All this "wondering what insurance companies think." Every one of them has a phone number. If your situation does not exactly fit one of three or four tick-box options, all you have to do is ring them up, describe the exact situation in detail, and they'll tell you the answer.
That's what I do and it's really not painful. And you can make sure that the specific variation is noted on your file so you have no arguments about it in the event of a claim.
I think it's due to a lack of confidence and mis-trust in insurance companies in general.That's what I do and it's really not painful. And you can make sure that the specific variation is noted on your file so you have no arguments about it in the event of a claim.
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