Numberplate change = not insured?
Discussion
Hi, looking for some advice on the behalf of someone I know who bought his girlfriend a surprise private plate for her 30th, he went through the correct process with the DVLA and transferred it from retention onto her car but for some reason neglected to do the same with her insurer.
Few months on she's been in a minor accident with police in attendance (they drove past a few minutes later) it turns out she is uninsured due to the number plate change, she was still paying for the insurance under the old number plate.
Would the fact that she was still paying to insure the vehicle albeit under a different registration allow some leeway or is it an automatic 6 points?
I would have thought that the insurer may be able to make the change of plate retrospectively but perhaps as you now need to pay a premium to change the plate mid policy the insurers may see it as an undeclared modification and thus void the insurance?
Cheers.
Few months on she's been in a minor accident with police in attendance (they drove past a few minutes later) it turns out she is uninsured due to the number plate change, she was still paying for the insurance under the old number plate.
Would the fact that she was still paying to insure the vehicle albeit under a different registration allow some leeway or is it an automatic 6 points?
I would have thought that the insurer may be able to make the change of plate retrospectively but perhaps as you now need to pay a premium to change the plate mid policy the insurers may see it as an undeclared modification and thus void the insurance?
Cheers.
She won't be uninsured, the police might justifiably think she was, but it should be easy to resolve with documentary evidence of the plate change.
Insurers insure cars, not plates. From an insurance point of view it's an admin error similar to making a typo. I bought a new car once and the garage printed the wrong plates for it. Took me a few days to notice, checked and my insurance wasn't invalidated for that period.
Insurers insure cars, not plates. From an insurance point of view it's an admin error similar to making a typo. I bought a new car once and the garage printed the wrong plates for it. Took me a few days to notice, checked and my insurance wasn't invalidated for that period.
Depending on how long ago it was, the insurers may not even notice.
Years ago, I changed a plate from an old 911 to a newer one. I informed the insurer on the day the plate changed - and a couple of days later had an accident. The assessor didn't know the difference between the cars, and it quickly became apparent that he thought he was looking at an old 911. Problem occurred again when I got the repairs done and the insurers questioned the price of the parts, because they thought they were much cheaper - yes, because you're looking at parts for the wrong model of car.
The odd thing is, the insurer had never insured the older 911. They seemed to be using some generic database that matched the registration to the car - which was clearly not up to date - and didn't seem to actually take any notice at all of the car that I actually had insured with them. The whole experience was quite bizarre.
Years ago, I changed a plate from an old 911 to a newer one. I informed the insurer on the day the plate changed - and a couple of days later had an accident. The assessor didn't know the difference between the cars, and it quickly became apparent that he thought he was looking at an old 911. Problem occurred again when I got the repairs done and the insurers questioned the price of the parts, because they thought they were much cheaper - yes, because you're looking at parts for the wrong model of car.
The odd thing is, the insurer had never insured the older 911. They seemed to be using some generic database that matched the registration to the car - which was clearly not up to date - and didn't seem to actually take any notice at all of the car that I actually had insured with them. The whole experience was quite bizarre.
https://www.gov.uk/personalised-vehicle-registrati...
After you assign a private number
You must:
put new number plates on the vehicle before you drive it
tell your insurance company your new registration number
I am sure if you do it online the e mail confirmation tells you about insurance
After you assign a private number
You must:
put new number plates on the vehicle before you drive it
tell your insurance company your new registration number
I am sure if you do it online the e mail confirmation tells you about insurance
Thanks for all the advice, I'll pass it onto him and let you know the progress.
Just out of interest I clicked on that link above to see the steps for putting on a private plate and got this:
Service unavailable
This service should be available daily 7 am - 7 pm.
Odd that something online has time restraints, maybe it's manually checked?
Just out of interest I clicked on that link above to see the steps for putting on a private plate and got this:
Service unavailable
This service should be available daily 7 am - 7 pm.
Odd that something online has time restraints, maybe it's manually checked?
Insurers may be miffed that they haven't had their 'Admin Fee' for noting the change. Cross their palms with crinklies and all will be well!
I think it is up to the Insured to notify the insurers; I doubt if they would take instruction from a third party however well intended. Probably the recipient wasn't even aware of the need to tell them.
I think it is up to the Insured to notify the insurers; I doubt if they would take instruction from a third party however well intended. Probably the recipient wasn't even aware of the need to tell them.
I bought a new car last month and fitted my private plate a couple of weeks later and forgot to call insurance to update. It dawned on me the other day and i did the online MID database check and my car showed up as uninsured from purely entering the plate details and i was wondering the same as the OP. Luckily it wasnt an accident that caused me to question it, hope things go okay for your mates missus.
Also my insurance company didn't charge for amending the details.
Also my insurance company didn't charge for amending the details.
I did something similar, changed plates through the DVLA with every intention of phoning my insurance. Completely forgot until a few months down the line I get a shirty letter from the DVLA telling me I wasn't insured.
Phoned insurance there and then, explained, they changed it and job done. From what they said, I would still have been covered but in the literal sense of that plate vs insurance, it wasn't going to be showing up correctly.
Phoned insurance there and then, explained, they changed it and job done. From what they said, I would still have been covered but in the literal sense of that plate vs insurance, it wasn't going to be showing up correctly.
I've just been through this.
DVLA sent fine for my car not being insured according to MID. Like others I hadn't got round to changing the plate with the insurers (my fault entirely). I spoke with insurers who confirmed that I was insured and wrote me an email to this effect.
Appeal form completed with insurance number and details, DVLA check, MID computer says no record of the new reg being insured on that day, DVLA send out the fine with no obvious route of appeal.
I took the view that I would spend far more than £50 of my time trying to chase down the DVLA who you can't actually speak to, so coughed up. I'm sure I could have pursued it further if had the inclination.
DVLA sent fine for my car not being insured according to MID. Like others I hadn't got round to changing the plate with the insurers (my fault entirely). I spoke with insurers who confirmed that I was insured and wrote me an email to this effect.
Appeal form completed with insurance number and details, DVLA check, MID computer says no record of the new reg being insured on that day, DVLA send out the fine with no obvious route of appeal.
I took the view that I would spend far more than £50 of my time trying to chase down the DVLA who you can't actually speak to, so coughed up. I'm sure I could have pursued it further if had the inclination.
ianwayne said:
Won't that affect all your future insurance costs? You'll have to declare a fine for using an uninsured car every time you get a quote.
No he won't. He hasn't been convicted for driving with no insurance. He's been fined for having a taxed car without insurance (although he did have insurance, just wasn't worth arguing over). People get rightly fined for having taxed cars with out insurance when the cars are off the road and not being driven. Like a parking ticket, nothing to tell insurers about. Twig, this is unusual for you. - You usually think these things through - The OP says the owner was found, by the police, to be uninsured following an RTC - This will not be a fine from the DVLA.
The policy holder/vehicle owner needs to contact the insurance company with the details (date/time/location/reason for the police action) and request a letter of indemnity from the underwriter - If the underwriter agrees to issue the letter, then it would state that they were covered by the insurance policy at the relevant time.
The policy holder/vehicle owner needs to contact the insurance company with the details (date/time/location/reason for the police action) and request a letter of indemnity from the underwriter - If the underwriter agrees to issue the letter, then it would state that they were covered by the insurance policy at the relevant time.
rayny said:
Twig, this is unusual for you. - You usually think these things through - The OP says the owner was found, by the police, to be uninsured following an RTC - This will not be a fine from the DVLA.
I'm not sure you've read this through. twig was commenting on the dude recounting a different story, not the OPrayny said:
Twig, this is unusual for you. - You usually think these things through - The OP says the owner was found, by the police, to be uninsured following an RTC - This will not be a fine from the DVLA.
The policy holder/vehicle owner needs to contact the insurance company with the details (date/time/location/reason for the police action) and request a letter of indemnity from the underwriter - If the underwriter agrees to issue the letter, then it would state that they were covered by the insurance policy at the relevant time.
I'm responding to ianwayne's comment re Ben5575's story. The policy holder/vehicle owner needs to contact the insurance company with the details (date/time/location/reason for the police action) and request a letter of indemnity from the underwriter - If the underwriter agrees to issue the letter, then it would state that they were covered by the insurance policy at the relevant time.
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff