Apparently a large percentage of us are not insured??
Discussion
Somewhatfoolish said:
I have commuting on my insurance (costs about 50p) but I'm not clear if I actually have to - basically I normally work from home but for a week a month I work at our office a few hundred miles away. If I've used the car it will have been to drive to a hotel nearby where I'll stay for the week and generally I cycle in, sometimes walk. Do I actually need commuter insurance? I keep it cause of the 50p thing and incase I wanted to drive in for some reason. Not convinced I actually require it or is said drive to hotel a "commute"?
What about giving people a lift to work?
From what you describe (home is your place of work) you need to be covered for business use. Do you claim mileage at all from work?What about giving people a lift to work?
Edited by Somewhatfoolish on Sunday 21st April 02:27
loskie said:
Somewhatfoolish said:
I have commuting on my insurance (costs about 50p) but I'm not clear if I actually have to - basically I normally work from home but for a week a month I work at our office a few hundred miles away. If I've used the car it will have been to drive to a hotel nearby where I'll stay for the week and generally I cycle in, sometimes walk. Do I actually need commuter insurance? I keep it cause of the 50p thing and incase I wanted to drive in for some reason. Not convinced I actually require it or is said drive to hotel a "commute"?
What about giving people a lift to work?
From what you describe (home is your place of work) you need to be covered for business use. Do you claim mileage at all from work?What about giving people a lift to work?
Edited by Somewhatfoolish on Sunday 21st April 02:27
If you're getting travel expenses then you would need business insurance. Many organisations will check you have this in place before accepting private car mileage expense claims.
ChocolateFrog said:
Obviously it only covers a single place of work but what if there's several ways to get there.
I either drive straight to work or park and ride from 2 different locations.
I use all 3 routes, I guess that's covered but wouldn't be surprised if its a bit of a grey area.
I’m pretty sure your insurance says ‘commuting to and from your regular place of work’ or some such wording. I either drive straight to work or park and ride from 2 different locations.
I use all 3 routes, I guess that's covered but wouldn't be surprised if its a bit of a grey area.
I can guarantee it doesn’t say ‘Turn left out of Laburnum Drive onto the A286. Proceed for half a mile and take the first turning onto the A…’ etc.
ChocolateFrog said:
Obviously it only covers a single place of work but what if there's several ways to get there.
I either drive straight to work or park and ride from 2 different locations.
I use all 3 routes, I guess that's covered but wouldn't be surprised if its a bit of a grey area.
Some insurers address that scenario in their definition of commuting e.g. I either drive straight to work or park and ride from 2 different locations.
I use all 3 routes, I guess that's covered but wouldn't be surprised if its a bit of a grey area.
Direct Line said:
Commuting is driving to and from a permanent place of work, for either part of the journey, or for the whole journey.
CatIf you've got his'n'hers cars, it's worth checking you're both covered for all likely options on both cars.
We actually asked a lot of questions of our insurers some years ago when my wife occasionally needed to drive to a different workplace.
In those days they would include 'infrequent' trips like that in normal commuting.
Back last century, 'SDP' included commuting.
These days. it's more complex, you need to notify your insurance company if anything changes, which can includ changing job or employer, as these things can impact your premium. I've always erred on the side of 'if in doubt, ask your insurer'. What they think matters a lot more than your mate's opinion or chat on the internet.
We actually asked a lot of questions of our insurers some years ago when my wife occasionally needed to drive to a different workplace.
In those days they would include 'infrequent' trips like that in normal commuting.
Back last century, 'SDP' included commuting.
These days. it's more complex, you need to notify your insurance company if anything changes, which can includ changing job or employer, as these things can impact your premium. I've always erred on the side of 'if in doubt, ask your insurer'. What they think matters a lot more than your mate's opinion or chat on the internet.
Evanivitch said:
loskie said:
Somewhatfoolish said:
I have commuting on my insurance (costs about 50p) but I'm not clear if I actually have to - basically I normally work from home but for a week a month I work at our office a few hundred miles away. If I've used the car it will have been to drive to a hotel nearby where I'll stay for the week and generally I cycle in, sometimes walk. Do I actually need commuter insurance? I keep it cause of the 50p thing and incase I wanted to drive in for some reason. Not convinced I actually require it or is said drive to hotel a "commute"?
What about giving people a lift to work?
From what you describe (home is your place of work) you need to be covered for business use. Do you claim mileage at all from work?What about giving people a lift to work?
Edited by Somewhatfoolish on Sunday 21st April 02:27
If you're getting travel expenses then you would need business insurance. Many organisations will check you have this in place before accepting private car mileage expense claims.
Somewhatfoolish said:
Uh oh... thanks both. Yes I do claim travel expenses. It is our only office though aside from working from home. This sounds like almost anyone who works from home would need business insurance though, is that actually correct?
Depends - are you based in an office but frequently work from home rather than actually going there, or are you based at home and just occasionally travel to an office? What does your contract say is your primary place of work?The usual test for whether you need business insurance is whether you can claim mileage for your journey. You won't be able to claim that if the office is down in your contract as your main place of work - you will if your home is.
Aretnap said:
Somewhatfoolish said:
Uh oh... thanks both. Yes I do claim travel expenses. It is our only office though aside from working from home. This sounds like almost anyone who works from home would need business insurance though, is that actually correct?
Depends - are you based in an office but frequently work from home rather than actually going there, or are you based at home and just occasionally travel to an office? What does your contract say is your primary place of work?The usual test for whether you need business insurance is whether you can claim mileage for your journey. You won't be able to claim that if the office is down in your contract as your main place of work - you will if your home is.
if that's the case I would expect the mileage you claim from home to office to be taxable. For insurance I believe you can have only one main place that you commute to.
Business insurance costs little if nothing more so you'd be daft not to have it. Direct Line include it automatically.
Your employer has a duty of care to check that you have adequate cover if claiming miles on expenses.
IMO from what you say you are using your car for business
Business insurance costs little if nothing more so you'd be daft not to have it. Direct Line include it automatically.
Your employer has a duty of care to check that you have adequate cover if claiming miles on expenses.
IMO from what you say you are using your car for business
It would be interesting to know what the real purpose of having separate categories for SDP only/Commuting/Business actually is?
I can confirm, that a good few years ago when we decided that there were a few possible anomalies with my wife’s car insurance, changing it to ‘Business’ cost next to nothing. So… what do the insurance companies get from maintaining these differences? The cynical would say just a trap for the unwary - but is there any more to it?
I can confirm, that a good few years ago when we decided that there were a few possible anomalies with my wife’s car insurance, changing it to ‘Business’ cost next to nothing. So… what do the insurance companies get from maintaining these differences? The cynical would say just a trap for the unwary - but is there any more to it?
Cat said:
ChocolateFrog said:
Obviously it only covers a single place of work but what if there's several ways to get there.
I either drive straight to work or park and ride from 2 different locations.
I use all 3 routes, I guess that's covered but wouldn't be surprised if its a bit of a grey area.
Some insurers address that scenario in their definition of commuting e.g. I either drive straight to work or park and ride from 2 different locations.
I use all 3 routes, I guess that's covered but wouldn't be surprised if its a bit of a grey area.
Direct Line said:
Commuting is driving to and from a permanent place of work, for either part of the journey, or for the whole journey.
CatIJWS15 said:
Foss62 said:
?…….The cynical would say just a trap for the unwary - but is there any more to it?
Can’t claim to be unwary as there are plenty of warnings on every site I have ever used to ensure you have the right cover, must be the chancers then.Foss62 said:
It would be interesting to know what the real purpose of having separate categories for SDP only/Commuting/Business actually is?
I can confirm, that a good few years ago when we decided that there were a few possible anomalies with my wife’s car insurance, changing it to ‘Business’ cost next to nothing. So… what do the insurance companies get from maintaining these differences? The cynical would say just a trap for the unwary - but is there any more to it?
For some vehicles, 'SDP only' is a lot cheaper than commuting. For some people at least.I can confirm, that a good few years ago when we decided that there were a few possible anomalies with my wife’s car insurance, changing it to ‘Business’ cost next to nothing. So… what do the insurance companies get from maintaining these differences? The cynical would say just a trap for the unwary - but is there any more to it?
'Business use' is quite cheap for most people with most white collar jobs,
Try getting a few quotes for someone whose 'business' would likely have them visiting lots of people or going to high risk areas or working long hours and driving.
Just clicking the wrong sort of 'Engineer' from the drop down menu can bump your premium hugely.
Foss62 said:
It would be interesting to know what the real purpose of having separate categories for SDP only/Commuting/Business actually is?
I can confirm, that a good few years ago when we decided that there were a few possible anomalies with my wife’s car insurance, changing it to ‘Business’ cost next to nothing. So… what do the insurance companies get from maintaining these differences? The cynical would say just a trap for the unwary - but is there any more to it?
Traditionally SD&P was cheapest, because of you're commuting your more likely to be driving at the busiest times of day, and you're more likely to have any accident on busy roads than quiet ones. I can confirm, that a good few years ago when we decided that there were a few possible anomalies with my wife’s car insurance, changing it to ‘Business’ cost next to nothing. So… what do the insurance companies get from maintaining these differences? The cynical would say just a trap for the unwary - but is there any more to it?
In practice the difference is often not huge - but it doesn't have to be. In an era of price comparison sites many customers buy on price alone and a few pence can be the difference between being at the top of the site and getting the business and being second on the list and not getting it. So if an insurer can shave a couple of pounds off your quote by excluding commuting from your policy, there's a big incentive for them to do so.
Brands which attempt to sell on quality rather than just price or which avoid the comparison sites are more likely to include commuting and even business use as standard (eg Direct Line).
I have all my policies as SDP+C+business use. Most Insurers allow you to specify the number of miles you use the car for business use, so I put 500-1,000 miles just in case I have to drive to another site or go on a training course somewhere and the hire car doesn't turn up of the trains are striking again. Adds nothing to the policies.
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