Company Car Insurance and your Spouse

[Steve vRS]

My company car insurance covers me for all eventualities of course but only covers my wife for social, domestic and pleasure. This means that if her car is out of action and she needs to drive to work (purely commuting to one place, not business use), she cannot use my car.

She has her own insurance policy which allows her to drive another car but as our company only insures its fleet cars third party and covers the costs of any other damage, should she crash my car it would be our liability.

Is this the norm with company car insurance policies?

Ta

Steve

[Steve vRS]

Nobody else have a company car. Or a wife?

Steve

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Fleet policies usually cover the business of the company that takes out the policy, and normally give any driver cover (possibly with an age restriction) but they don't cover the business use of people who don't work for the company.

My co car is the same, covers me for full business use, covers all my colleagues for full business use, but my wife and son, who can both drive the car, only get pleasure use.

I think that's fair enough. Glad to have a co car, and glad they let my family drive it, but don't expect them to cover the car to be used for someone else's business!

Supposing your wife worked for your main competitor. Why should your firm pay for a car to help her do her job, trying to take business of them!

[A900ss]

As above for me.

Fully comp cover for both me and the wife but SD&P only for the wife.

[Steve vRS]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

I think that's fair enough. Glad to have a co car, and glad they let my family drive it, but don't expect them to cover the car to be used for someone else's business

As per my original post, I was asking about computing to one place of work, not business use.

If this arrangement is the norm then I won't push it with work and potentially opt out.

Steve

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Steve vRS said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

I think that's fair enough. Glad to have a co car, and glad they let my family drive it, but don't expect them to cover the car to be used for someone else's business

As per my original post, I was asking about computing to one place of work, not business use.

If this arrangement is the norm then I won't push it with work and potentially opt out.

Steve

My company fleet policy does not give commuting for non employees, just pure SD&P use only. Quite normal. They don't give you a company car for someone else to earn a living!

[anonymous-user]

Have a close look at the policy - very common for commuting to/from regular place of work to be included in S,D&P definition.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

had ham said:

Have a close look at the policy - very common for commuting to/from regular place of work to be included in S,D&P definition.

Not on a fleet policy. Almost always pure sd&p and in connection with the policyholder's business (the policyholder being the company.)

[Burrito]

As you say commuting will only be if your wife's car is out of action you could just get day insurance for those occasions.

[chris1roll]

Same here, full business cover for me, pleasure only for my wife, and my parents.
(coincidentally they've just borrowed it tonight as their merc has thrown a wheel bearing)

Mine might be slightly unusual in that I can add pretty much anyone to the policy as long as the insurance dept gets a copy of their driving licence, and it has less than 6 points (IIRC) on it.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

chris1roll said:

Mine might be slightly unusual in that I can add pretty much anyone to the policy as long as the insurance dept gets a copy of their driving licence, and it has less than 6 points (IIRC) on it.

Same here. My 17 y/o son on mine....at no extra cost (but a higher excess whilst he drives that I'd have to pay)

[LooneyTunes]

Burrito said:

As you say commuting will only be if your wife's car is out of action you could just get day insurance for those occasions.

In the event of a big claim, the insurer might try to wriggle on the grounds that that the owner of the vehicle (i.e. the company) had not given the "day insured" driver permission to use the vehicle for commuting purposes?

[Burrito]

LooneyTunes said:

Burrito said:

As you say commuting will only be if your wife's car is out of action you could just get day insurance for those occasions.

In the event of a big claim, the insurer might try to wriggle on the grounds that that the owner of the vehicle (i.e. the company) had not given the "day insured" driver permission to use the vehicle for commuting purposes?

Would it be particularly difficult to obtain that permission? From the company's POV it's a zero/low risk option.

[LooneyTunes]

Burrito said:

LooneyTunes said:

Burrito said:

As you say commuting will only be if your wife's car is out of action you could just get day insurance for those occasions.

In the event of a big claim, the insurer might try to wriggle on the grounds that that the owner of the vehicle (i.e. the company) had not given the "day insured" driver permission to use the vehicle for commuting purposes?

Would it be particularly difficult to obtain that permission? From the company's POV it's a zero/low risk option.

If it's a decent sized company then, yes, it probably would.

It doesn't come back to risk, it comes back to why they provide a car in the first place.

You don't provide an employee with a car only to discover that it's somehow become unavailable for company business because his wife's taken it to work!

[Burrito]

LooneyTunes said:

If it's a decent sized company then, yes, it probably would.

It doesn't come back to risk, it comes back to why they provide a car in the first place.

You don't provide an employee with a car only to discover that it's somehow become unavailable for company business because his wife's taken it to work!

I get your point, but if they're happy to cover SDP that implies they'd be okay with the wife going shopping for the day, what's the difference.

Providing it doesn't impact on the employee's performance I can't see a reason not to allow it.

[CAH706]

Checked my cover this am as I'd never given it any thought before.....just assumed she was covered. We alternate vehicles most days at the moment.

She is covered for SDP and travel to/from usual place of work.

[matt21]

If your wife's car is out of action and she must borrow yours,then how do you get to work?

[TwigtheWonderkid]

matt21 said:

If your wife's car is out of action and she must borrow yours,then how do you get to work?

By public transport or taxi. Companies do not hand out cars so that people who work for another firm can get to work!!!

[matt21]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

By public transport or taxi. Companies do not hand out cars so that people who work for another firm can get to work!!!

Put her on the bus...

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Burrito said:

LooneyTunes said:

If it's a decent sized company then, yes, it probably would.

It doesn't come back to risk, it comes back to why they provide a car in the first place.

You don't provide an employee with a car only to discover that it's somehow become unavailable for company business because his wife's taken it to work!

I get your point, but if they're happy to cover SDP that implies they'd be okay with the wife going shopping for the day, what's the difference.

Providing it doesn't impact on the employee's performance I can't see a reason not to allow it.

If she's out shopping and you suddenly need the car for an unexpected work issue, you can call her and tell her to stop shopping and get the car back. If she's using it for work then it's not that easy to call her in the middle of the day and tell her to walk out and bring the car back!

TBH I think it's a bit of a cheek that anyone would think that their company should make their valuable asset available to spouses of their employees to earn their living!!! It's great that they allow family members to drive the car for pleasure use, but to expect business use or commuting is a bloody liberty!