Question about insurance coverage
Question about insurance coverage
Author
Discussion

urbandriver

Original Poster:

23 posts

50 months

Friday 5th August 2022
quotequote all
I was driving my wife's car and had a car park accident (the car is a BMW i3) and occasionally these cars "surge" under some circumstances and actually speed up when you least expect them to. I hit the car park wall and busted a headlight. I have fully comp insurance on my own vehicle (but am not a named driver on my wife's car). Can I still put in an insurance claim with my OWN insurance company, or do I need to pay for the damages out of my own pocket?

CharlesElliott

2,261 posts

311 months

Friday 5th August 2022
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At best, you will only be covered for 3rd party damage - so you will have to pay for the damage to the car.

You might want to check that your insurance actually covers you to drive your wife's car at all, as it is no longer a standard thing.

Shaw Tarse

31,887 posts

232 months

Friday 5th August 2022
quotequote all
urbandriver said:
I was driving my wife's car and had a car park accident (the car is a BMW i3) and occasionally these cars "surge" under some circumstances and actually speed up when you least expect them to. I hit the car park wall and busted a headlight. I have fully comp insurance on my own vehicle (but am not a named driver on my wife's car). Can I still put in an insurance claim with my OWN insurance company, or do I need to pay for the damages out of my own pocket?
You should check to see if you have DOC on your policy, if not could have been an expensive lesson if you hit another vehicle/person

urbandriver

Original Poster:

23 posts

50 months

Friday 5th August 2022
quotequote all
Thanks all, yes, I do have DOC. I suspected as much, that I'd be liable for the damage myself.

E-bmw

13,346 posts

181 months

Friday 5th August 2022
quotequote all
DOC just covers legality, you were in her car under 3rd party only unless a named driver.

TwigtheWonderkid

48,970 posts

179 months

Friday 5th August 2022
quotequote all
urbandriver said:
I have fully comp insurance on my own vehicle (but am not a named driver on my wife's car).
Why not? Unless you're a young driver and she isn't, or you have a terrible record.

cuprabob

19,557 posts

243 months

Friday 5th August 2022
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Double check your wife's policy as some insurers cover spouses even if they are not a named driver.

BertBert

21,235 posts

240 months

Friday 5th August 2022
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E-bmw said:
DOC just covers legality, you were in her car under 3rd party only unless a named driver.
We have had people on here say they have fully comp DOC cover before.

The OP just needs to read his policy to see. It'll be written in plain English, more or less.

Mr Tidy

31,322 posts

156 months

Friday 5th August 2022
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Yes, some policies do provide Fully Comp cover to Driving Other Cars.

When I insured one of mine with Adrian Flux in June they offered it for an extra £25 a year so I took it!

ridds

8,372 posts

273 months

Friday 5th August 2022
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Mr Tidy said:
Yes, some policies do provide Fully Comp cover to Driving Other Cars.

When I insured one of mine with Adrian Flux in June they offered it for an extra £25 a year so I took it!
Yeah, I have this. FC up to £40K I think. A bargain for £25! (I think mine is £35)...

QuickQuack

2,808 posts

130 months

Friday 5th August 2022
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While double checking whether your DOC is fully comp or only third party, triple check that your DOC extension actually provides the cover you think it does. Most DOC extensions specifically exclude cars owned by spouses, immediate family and members of the same household. My wife and I are named drivers on each other's policies, both have DOC, and both exclude cars owned by members of the same household. You might find that you can drive your next door neighbour's car with a fully comp DOC policy extension in place, but you aren't legally insured to drive your wife's car.

Edited by QuickQuack on Friday 5th August 23:49

GasEngineer

2,335 posts

91 months

Saturday 6th August 2022
quotequote all
TwigtheWonderkid said:
urbandriver said:
I have fully comp insurance on my own vehicle (but am not a named driver on my wife's car).
Why not? Unless you're a young driver and she isn't, or you have a terrible record.
When I added my wife to my van insurance the £300 premium reduced by £50. Worth checking yours OP.

anonymous-user

83 months

Saturday 6th August 2022
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dibbers006 said:
urbandriver said:
... occasionally these cars "surge" under some circumstances and actually speed up when you least expect them to.
Wat?!
Watt?! smile

QuickQuack

2,808 posts

130 months

Saturday 6th August 2022
quotequote all
280E said:
dibbers006 said:
urbandriver said:
... occasionally these cars "surge" under some circumstances and actually speed up when you least expect them to.
Wat?!
Watt?! smile
From the first hit on Google for BMW i3 surge:

my BMW i3 forums said:
This is regenerative braking backing off when the DSC/Traction control is triggered (i.e. Bumpy or slippery surface). This is normal and it is to prevent the regenerative braking locking the rear wheels and causing loss of control (basically a handbrake turn). It can also be predicted by looking at the road surface and considering how much regeneration you're demanding.

It gives the impression of a 'surge', but it's really just the braking effect from regeneration being removed. The brain interprets this as 'accelerating' in a way.

BertBert

21,235 posts

240 months

Saturday 6th August 2022
quotequote all
QuickQuack said:
280E said:
dibbers006 said:
urbandriver said:
... occasionally these cars "surge" under some circumstances and actually speed up when you least expect them to.
Wat?!
Watt?! smile
From the first hit on Google for BMW i3 surge:

my BMW i3 forums said:
This is regenerative braking backing off when the DSC/Traction control is triggered (i.e. Bumpy or slippery surface). This is normal and it is to prevent the regenerative braking locking the rear wheels and causing loss of control (basically a handbrake turn). It can also be predicted by looking at the road surface and considering how much regeneration you're demanding.

It gives the impression of a 'surge', but it's really just the braking effect from regeneration being removed. The brain interprets this as 'accelerating' in a way.
In a car park?

urbandriver

Original Poster:

23 posts

50 months

Saturday 6th August 2022
quotequote all
BertBert said:
In a car park?
Yes, unfortunately. The regen breaking disengaged when I was about a meter away from the concrete wall. No time to react.

Oceanrower

1,351 posts

141 months

Saturday 6th August 2022
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urbandriver said:
BertBert said:
In a car park?
Yes, unfortunately. The regen breaking disengaged when I was about a meter away from the concrete wall. No time to react.
Sorry. I thought it was a headlight. Your regen is broken too? That’ll be expensive…

fat80b

3,230 posts

250 months

Saturday 6th August 2022
quotequote all
QuickQuack said:
triple check that your DOC extension actually provides the cover you think it does. Most DOC extensions specifically exclude cars owned by spouses, immediate family and members of the same household.
That was going to be my comment.

Whenever these DOC threads pop up, the response is always the same in that the only thing that matters is what your actual policy / cover states.

And my experience is that the specific exclusion above is what mine have usually said.

The lesson is that you should never assume that you are covered and should refuse to drive someone else’s car until you have established the level of cover.

urbandriver

Original Poster:

23 posts

50 months

Saturday 6th August 2022
quotequote all
Oceanrower said:
Sorry. I thought it was a headlight. Your regen is broken too? That’ll be expensive…
No, regen is fine as I drove it home. Just the car's computers getting muddled up and disengaging regen braking at a crucial moment. There are quite a few accounts of this on t'interweb.

Monkeylegend

29,172 posts

260 months

Saturday 6th August 2022
quotequote all
I have found adding me and my partner as a named driver on each others insurance sometimes reduces the price by a few £'s and at worst results in no increase.

It seems silly not to unless as said one of you has a poor driving or claims history.