Cover note delivery
Author
Discussion

supermono

Original Poster:

7,464 posts

279 months

Monday 17th December 2007
quotequote all
From another thread:
Deva Link said:
Not many people seem to realise this, but it's actually an offence to drive if you haven't had the insurance certificate delivered to you.
Can this be true? Does it mean I can claim a refund from the day I pay the premium until the certificate arrives? Or can I have the policy extended by a week at the other end to make up? Are we really only buying 51 weeks of insurance a year?

What if I drive the car before the certificate arrives and I stack it up? Do they have the right to refuse the claim even though I've paid the premium?

This seems a bit rich even for insurance companies...

SM

Dogwatch

6,384 posts

253 months

Monday 17th December 2007
quotequote all
I think you are getting confused between having no cover and not possessing a cover note. This is nothing to do with the insurers - if they have accepted you.

mrsxllifts

2,501 posts

230 months

Monday 17th December 2007
quotequote all
Does this law thingy mean that although I have just covered myself and Mr Xl to drive the new car from 0001 tomorrow, when we go to pick it up at around 4 we are not covered in the eyes of the law because we will have not recieved either a cover note or ins. cert.?

This all gets a bit confusing?

Does it mean we should be getting insurance sorted approx 14 days before its required to start so as to allow time foe docs to arrive?

timskipper

1,306 posts

297 months

Monday 17th December 2007
quotequote all
I insure one of our cars with Swiftcover, who provide no printed documentation whatsoever as it's all online for home-printing (which is also un-acceptable according to some things I've read).

Can open, worms *everywhere*.

tigger1

8,478 posts

252 months

Monday 17th December 2007
quotequote all
mrsxllifts said:
Does this law thingy mean that although I have just covered myself and Mr Xl to drive the new car from 0001 tomorrow, when we go to pick it up at around 4 we are not covered in the eyes of the law because we will have not recieved either a cover note or ins. cert.?

This all gets a bit confusing?

Does it mean we should be getting insurance sorted approx 14 days before its required to start so as to allow time foe docs to arrive?
You WILL be committing an offence by not having the document with you when you drive. However there is complete mitigation if you can produce them at a police station within 7 days of being asked.

So, yes and no.

tigger1

8,478 posts

252 months

Monday 17th December 2007
quotequote all
timskipper said:
I insure one of our cars with Swiftcover, who provide no printed documentation whatsoever as it's all online for home-printing (which is also un-acceptable according to some things I've read).

Can open, worms *everywhere*.
Colour laser printer...

If it's on good paper, in colour (actually mine isn't in colour I don't think) and has "Certificate of Motor Insurance" across the top, so long as the details are verifiable with the insurer, who would know / care?

timskipper

1,306 posts

297 months

Monday 17th December 2007
quotequote all
tigger1 said:
timskipper said:
I insure one of our cars with Swiftcover, who provide no printed documentation whatsoever as it's all online for home-printing (which is also un-acceptable according to some things I've read).

Can open, worms *everywhere*.
Colour laser printer...

If it's on good paper, in colour (actually mine isn't in colour I don't think) and has "Certificate of Motor Insurance" across the top, so long as the details are verifiable with the insurer, who would know / care?
I've had no probs getting tax using a dot-matrix printed copy, but whether it would pass the producer test I don't know. I'm a good boy so I don't need to worry about that. hahahahahaha<repeat>

tigger1

8,478 posts

252 months

Monday 17th December 2007
quotequote all
BigBrother said:
timskipper said:
I've had no probs getting tax using a dot-matrix printed copy, but whether it would pass the producer test I don't know. I'm a good boy so I don't need to worry about that. hahahahahaha<repeat>
Nothing to hide, nothing to fear.

Hahahahahaha
wink

Dwight VanDriver

6,583 posts

275 months

Monday 17th December 2007
quotequote all
And here you have it S:

Road Traffic Act 1988
Section 147 Issue and surrender of certificates of insurance and of security
(1) A policy of insurance shall be of no effect for the purposes of this Part of this Act unless and until there is delivered by the insurer to the person by whom the policy is effected a certificate (in this Part of this Act referred to as a “certificate of insurance&#8221wink in the prescribed form and containing such particulars of any conditions subject to which the policy is issued and of any other matters as may be prescribed.

But before you put your head in the gas oven, many Insurance Companies appear to issue instant Insurance cover over the dog and bone by creating an 'agency' to where the Insurance note is delivered on applicants behalf and later sent on. This gets around the requirement as mentioned above.

Now the question is - does you Insurance do so?

dvd

tigger1

8,478 posts

252 months

Monday 17th December 2007
quotequote all
Dwight VanDriver said:
Now the question is - does you Insurance do so?

dvd
(Quietly buries head in sand...I don't think I want to know the answer - and aslong as I always renew >7 days before the due date it doesn't matter)

s2art

18,942 posts

284 months

Monday 17th December 2007
quotequote all
Dwight VanDriver said:
And here you have it S:

Road Traffic Act 1988
Section 147 Issue and surrender of certificates of insurance and of security
(1) A policy of insurance shall be of no effect for the purposes of this Part of this Act unless and until there is delivered by the insurer to the person by whom the policy is effected a certificate (in this Part of this Act referred to as a “certificate of insurance&#8221wink in the prescribed form and containing such particulars of any conditions subject to which the policy is issued and of any other matters as may be prescribed.

But before you put your head in the gas oven, many Insurance Companies appear to issue instant Insurance cover over the dog and bone by creating an 'agency' to where the Insurance note is delivered on applicants behalf and later sent on. This gets around the requirement as mentioned above.

Now the question is - does you Insurance do so?

dvd
But what constitutes 'delivery'? An e-mail?

Who me ?

7,455 posts

243 months

Monday 17th December 2007
quotequote all
Post Offices have been known to refuse Faxed copies of certs. So how does an e mailed one stand up ,unless of course PO are wrong -or are they both ??

DucatiGary

7,765 posts

256 months

Monday 17th December 2007
quotequote all
[quote=Who me ?]Post Offices have been known to refuse Faxed copies of certs. So how does an e mailed one stand up ,unless of course PO are wrong -or are they both ??
[/quote]

i didnt have a problem with the one I got emailed, and printed off when i went to get 12 months tax last week.

might be different in different areas though.

Noger

7,117 posts

280 months

Monday 17th December 2007
quotequote all
It was announced on the 15th of Nov by the gov (after a DfT consultation in the summer) that certs will be allowed to be sent by email.

Agree with DvD, it is technically illegal. The best you can hope for is an emergency cover note or cert to be sent by next day delivery.

Not that there are not problems, such as how do you get an emailed document back when you or the customer cancel the policy.

SLCZ3

1,295 posts

236 months

Tuesday 18th December 2007
quotequote all
Documentation is proof, inclusive of all conditions, which is required by law, being covered is seperate, unless the insurance company states that cover only begins with arrival of documentation. The "old" cover note was a temporary proof until the "real" or full documentation arrived.

BertBert

21,338 posts

242 months

Tuesday 18th December 2007
quotequote all
Dwight VanDriver said:
And here you have it S:

Road Traffic Act 1988
Section 147 Issue and surrender of certificates of insurance and of security
(1) A policy of insurance shall be of no effect for the purposes of this Part of this Act unless and until there is delivered by the insurer to the person by whom the policy is effected a certificate (in this Part of this Act referred to as a “certificate of insurance&#8221wink in the prescribed form and containing such particulars of any conditions subject to which the policy is issued and of any other matters as may be prescribed.

But before you put your head in the gas oven, many Insurance Companies appear to issue instant Insurance cover over the dog and bone by creating an 'agency' to where the Insurance note is delivered on applicants behalf and later sent on. This gets around the requirement as mentioned above.

Now the question is - does you Insurance do so?

dvd
Surely clue here is what is the "prescribed form"? Does that define, style, paper, printed, hadnwritten etc?
Bert

LivinLaVidaLotus

1,626 posts

232 months

Tuesday 18th December 2007
quotequote all
At the end of the day, how does a police office know if I have printed the cover note from a PDF sent by the insurance company, or if the insurance company have printed it and mailed it to me? They don't.

tigger1

8,478 posts

252 months

Tuesday 18th December 2007
quotequote all
LivinLaVidaLotus said:
At the end of the day, how does a police office know if I have printed the cover note from a PDF sent by the insurance company, or if the insurance company have printed it and mailed it to me? They don't.
  • They can ask the insurance company (the same way they check it's a valid cert') if they sent it
  • They can look at a corner of the cert' which will have a tiny mark in it denoting which printer printed it - and if it's on a certain list then the officer will know it is owned by the insurance company
  • Insurance company could be forced to watermark their paper (not foolproof by any means)

Noger

7,117 posts

280 months

Tuesday 18th December 2007
quotequote all
BertBert said:
Dwight VanDriver said:
And here you have it S:

Road Traffic Act 1988
Section 147 Issue and surrender of certificates of insurance and of security
(1) A policy of insurance shall be of no effect for the purposes of this Part of this Act unless and until there is delivered by the insurer to the person by whom the policy is effected a certificate (in this Part of this Act referred to as a “certificate of insurance&#8221wink in the prescribed form and containing such particulars of any conditions subject to which the policy is issued and of any other matters as may be prescribed.

But before you put your head in the gas oven, many Insurance Companies appear to issue instant Insurance cover over the dog and bone by creating an 'agency' to where the Insurance note is delivered on applicants behalf and later sent on. This gets around the requirement as mentioned above.

Now the question is - does you Insurance do so?

dvd
Surely clue here is what is the "prescribed form"? Does that define, style, paper, printed, hadnwritten etc?
Bert
Schedule 1 to The Motor Vehicles (Third Party Risks) Regulations 1972 defines "the prescribed form".

It talks about what must be printed on the face, and what can be on the rear. There is no provision for electronic delivery obviously. And it has not been amended to include this.

Sadly as it is pre-1988, there is no online version, and I don't have a copy handy !

One assumes Swiftcover etc set up a broker/agent within their own building to deliver the physical document to. Sneaky smile