I want to insure someone else's already insured vehicle.
Discussion
A friend of mine is going away for 3 months or maybe more and I can drive their V12 for 3 months 
but only if I can get my own insurance. I'll be keeping the car at my address for the duration.
So having read old posts, this doesn't seem illegal so is this still the case? Has anyone done this recently?
- How does it work with the car having two policies at different addresses? Can the insurance company say addresses given are incorrect therefore you're a fraud and screw me up for life by cancelling the insurance?
- Do I have to tell the insurance company that it is insured elsewhere? The law says a car must be insured on public road so I'm complying with the law, as long as the insurance company's policy booklet doesn't specifically state you can't do this then I don't want to mention it.
Cheers.
but only if I can get my own insurance. I'll be keeping the car at my address for the duration. So having read old posts, this doesn't seem illegal so is this still the case? Has anyone done this recently?
- How does it work with the car having two policies at different addresses? Can the insurance company say addresses given are incorrect therefore you're a fraud and screw me up for life by cancelling the insurance?
- Do I have to tell the insurance company that it is insured elsewhere? The law says a car must be insured on public road so I'm complying with the law, as long as the insurance company's policy booklet doesn't specifically state you can't do this then I don't want to mention it.
Cheers.
SS2. said:
The only opinion of any importance is that of your insurance company - you should be asking them.
I would do this straight away if it wasn't for the insurance companies sometimes telling me BS in the past, I wanted to get a second opinion from someone who might have actually done this. Derek Smith said:
You need to speak with your insurance. He needs to speak with his as well.
I've stopped cars being driven under joint insurance. I've put one for a decision to the force lawyers and had it thrown back.
But, as I say, inform the insurance companies and keep a record of the conversations.
What do you mean you've put a "decision to the force lawyers and had it thrown back"? Why? I've stopped cars being driven under joint insurance. I've put one for a decision to the force lawyers and had it thrown back.
But, as I say, inform the insurance companies and keep a record of the conversations.
Gavia said:
I’ll preface this with a clear statement that only your specific insurer can tell you whether they’ll be happy or not.
However, your first problem is your choice “not to tell them”, that is never a good move with insurance.
Secondly, they will ask you if you own the car. If you use online services then that question is very clear. If you answer “yes” then you’re lying and will end up in a painful situation come claim time. If you answer “no”, then most insurers will choose not to offer cover and those that do will be more expensive.
Third, all insurers have to upload all their policy details to a central register The Motor Insurers Database (MID). This is what is used to constantly cross check insurance for CIE purposes. A dual insured vehicle will flag as a potential error and will be refered back to both insurers for clarity. Each insurer will then check records, contact their insured and recheck details, possibly cancelling their cover.
Fourth, dual insurance does cause significant hassle for insurers in the event of a claim. Easy if you’re driving, but what if it’s stolen? Or vandalised? Or sets on fire? And so on. Both policies bear half the cost each then.
The easiest option is you get added to your friends policy as a named driver, which does leave his NCD open to loss if you claim, but it also removes all the above hassle.
Or, he can cancel his policy and you insure in your own name, obviously there is the hassle over registered keeper / owner questions, so you’ll need a more specialised broker for it.
You don't tell every insurer if you've had a SAC unless asked (I.e. Comparison between Admiral and LV) so I am trying to get as much info as possible regarding whether I have to tell them of an existing insurance policy, that is to say I don't want to give more info than needed. Ofcourse the MID conflict you mention might be an issue. However, your first problem is your choice “not to tell them”, that is never a good move with insurance.
Secondly, they will ask you if you own the car. If you use online services then that question is very clear. If you answer “yes” then you’re lying and will end up in a painful situation come claim time. If you answer “no”, then most insurers will choose not to offer cover and those that do will be more expensive.
Third, all insurers have to upload all their policy details to a central register The Motor Insurers Database (MID). This is what is used to constantly cross check insurance for CIE purposes. A dual insured vehicle will flag as a potential error and will be refered back to both insurers for clarity. Each insurer will then check records, contact their insured and recheck details, possibly cancelling their cover.
Fourth, dual insurance does cause significant hassle for insurers in the event of a claim. Easy if you’re driving, but what if it’s stolen? Or vandalised? Or sets on fire? And so on. Both policies bear half the cost each then.
The easiest option is you get added to your friends policy as a named driver, which does leave his NCD open to loss if you claim, but it also removes all the above hassle.
Or, he can cancel his policy and you insure in your own name, obviously there is the hassle over registered keeper / owner questions, so you’ll need a more specialised broker for it.
Obviously when asked the question do you own the vehicle or are you the registered keeper, the answer would be "no".
They don't want make changes to their existing policy and they don't want to cancel either because it loses most of the ncb and by the time they're back the policy will be much closer to renewal so easier to get that extra ncb.
Regarding splitting the liability, if I crash the car and then make a claim or a claim is made against me, is there a law that the other insurance company has to be a part of this claim too?
Gavia said:
I’ve no idea what your point is around SACs. The simple rule with insurance is that if you are asked a question then you must answer truthfully. It’s quite possible that an insurer won’t ask if the vehicle is insured by anyone else upfront, but they will ask once it’s flagged as dual insured.
Extra NCD is pretty much irrelevant after 5 years, but definitely after 9 years. If he already has more than that then he’s gaining nothing at all by running the policy to renewal. How do they lose “most of their NCD” by cancelling a policy and then buying a new one a few months later?
It’s called contribution and is the 6th Principle of Insurance. Explained below
https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/commerc...
That was my point, if not asked then do I have to mention it being insured elsewhere? Extra NCD is pretty much irrelevant after 5 years, but definitely after 9 years. If he already has more than that then he’s gaining nothing at all by running the policy to renewal. How do they lose “most of their NCD” by cancelling a policy and then buying a new one a few months later?
It’s called contribution and is the 6th Principle of Insurance. Explained below
https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/commerc...
Let's say it's flagged and they ask us regarding the car having two insurance policies, then what? Will they ask us to cancel out a policy or what? This is why I was asking whether someone has done this recently or not and maybe if it was flagged up then what happened.
By "most of the NCD" I meant the one years NCD they can get after their policy ends. Use of wrong words, I meant to say cancelling a policy will mean not earning another potential NCD.
Keeping their NCBs is their choice, not wanting to make a change to their policy in order to add me is also their choice, it is also their car therefore their rules. I'm happy enough they've given me consent to drive their car if I get my own policy on it and I'm not going to ask him to cancel his insurance regardless of whatever difference however many NCBs do and don't make.
Anyway I called an insurance company today twice, the first time the guy told me it's not a problem and I can do it, to confirm this, I called 30 minutes later and I was told no it's not possible. This inconsistent advice bit is the reason why I don't want to tell unless asked. Next time if the company tells me that it is fine then I will get this in writing so if they try to cancel my policy then I can show them that I was told different.
I have also realised another thing, let's say it's okay to insure the car twice, if I keep it at my address it voids the owners policy because it's not insured at their address anymore (i.e. The insurance will probably consider this fraud on the owners part). I can keep it insured at their address because they don't live far from me (walkable distance) and I will only use it over the weekend. I can park back at their address and then walk back to mine but then if the insurance asks me for proof of address I'm screwed because I won't have any
Anyway I called an insurance company today twice, the first time the guy told me it's not a problem and I can do it, to confirm this, I called 30 minutes later and I was told no it's not possible. This inconsistent advice bit is the reason why I don't want to tell unless asked. Next time if the company tells me that it is fine then I will get this in writing so if they try to cancel my policy then I can show them that I was told different.
I have also realised another thing, let's say it's okay to insure the car twice, if I keep it at my address it voids the owners policy because it's not insured at their address anymore (i.e. The insurance will probably consider this fraud on the owners part). I can keep it insured at their address because they don't live far from me (walkable distance) and I will only use it over the weekend. I can park back at their address and then walk back to mine but then if the insurance asks me for proof of address I'm screwed because I won't have any
Edited by captainaverage on Sunday 25th February 20:38
Greg66 said:
I had the same question as the OP has, a couple of years ago. I added the car to my policy. Easy.
I was already a named driver on the car in question (my mother’s) but her policy stipulated that the car would be kept at her address, garaged. So that wasn’t going to work while the car was in my custody at a different address, parked on a drive. Different risk profile.
She looked at tweaking that part of her policy (the address where the car was kept) and it was a no go for her to have her car kept semi permanently somewhere else (presumably because it would make fronting far too easy). My insurers were happy to add it to my policy. Her interest as owner was noted on the policy, and my interest was having possession of it.
Thanks for that. Looks more and more like this is something I might've to discuss with the insurance company if I can't find an alternate way. I was already a named driver on the car in question (my mother’s) but her policy stipulated that the car would be kept at her address, garaged. So that wasn’t going to work while the car was in my custody at a different address, parked on a drive. Different risk profile.
She looked at tweaking that part of her policy (the address where the car was kept) and it was a no go for her to have her car kept semi permanently somewhere else (presumably because it would make fronting far too easy). My insurers were happy to add it to my policy. Her interest as owner was noted on the policy, and my interest was having possession of it.
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