Is it possible to insure a car you don't own?

Would appreciate some advice.

I am about to lend my nephew some money for a car.
He can't get a bank loan as he's only been in his job 2 weeks and they have said 3 months. He goes to work at about 5:30 in the morning so public transport is useless.

Anyway I would prefer to keep ownership of the car. More to send him a psychological message than anything else.

Will this cause problems when he comes to insure as he will definitely be the main (only) driver?

I have a feeling it will be a problem.
Are there any ways round it, or will the car simply have to go into his name?
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  • newlywed
    newlywed Posts: 8,255
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    Yes. I did this for years with CIS insurance. (Co-op)

    It was registered to my dad, insured under my name. We told them about it and they were fine with it (think they spoke to my Dad too about it to agree it).

    The only thing is you can't do the online tax renewal (as owner and insurance are different names) and any speeding fines, tax renewal is sent to the Owner not the driver ;) So you will have to sign the form each time for the tax renewal. - Think you are also liable if the tax isn't renewed too.


    Edit: did this for the last 13 years on 3 different cars that I drove and Dad actually owned, and only ever had a brief question about it, never any problem or issue.
    working on clearing the clutterDo I want the stuff or the space?
  • lisyloo
    lisyloo Posts: 29,583
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    Thanks for he advice.
    It's more of a psychological thing than anything else.
    He's 18 and showed a lot of imaturity so far so it might be appropriate that he knows that the car won't be "his" until he's paid for it.

    On the other hand he might need ownership to take responsibility.

    Not sure, but thanks for the advice anyway.
  • minimadtrix
    minimadtrix Posts: 1,507
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    You will find that some insurers will not insure you if you are not the registered keeper. I had this problem when I sold my car and wanted to take out private insurance on my husband's Motability car.

    When we moved, we got round this by informing DVLA of this, but along with the change of address, we added my name to the registered keeper. The documents came back with both our names on, no problems.
  • lisyloo
    lisyloo Posts: 29,583
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    You will find that some insurers will not insure you if you are not the registered keeper.

    That's what I was worried about.
    I don't want to be forced to go with CIS because at 18 the insurance is extortionate so we need to be able to shop around.
  • dauphin
    dauphin Posts: 195
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    It will seriously restrict the number of insurers willing to quote. However, iirc, the confused.com questionnaire (and I guess others like it) ask the question whether the proposed insured is the registered keeper. So if you start by getting a quote through them in your nephew's name - with his consent of course - and you answer "no" to that question, you will get a good idea of which insurers will and which won't do this.
  • agaveworm
    agaveworm Posts: 372
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    One of the fundamentals of Insurance is "insurable interest". You will struggle to find a 'decent' Insurer that is prepared to offer cover where this lacks.
    Reassuringly expensive
  • lisyloo
    lisyloo Posts: 29,583
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    Thanks for the help.

    Loan is currently off as darling nephew (little toerag!!) does not actually NEED a new car, just wants one.
    Trying to pull the wool over our eyes so currently off.

    But thanks for the info. It's useful to know.
  • Andy_L
    Andy_L Posts: 12,765
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    agaveworm wrote: »
    One of the fundamentals of Insurance is "insurable interest". You will struggle to find a 'decent' Insurer that is prepared to offer cover where this lacks.

    In this case their obviously is though.
  • agaveworm
    agaveworm Posts: 372
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    Andy_L wrote: »
    In this case their obviously is though.

    Sorry, perhaps I misunderstood. OP says "Anyway I would prefer to keep ownership of the car". ie, ownership not transferring to the Insured?
    Reassuringly expensive
  • MarkyMarkD
    MarkyMarkD Posts: 9,912
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    agaveworm is right, and Andy L wrong - the insured would not have any insurable interest.

    I would suggest, apart from the insurable interest issue, that you remember that "registered keeper" and "owner" are NOT the same thing.

    It is illegal to have a car registered in your name if it's real keeper is your nephew.

    It is perfectly OK for the registered keeper and the owner to be different.

    So, in lisyloo's situation (and I acknowledge that she's no longer going ahead, but this may help others) - lisyloo should buy the car, with the contract made out to her. It's then HER car as she is the owner.

    She should then register it in her nephew's name. He is then the registered keeper.

    This makes everything a lot easier - most insurers will insure him, and he gets the speeding fines, road tax renewal letters, etc.

    When eventually he pays off the loan, give him an agreement transferring legal ownership. Job done!
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