Car insurance claim when mot expired????

Rebob

Hi
I hope that some one can help. My dh has had a car accident with another car. The police said it was a 50/50 fault. Problem came when checking papers later that night when we found the mot was 3 days expired. It was a genuine mistake/oversight and we have never done anything like this before.

I have two questions:-

1. Is there any chance the insurance will payout or not?
2. He had to produce his documents to the police as I was hurt. What will happen with them?

Thanks in advance.

Bossyboots

If the MOT had expired before the accident the chances are he is going to get a summons for driving a vehicle with no MOT which will mean a fine and points on his licence. If it expired after the accident then he should stop driving the vehicle until the MOT has been done. The police are only interested in the paperwork for the day of the accident so as long as he doesn't have the car sitting outside with no MOT he will be okay if it only ran out afterwards.

I have never been asked if my car is MOT'd when making an insurance claim.

JimArnold

Is the car OKish will it pass an MOT now ?

AFAIK your insurance company expects you to keep the car in roadworthy condition the MOT merely shows that it was roadworthy at that date and is no guarantee that it is roadworthy now. I would hold that the reverse is also true and that not having an in date MOT does not mean the car was not roadworthy. I assume that there was no suggestion of a fault with the car

While there is no period of grace on MOTs and it is an offence I would hope that the police have better things to do than prosecute over a 3 day out of date MOT. I would certainly get the documents to the police ASAP

However there are some police who would view this as an easy guilty and some insurance companoies that allways look for an out - hope you haven't met those in this case

Rebob

We took the papers to the police the morning after the accident. The officer on the desk did say that he might receive a warning/fine. The car is too damaged to mot. We thought that it was due at the biggining of November as we bought the car new the second week of november. It is at a local garage at the mo. Really upset that we let it lapse. Not just because of the accident. We only had an exhaust on the day before.

BTW The insurance company is MMA.

Sk8lly

From working in the trade.

If the car is repairable the you wont require to produce an MOT certificate to the insurance. 2 points though

1. If the car is not repairable you would have to supply an MOT to justify getting an honest valuation and then they could kick your claim out.

2. If the insurance company needed to request a Police report then it will state on that about you not having an MOT and that may invalidate your claim also.

If your car is repairable and the other party are not persuing you for liability then i think you will be fine to make a claim as long as the garage dont tell the insurance.

BargainHunterCat

From an insurance point of view, I doubt your insurers would be happy if they found out about your lack of MOT, however if they decided to be really harsh and kick the claim out, you should appeal to the Insurance ombudsman for assistance.
If it is an honest oversight on your part, I suspect the insurance company will agree to settle the claim and just give you a telling off, especially if you are a loyal customer and have been with them for a number of years.
If your car is declared a write off, the fact it does not have an MOT will of course be reflected in the valuation so you will have to be prepared for that.
Whatever happens, if a 50/50 or other settlement is reached, your insurance company will be required to pay the percentage toward the Third Party's claim so you won't end up out of pocket on that one.

Rebob

Thanks everyone. Will let you know what happens. My dad was in the motor trade (panel beater) but has been retired 10 years. The insurance are saying at the moment that it is too expensive to repair but my dad is going tonight with hubby to see the extent of the damage. We are thinking of going to another garage (friends of my dads) where they will let him source the parts eg second hand headlamp which should make it more economical to repair.

savvy

Just like to say quickly that the exact same thing happened to me, a motorbike went into to my car. I hadn't realised my MOT was 5 weeks out of date, it went to court in my absence and I got £30 fine and no points.

The insurance paid out regardless of the lack of MOT, that was back in 2001.

windym_2

You do actually commit two offences
1. failing to have an MOT
2. failing to produce an MOT

It matters not if you manage to get the MOT the next day, it must cover the date you were requested on the HORT/1 - Police Request.

However, the Police are only the messengers and as such, most Courts will give you the smallest fine (as above) or none at all (if it gets to Court).

I don't know about the insurance but I do know that ANY chance they can get away with paying, then they will!!

As far as a write off goes, I know that the value the insurance company gets for such repairs are not always the actual cost of repairs (as you will no doubt find out with your dads inside help). You are entitled to have your car repaired to 'the state it was at the time of the accident' if claiming on anothers insurance. As it was 50/50 then this may not be the case. I suggest you get a price for repairs and go back to your insurers. At lot depends on the company and how long you have been with them etc (unfortunately).

At the end of the day you are only human. Good luck.