Car insurance for commuting - what does it cover?

james_joyce

Hi

I work at an office a few miles from my home and my car insurance covers my commute (the 'usual place of work' or similar phrase).

However my company also has an office round the corner from my house and I sometimes travel from my usual office to meetings there. My understanding is that I am insured for these journeys, as I park at my home then walk to the meetings. Is that correct?

Or would this count as business travel, ie do I need to amend my insurance cover?

Thanks

custardy

if you have travelled to work in the morning thats commuting
if you then drive to another office during work hours then thats business use

casper_g

custardy wrote: »

if you have travelled to work in the morning thats commuting
if you then drive to another office during work hours then thats business use

Yes, driving to the other office would be business use. But what the OP said they did was to drive from their usual office to their home, albeit at a different time of day to usual, then walk to the other office. TBH, I'm not sure how the insurer would treat this. They'd only have the chance to take a view on it if they knew about it though!

thescouselander

I normally add 1000 miles of business cover to my policy to cover things like travelling between offices - I've never had to pay extra for this, might be worth doing in the OP's case.

dacouch

casper_g wrote: »

Yes, driving to the other office would be business use. But what the OP said they did was to drive from their usual office to their home, albeit at a different time of day to usual, then walk to the other office. TBH, I'm not sure how the insurer would treat this. They'd only have the chance to take a view on it if they knew about it though!

When they find out about it is generally when you have an accident as it's one of the questions they ask so without the correct cover you run the risk of not being covered.

In addition if an employee has an accident whilst driving in connection with their business which this could be classed as the police normally investigate the accident so there is also the chance of the police discovering it.

Driving to anywhere else that is not your normal place of work is generally classed as business use, normally Class One / A which is not that expensive. Some Insurers would cover it though under commuting cover so if it's occassional and you drive to the other premises straight from home to work there all day. So the answer is to contact the Insurer and if they say it's already covered ask them to confirm it in writing to prevent any come backs

custardy

im the same as thescouselander,i add 1000 miles business use just incase
even when i worked in RM i would often have the red bags(empty) in the car and didnt want any complications if i had a bump and the insurers tried to argue i was working

darich

I asked my insurance this very question - would I be insured to drive to a different office for a course lasting a day? I'd be driving there at 8am and coming home at 5pm.

The answer was that I would not be covered without business use. My policy was set up that my car is used for commuting to and from a "permanent" place of work. So any place of work that isn't my regular would be classed as business use.

Additionally, I must prove to my employer that I have business use if I want to claim any mileage...and sign the declaration on the form confirming it.
So I can't claim mileage without it, nor can I travel to a course without the cover.

You'd need to speak to your insurance company because they may treat it differently from mine.

james_joyce

Thanks for all the replies. I will speak to my insurance company.

I'm trying to understand the difference between three scenarios:

1. I drive home at lunchtime intending to leave my car parked at home for the rest of the day, have lunch, then walk to a meeting at the office round the corner which takes all afternoon and finally walk home. However I have an accident on the car journey.

2. I drive home at lunchtime intending to leave my car parked for the rest of the day, have lunch, then work from home all afternoon waiting for a plumber to arrive. However I have an accident on the car journey

3. I plan to do scenario 2 above (minus the accident!), and begin my journey home. My manager phones me in mid journey (I am on hands free and the phone call itself is not a problem!). He asks me to cancel the plumber and instead attend a meeting all afternoon at the office round the corner from my house. I carry on driving home, however I then have an accident

In all cases have only commuting insurance, not business.

Are we saying I am covered for scenario 2, but not scenarios 1 and 3? If so what is the difference between 1 and 2?

boliston

james_joyce wrote: »

Hi

I work at an office a few miles from my home and my car insurance covers my commute (the 'usual place of work' or similar phrase).

However my company also has an office round the corner from my house and I sometimes travel from my usual office to meetings there. My understanding is that I am insured for these journeys, as I park at my home then walk to the meetings. Is that correct?

Or would this count as business travel, ie do I need to amend my insurance cover?

Thanks

If it's a trip between home and office or vice versa then it should be covered under normal insurance, as the fact that you then travel from home to a meeting is none of the insurer's business.

Mind you, not sure what happens if you drop some cheques off at the bank on the way home if you normally go past the bank on the way home anyway, so no variation to your route.

KeithP

As Boliston says.

In each example you are travelling between home and your usual place of work.

Why would your motor insurer be interested in where you walked to having parked your car at home?

mazza111

However, if in doubt maybe you should look at lowest class of business insurance, traveling to and from placeS of work. This is what I had when I was in care work. Main office was in the next town, had to go there to clock in, then back to home town to work in Sheltered housing complex.

If you really are in doubt on this, I would call your insurance company for advice. I don't think it would matter as you were taking your car to your home address tho.