We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Insurance without a driving licence

Hi - Sheila's Wheels will not continue to insure me as my licence is invalid for medical reasons and I need 6 months cover. The car is on a driveway and SORN at the end of the month.

Know of any insurance companies willing to cover the vehicle.

Thanks
From a frustrated and currently non driver
:mad:
«1

Comments

  • you used to be able to off road insure, I guess you still can but it might need to be in a garage
    Nothing to see here, move along.
  • jblack_2
    jblack_2 Posts: 1,435 Forumite
    Can someone else insure it in their name?
  • Yorkie1
    Yorkie1 Posts: 12,175 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    jblack wrote: »
    Can someone else insure it in their name?

    Might be tricky; in my experience most standard insurers expect the car to be insured by the registered keeper and kept at the insured person's / registered keeper's address. If the insured person isn't the registered keeper then there might be difficulties with this.
  • KillerWatt
    KillerWatt Posts: 1,655 Forumite
    PennyL wrote: »
    The car is on a driveway and SORN at the end of the month.
    If the car is kept on the driveway (aka, off road), then there is no legal requirement to have insurance in force.

    As far as getting insurance without a license goes, it's not going to happen I'm afraid as it is the law that stipulates that a driver must hold a license (full or provisional) in order for insurance to be effective.

    You can insure it in another persons name if you wish (providing they hold a license), but make sure you tell the insurance company that the insured and the registered keeper are two different people (the law does make provision for such a scenario).
    Remember kids, it's the volts that jolt and the mills that kill.
  • forgotmyname
    forgotmyname Posts: 32,946 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Had classic insurance on a pile of rusty bits, Licence was not an issue, But it had to be garaged (brick or concrete) and had to notify them when it became a rolling chassis/shell.
    Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...

  • vaio
    vaio Posts: 12,287 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    KillerWatt wrote: »
    ........As far as getting insurance without a license goes, it's not going to happen I'm afraid as it is the law that stipulates that a driver must hold a license (full or provisional) in order for insurance to be effective......

    Don't suppose you have a link to this law?
  • KillerWatt
    KillerWatt Posts: 1,655 Forumite
    vaio wrote: »
    Don't suppose you have a link to this law?
    It's part of the Road Traffic Act somewhere along the line.

    The basics of it is that if there is anything amiss in the license department, then your insurance (if you bothered to buy it) is automatically invalidated.
    That in itself is quite reasonable, because if someone doesn't have the right license then they shouldn't be on the road regardless.

    The downside of course is that some people have vehicles that they "lay up", but would still like to have them covered for acts such as fire & theft.
    Remember kids, it's the volts that jolt and the mills that kill.
  • Lum
    Lum Posts: 6,460 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Combo Breaker
    As stated you do not legally need insurance as your car is not being used or kept on the public road.

    I am therefore presuming you want insurance against theft, fire, vandalism etc. etc. but not necessarily insurance to drive the car. This is often called "Lay up insurance"

    I know Adrian Flux used to offer a lay-up policy for a reasonable price. No idea if they still do.
  • vaio
    vaio Posts: 12,287 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    vaio wrote: »
    Don't suppose you have a link to this law?
    KillerWatt wrote: »
    It's part of the Road Traffic Act somewhere along the line.

    The basics of it is that if there is anything amiss in the license department, then your insurance (if you bothered to buy it) is automatically invalidated.
    That in itself is quite reasonable, because if someone doesn't have the right license then they shouldn't be on the road regardless.

    The downside of course is that some people have vehicles that they "lay up", but would still like to have them covered for acts such as fire & theft.
    I was hoping for a link rather than just a repeat of the post I questioned

    Thinking about it your idea would actually expose third parties to increased risk of uncompensated damage whereas the general thrust of the RTA is to decrease that risk by requiring insurance and limiting the reasons insurance companies can use to avoid claims.

    As an example….if my licence expired or got suspended for medical reasons and I carried on driving then under your idea my insurance would become invalid and anyone I hit would not be compensated.

    In fact my reading of S151(3) of the RTA http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1988/ukpga_19880052_en_11#pt6-pb1-l1g148 actually prohibits insurance companies from avoiding third party claims based on the licence status of the driver.

    Getting own damage claims paid might be a different matter especially if I had an accident whilst driving although I can see an argument that it would be fair & reasonable that any claims not involving driving should be paid, along the same lines as the FOS ruling that even when a policy requires the car to be kept roadworthy/MOT’d and it isn’t then any claims not caused by the lack of roadworthyness must still be paid.
  • raskazz
    raskazz Posts: 2,877 Forumite
    edited 21 July 2010 at 7:57AM
    KillerWatt wrote: »
    As far as getting insurance without a license goes, it's not going to happen I'm afraid as it is the law that stipulates that a driver must hold a license (full or provisional) in order for insurance to be effective.

    The law makes no such stipulation. You don't need to hold a licence to insure a car at all, as long as you are not using it on the road as defined by the Road Traffic Act. Of course, if you want to use a car on the road without a licence then you will not find any insurer who will accommodate this element of the risk as (i) the insurer would not want in any way to accept the risk and (ii) it would be encouraging illegal activity against the public interest.

    Simple example of a vehicle insured where the policyholder does not hold a driving licence: A commercial vehicle in a company name. The company is the policyholder but as the company is not human it cannot hold a driving licence. Other example: on laid-up cover there is no road risk so no requirement to hold a licence. I could go on.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 351.7K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.4K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 454K Spending & Discounts
  • 244.7K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 600.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 177.3K Life & Family
  • 258.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.2K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.