Named driver, no insurance

McGuiver

I'm a named driver on my brother's car and was stopped tonight by a policeman - apparently there is no insurance. My brother produced his cover letter and insisted to the policeman that he is insured. I pay him every month my share of the insurance.
I was told that, even though I had no knowledge of whether or not my brother was paying his insurance premiums, I face a court summons, a fine and the loss of my driving license. I have had a go at him tonight about it but he insists it gets paid monthly.
I'm really worried about all this because, ultimately, I won't be able to drive a car and I'll get a criminal record, which could scupper my career. I know the law is the law, but is there anything I can do to help myself, or is that just it? I'd never knowingly drive without insurance and I've never broken the law.

bouncydog1

If your brother has paid the insurance premium the insurers will provide a certificate of insurance, which is your evidence that the policy is in force. A cover letter (presumably from a broker) is only evidence that the insurance was placed.

You need to ask your brother to produce the certificate. If he can't do this, then you need to start asking more questions and ask for evidence of the insurance being paid every month. If the insurance hasn't been paid e.g. returned direct debits etc then you will have no cover. You then need to decide how to take this forward with your brother as he has taken the money from you and not paid insurers.

However if this is the case then you have no insurance and will have to bear the consequences. It is up to the driver of the vehicle to ensure that they have insurance cover in place.

Why are you a named driver on your brother's policy? Who does the vehicle belong to? Was the insurance cheaper if your brother purchased it rather than you? Are you the main driver? If so this sounds suspiciously like the risk was fronted to save money. A few more questions to be answered.

McGuiver

bouncyd!!! wrote: »

If your brother has paid the insurance premium the insurers will provide a certificate of insurance, which is your evidence that the policy is in force. A cover letter (presumably from a broker) is only evidence that the insurance was placed.

You need to ask your brother to produce the certificate. If he can't do this, then you need to start asking more questions and ask for evidence of the insurance being paid every month. If the insurance hasn't been paid e.g. returned direct debits etc then you will have no cover. You then need to decide how to take this forward with your brother as he has taken the money from you and not paid insurers.

However if this is the case then you have no insurance and will have to bear the consequences. It is up to the driver of the vehicle to ensure that they have insurance cover in place.

Why are you a named driver on your brother's policy? Who does the vehicle belong to? Was the insurance cheaper if your brother purchased it rather than you? Are you the main driver? If so this sounds suspiciously like the risk was fronted to save money. A few more questions to be answered.

Thank you for your response, Bouncyd! He is adamant that his insurance is up-to-date. And I've always presumed that it is myself, since hepays it by direct debit. He's going to ring the insurers at 9 am this morning.
The vehicle belongs to my brother and is correctly registered in his name. I use it sometimes and am listed on his insurance policy as a second driver. Everything is legal and above board.
I'm genuinely surprised and shocked that I was stopped earlier for potentially driving without insurance. I'd never do that given the very serious consequences and the implications it has for insurance premiums. There's no way either of us would knowingly drive without insurance.
I think you've confirmed what I already suspected. As a new driver, still within the 2 year provisional period, I face the withdrawal of my license and having to start all over again. There's no excuses for driving without insurance, but it was a genuine mistake if it turns out that I was earlier. The implications for me losing my license are very significant for the work I do and my planned future career.

Quentin

McGuiver wrote: »

I use it sometimes and am listed on his insurance policy as a second driver.

You won't be listed on the "policy".

The relevant document you need to be named on is the insurance certificate.

Ask to see this, and take it from there. (But if your name isn't on the certificate you are in trouble from the outset!)

mcjordi

it may be that the insurer hasnt placed the policy on the insurance database.. but as quentin says check the actual certificate and if your not on there your !!!!!!ed so to speak..

McGuiver

Thanks. I'm definitely named on the actual insurance certificate because the police officer asked to see that last night. I'm just hoping that it's an administrative error somewhere. From what I've read, even if a direct debit has been unintentionally missed and you haven't been notified, driving regardless is an absolute offence.

Quentin

What happened to the car? Was it impounded?

McGuiver

Quentin wrote: »

What happened to the car? Was it impounded?

No, the policeman was actually quite friendly and let me drive it home, following me behind. He's told me not to attempt to move the car until the problems with the insurance have been sorted out.

Quentin

If you're on the certificate, then this could just be a simple admin issue with the insurer not having updated the database.

Alternatively the policy has been cancelled for some reason - either by the insurer or the policyholder.

This should now be straightforward to get to the bottom of.

GRM

When I went to renew my tax disc online last year it wouldn't allow me to as my car was no longer listed on the Motor Insurance Database.

Long story short, Direct Line had cancelled my policy instead of automatically renewing it 4 months earlier. Apparently it was a computer glitch and they don't know quite why it happened. That would have been a fun situation if I'd been stopped or even worse, involved in an accident.

dogbot

OP, i am sure you have sorted today but if you want you can google "ask MID" and go to the Ask MID website. Enter the vehicle reg and you can see if the vehicle is registered as insured or not.