Car Insurance Question?

Rex_Mundi

Hi

I understand that fully comp insurance also covers for any other car (third party).

Does this mean it covers for any car even if that car has no insurance? Or does the other car already have to be insured under the owners name?

Here's an example. If a car is insured, taxed and MOTd. Then a month later the owner for some reason can't drive and cancels his insurance.Does my fully comp insurance cover me to drive that car with third party cover?

I've got a bet on the answer to this. I've had a look round and I just can't make out who is right. He says fully comp means you are covered for other cars even if they are not insured. I say that the other car has to have a valid insurance on it in the owners name.

Who's right? I hope someone out there with knowledge in this field can settle this for me.

Cheers.

Rex

maclean2

Hi

Most policies for drivers over 25 cover you to drive somebody else's car for third party only cover.It does not matter whether your own policy is for comprehensive or only for tp cover as this "driving other cars" extension is still given.

The other car does not have to be insured by its owner but the cover under the extension only applies whilst the car is actually being driven.If it is parked then strictly no cover applies.The extension was introduced decades ago to cover emergency situations such as a driver being taken ill.

Many policies for under 25s do not give this DOC extension.

Hope this helps and by the way mine's a pint of Guinness.

Alasdair

Rex_Mundi

Most policies for drivers over 25 cover you to drive somebody else's car for third party only cover.It does not matter whether your own policy is for comprehensive or only for tp cover as this "driving other cars" extension is still given.

The other car does not have to be insured by its owner but the cover under the extension only applies whilst the car is actually being driven.If it is parked then strictly no cover applies.The extension was introduced decades ago to cover emergency situations such as a driver being taken ill.

Many policies for under 25s do not give this DOC extension.

So this type of cover wont cover normal day to day driving of the car? Say if I used the car to take us to work or shopping etc.

Surely if this is to cover emergency situations. Then it would only apply if the car was already insured by the original driver.

m00nie

ive been stopped by the poilce whilst driving a friends car, and was given a ticket to produce my documents at the police station.

i took in my insurance policy (third party fire and theft) but which covers me to drive other vehicles, the mot and the log book in my friends name, he never had the car insured and all was fine when they took the details so i would have thought if the car had to be insured by them the police would have asked for there insruance details also.

Savvy_Sue

Not doubting what happened when m00nie had to produce docs at police station, but our car had its wing mirror bashed off by a car being driven at speed with the police in hot pursuit.

Police knocked at our door to check it was our car. And then we had to produce our insurance certificate to prove we were insured!

I can't answer the original question, but I know a man who can! If you go to the Honest John website and go to the Back Room, there's a chap there who knows insurance like Martin knows moneysaving ... You will have to register before you can post this question, but it's painless.

BenL

I asked my friend about a situation like yours a year or so ago.

He's an underwriter for Cornhill Insurance and NO was the answer.

The other car has to have insurance as well to enable you to drive it with 3rd party cover.

I wanted to get a play car like a 205 GTi and as it wouldn't be worth a great deal and used at weekends I didn't want to pay out for insurance.

I would not have been allowed to do it.

Ben

foreverskint

but surely ben that is because the car would be owned and regisstered in your name and therefore the clause stating that 3rd party cover to drive any car nor registered and owned by you would not apply.

I understood it to be that you could drive under your existing insurance so long as you do not own the vehcle in question.

Rex_Mundi

I've taken savvys advice and joined Honest John. A very good site for car info I must say.

I posted the same question over there, and have had a couple of replies already. If you'd like to see what they say have a look HERE

Not a black and white answer it seems.

burbs_2

i always thought that if you are insured then you can drive another car as a third party driver BUT only if that car is insured in its own right. I am not sure but i think this is the case.

i had a case where i was selling an Evo to a young lad who was never going to be able to afford the insurance but what he said was he had his old car insured fully comp so therefore he can drive the Evo as third party and hope he has no accident. I did not sell it to him in the end as he seemed as sketchy as they come but surely this cannot be the case. he would have saved about £6000 on insurance if that was true.

im sure the car that you are driving has to be insured by someone else in its own right