College students and motor insurance

aylesby

When my child goes back to college the change in post code increases a £750 motor premium by £300 pa. When the summer holiday comes we revert to the home post code and collect a refund on the unexpired insurance. Having researched the market we are probably dealing with the cheapest insurer for their car.
We were prompted to do this by the insurance company and for 35 weeks the college post code is their most used address where they have an annual tenancy in a student house.
Do others make this declaration or are we being too honest?

huckster

When I was at college I had a motorcycle that cost about £200 and I had to pay for all the running costs. How times have changed ?

In regard to your post, I suspect you might not get posts from people who are currently not providing the true picture to their Insurers. The danger in not providing the address where the vehicle is mainly kept, is when a major claim arises. The Insurers will investigate the claim and if they find out that the information declared is not accurate, they could reject the claim and cancel the policy. This is a risk that some people would not think about but you clearly have done so. Being that you are honest people, you would have to think whether you could tell untruths if Insurers asked questions.

silvercar

My son gets a cheaper price because his car stays at home when he goes to uni. Cheaper than if he lived at home and studied, so it can work in your favour.

forgotmyname

If they take the car with them then your doing it right, If they dont then i presume its not driven term time?


If you left the home address and he needed to make a claim things could turn sour. What if it was stolen at night
or someone crashed into it. Why is the car not at the home address the policy was setup at.

Result could be no insurance and no payout. Or worse.

The only way these things work is if you never have to claim.

Auneek

What benefits can we get out of this insurance... If we confront some accident... How much are we be getting paid? I shall be grateful on knowing about it in details...!

aylesby

Thanks for all the responses. It reinforces my belief that I need to make the insurance declaration that the inner city college post code is the main address for the 35 weeks or so just in case something major happens.
With a car valued at 1k and a £400 excess the insurer is in a win win situation until there is a million pound claim for serious personal injury and that is the protection I am paying for.
Leaving the car at home is not an option for us to consider.

DCFC79

Auneek wrote: »

What benefits can we get out of this insurance... If we confront some accident... How much are we be getting paid? I shall be grateful on knowing about it in details...!

You from the USA right ? then parts of the forum aren't relelvant to you

lisyloo

With a car valued at 1k and a £400 excess the insurer is in a win win situation until there is a million pound claim for serious personal injury and that is the protection I am paying for.

I don't understand what you are saying there.
There is no excess on 3rd party claims so the insurer will have to pay any 3rd party claim.
It's true that with a low cost car the insurer is not exposed on your car and that will be factored into the premium.
But the damage done to 3rd parties is pretty much the same whether your car is an old banger or a ferrari.
3rd party claims size depends on the injuries sustained and the cost of the other parties car (and their uninsured losses). So if you put a CEO out of work then their time off work will cost most than a refuse collector.
The bulk of the premium cost is not related to the car you are driving but it is factored into the premium.

I can't see how the insurer are in a "win win" situation (although of course they are in business to make a profit just like everyone else).