Online Insurance Cover Note for Tax

StrangelyBrown

Hi,

When taxing a car for the first time in your name (i.e. have just bought it), what is acceptable proof of insurance?

The dealer said he can tax it for me if I email a printable (colour) confirmation/cover note.

I'm finding it hard to tell what exactly each insurer will provide and what is acceptable to the DVLA - a confirmation email? PDF of the certificate?

My cheapest quotes were from Churchill but their FAQ states:

We do not issue cover notes, only certificates of insurance for the period of cover. These are sent out the day acceptance of the policy. We issue a confirmation email that is sent to you after accepting a policy on the Internet. This is usually sent to you within 24 hours.

I want to get the insurance in time to tax it on Friday. Would the email be sufficient or only the posted cert?


Anyone know of insurers who let you get immediate proof online?

missile

I doubt e mail would be acceptable. Ask at your nearest DVLA office.

Quite a few offer online certificates, e.g. http://mip.ecarinsurance.co.uk/index.php

Many others e.g. Direct Line will fax a copy of the cert to the garage.

Good car dealers e.g. Audi offer free 7 day cover on second hand cars.

TadleyBaggie

My daughter recently bought a car. Contacted her current insurance company (Aviva) and got them to e-mail the new certificate to her (as a PDF attachment). Sent this to the dealer and they had no problems getting the car taxed.

StrangelyBrown

OP here -

I called dayinsure who seem to provide temp insurance for other sites such as RAC etc.

They said they provide PDFs and email copies of the certificate as soon as you pay, which are accepted by the DVLA.

So I plan to take out 1-2 days' temp cover for the dealer to get it taxed ASAP, but use Churchill for the ongoing policy.

Can I insure the car on two overlapping policies at the same time?

pogofish

It has been stated time and time again that a printout is perfectly acceptable.

StrangelyBrown

pogofish wrote: »

It has been stated time and time again that a printout is perfectly acceptable.

Where? Printout of what?

Churchill said they'd fax the dealer my policy but it wouldn't be acceptable for taxing a car at the DVLA.

shaun_from_Africa

pogofish wrote: »

It has been stated time and time again that a printout is perfectly acceptable.

And this is stated on the Directgov website.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicle/HowToTaxYourVehicle/DG_069671

These are usually a printed or laser-printed document, or a plastic credit card style document.
Insurance certificates downloaded directly from the internet by the policy holder are acceptable from 30 April 2010 (this applies to GB only). Fax copies are also acceptable.

StrangelyBrown

Yes, I know you can print out the certificate but several places don't make it available online, hence the other part of my question being suggestions for insurers who make this possible?

slyracoon

Indeed, an email confirmation won't suffice but a printed copy of the proper letter/certificate download will be fine.

Swift Cover are entirely online, the certificate is availalable straight away.

When I got my car 2 weeks ago I got some temp cover from https://www.tempcover.com/, I was able to download the certificate immediatly. I got 2 days cover for about £30, I was then able to take more time in choosing my insurer and could choose the cheapest option instead limiting my search to only those offering online certificiates.

StrangelyBrown

Decided to call DVLA directly and the official line from the guy I spoke to at least was: an original, a printout or fax is fine, provided it is clearly labelled Certificate of Motor Insurance.

Armed with this info I called the insurance co. back and asked if that was something they could fax. They said they can send a 'manual certificate' to my dealer, so hopefully they stick to that when I take out a policy!

when I called them before, they said they could only send manual certs through the post so I'm still not 100% confident.

StrangelyBrown

Just to follow-up, the faxed copy was accepted without hassle.