how to get the car insured??

ealteacher

A year ago my sister in law signed a finance agreement for her daughter and son in law to buy a car so she is shown as 'registered keeper'. However, the marriage has now split up and he has left the family home with 4 years to run on the finance agreement. Originally she was shown as the main driver and the son in law was the named driver. However the car was not kept at her address, she does not/never has used it and her daughter cannot drive. She contacted the insurance company last year to explain as she realised that this was in fact illegal. They gave her some leeway and agreed to let it run till the year was up (next month). She has now received a letter saying they will no longer renew the policy. He is furious and says he won't be able to insure the car. At the moment she is keeping the finance going (he pays her the monthly sums directly). Can he actually get insured for the car he drives, keeps at his address and with her shown as the registered keeper? She cannot afford to sell the car to pay off the finance as there would be a shortfall. The finance company will not transfer the agreement into his name. Any ideas? Thanks!

fwor

I'm amazed that the insurance company did not void the policy immediately, as it would seem to be as blatant a case of fronting as you can get.

Do you trust the son in law to keep paying? If so, I don't think there's any reason why he should not be named as the registered keeper. That should make no difference to the finance company - they will still come after your sister in law for the payments.

If not, and she wants to keep her name as registered keeper, there are (apparently) some insurance companies that will insure someone other than the keeper as main driver - though when I tried that with mine they refused.

bouncydog1

The son in law will of course be furious, because he is now going to have to pay the proper price for insurance and he won't have any no claims bonus as it will all belong to his monther-in-law.

I don't think trust comes into it - if he wants the car then he will have to come up with the money to pay for it. The alternative is for mother in law to keep the finance in her name and get a legal agreement drawn up, whereby he has a loan from her to buy the car, so if he defaults she could at least sue him to try and get the money back. He could continue to pay monthly.

If she is happy to insure the vehicle in her name, then she could of course do this, but must name him as the main driver of the vehicle. However any claims etc will blemish her record and she would have to pay the insurance and get the money off him.

She is in a tricky position because if he stops paying she still has to or have her credit record trashed.

IMO I think she should tell him that he will have to get a loan to pay off the finance in her name and pass the problem to him.. If he won't do that she should ask for the vehicle back. What about her daughter learning to drive and taking it over?

ealteacher

thanks - my sentiments exactly!
However, the sad thing is that her daughter cannot drive as she has epilepsy and she relies on him having the car to pick up their 18month son to take him to his mother for childcare 3 days a week. A real mess I'm sorry to say.
Thanks for all the advice - I shall pass it on...........