Car insurance .. Limited mileage, what does it mean?

Moneybox

Have been offered a quote but limited mileage to 9000. I usually opt for 10000 but this was not a choice on this cover.

I have dug out some mots from the past few years. Last year I did 8000. The year before I did 12000. The year before 13000.

What does this actually mean in terms of insurance. Is there any buffer zone. I expect to only do the 9000 based on previous years but what if it ended up being 9500 or more? It isn,t possible to increase it with this policy.

I am not trying to fiddle a cheaper quote, but need to know what this means. Thanks.

mikey72

It can mean anything. I have a limited mileage policy on one, I have to declare my odometer reading at the start of the policy, it goes off cover 3000 miles, or 1 year later, whichever is first. I can pay extra to increase the mileage halfway through. The other policy I guess at 15,000 miles. No record, but the mot is roughly the same time as the start of the policy, so they could use that, but really there is no comeback, as it's an estimated mileage, and nothing in the t&c's for exceeding it. They could be awkward it I crash it a month later having done 20,000 miles, but then I would expect them to pay if it was 12 months later having done 17,000 miles.

System

It means you don't need to rush to repair a broken speedometer cable

forgotmyname

If you go over they may have a clause to cancel the policy or charge you a silly figure to add more miles on.

Or use it as an excuse to not payout if you need to claim.

If you think you may go over then dont get that policy.

Nearly_Old

From my experience there are 2 different types of annual mileage:

1. Most comparison sites and direct insurers ask for an estimated mileage and for what was my daily driver I used to just put 15,000. Individual years have varied from around 10,000 to 19,000 with an average over 6 years of 12,500.

2. Some classic car policies have a defined annual mileage and, as said above, cover ceases when that mileage has been reached but usually it's not that expensive to extend it by 1 or 2,000.

societys_child

On the policy I have, they increase the excess if you go over and don't bother telling them.

thehalk

No disrespect to anyone that's posted so far but we could do with someone that knows what they're talking about. Step forward former insurance broker...!!

To my mind, there is potentially a fundamental flaw in this approach since even if I do have a mileage restriction built into my policy, what's to stop my friend borrowing my vehicle from me for a period and driving it under his own cover and accumulating additional miles? In this instance, my insurance policy should not become invalid since these miles are nothing to do with me...

Quentin

Why is it nothing to do with you?

Who permitted the other driver to do the miles?

And why would an ex insurance broker dig up an old thread then use it to denigrate the previous posters like this?

System

It's car miles, not personal miles.

I have had mileage-limited classic policies, and they were done on trust. I suppose they could have asked for MOT certificates, but they didn't.
The start and cut-off points were very vague, because they asked for the mileage at the date of completing the application form, and again on renewal.

So there was a lot of scope a) for estimating the expected mileage on the date the policy was due to start, and b) for completing the renewal form early or late depending on whether you wanted a lower or higher figure.
Obviously if you overestimate the start mileage you get "free" miles.
Also it was possible to buy extra miles. But the company i used was very flexible about this - once I rang in and explained that I was "probably" going to exceed the mileage by about 500. They said not to worry, it wasn't meant to be very accurate.

Now I have discovered classic car brokers who do unlimited mileage policies as a matter of course. I have two classics for a combined insurance cost of £104 pa, unlimited mileage, agreed values, commuting, 2 named drivers.

And I did genuinely have a broken speedometer once half way through the year. The replacement had a completely different mileage. I asked the insurers if they wanted me to clock it, but they said it didn't matter, just use rough estimates.

InsideInsurance

thehalk wrote: »

No disrespect to anyone that's posted so far but we could do with someone that knows what they're talking about. Step forward former insurance broker...!!

<snip>

In this instance, my insurance policy should not become invalid since these miles are nothing to do with me...

With some brokers you could fit the total sum of their knowledge on the back of a postage stamp.

The insurer of the vehicle itself would remain the RTA even if a friend is driving (or claiming to drive) under their own policy. Therefore, if there turns out to be indemnity queries on their policy the insurer of the vehicle itself would be the one left carrying the can. The total mileage, irrespective of the driver, is therefore a consideration.

Likewise, if the limited mileage policy is also an agreed valuation policy then evidently the mileage effects it further as excluding pre-existing damage mileage is one of the biggest influences on the value of a vehicle and an insurer wont want to agree a £10k value on an ultra low mileage car and it then do 50,000 miles in a year but still have to pay out the full £10k

Quentin

InsideInsurance wrote: »

With some brokers you could fit the total sum of their knowledge on the back of a postage stamp.........

You can write something on the back of a stamp, though.

In the case of this latest arrogant broker to contribute, I think the word you needed could be pinhead rather than stamp!