Question about cars in BR

kation

You can own as many cars as you like, you can insure as many as you like for whoever you like.

The only problem comes if you fib about who is the 'main user' of the vehicle if they ask the question (which they tend to).

I would ring the insurance company and change who is the main driver ASAP, it may lead to an increase in the premium (it might not though!) but worth it for the peace-of-mind defiantly.

Others can advise on the issues surrounding selling the underused 2nd car, I think this is a good idea but you need to make sure it goes for a fair price.

The OR spent an inordinate amount of time asking me about my car history over the past few years, fortuantly I was a disciple of 'bangernomics' and all my cars ended up being sold to the scrapper - to digress slightly: I buy cars locally from ebay for £300-450 run them for 3-6months until the MOT ran out, chuck in the tax if any remaining and scrap it for £180-250 cash.

lisa.89

kepar wrote: »

Technically you are committing fraud.
The car your husband is driving to work everyday should have him listed as the main driver and you as the main driver on the other car. You are listed as other drivers on them to ensure you can drive both.
The Insurances companies are coming down hard on cases like this. it usually involves parents putting their children as a second driver on their second vehicle. This reduces the premium.

Be careful it could prove to be very serious for you.

Thanks.

I did ring ins co today to double check who main driver is and it is actually my husband. I am reg'd keeper and for this reason am policy holder but husband is main driver. So all above board. I must be main driver on other with husband as allowed driver - will double check.

lisa.89

kation wrote: »

You can own as many cars as you like, you can insure as many as you like for whoever you like.

The only problem comes if you fib about who is the 'main user' of the vehicle if they ask the question (which they tend to).

I would ring the insurance company and change who is the main driver ASAP, it may lead to an increase in the premium (it might not though!) but worth it for the peace-of-mind defiantly.

Others can advise on the issues surrounding selling the underused 2nd car, I think this is a good idea but you need to make sure it goes for a fair price.

The OR spent an inordinate amount of time asking me about my car history over the past few years, fortuantly I was a disciple of 'bangernomics' and all my cars ended up being sold to the scrapper - to digress slightly: I buy cars locally from ebay for £300-450 run them for 3-6months until the MOT ran out, chuck in the tax if any remaining and scrap it for £180-250 cash.

We have had numerous cars over the years - not expensive ones.. we used to get shot as soon as work was needed!

Will find it hard to remember when we got/sold each one..

lisa.89

Maizy wrote: »

Hi Lisa

Glad all is going well with the house move etc etc ...........

Not really sure what the solution is here as I'm pretty sure when we were a two car family, both cars were in OHs name and it never appeared to be a problem, spouse was always included in the insurance and the insurance company knew. I would have been an equivalent driver of both of the cars as worked full time then and it was a case of whichever was to hand on the drive, the first person to leave the house took. Would never have thought of it as fraud or anything like that but you live and learn.

Thankfully on going BR the only car we owned which was under 1k was not in my name as I wasn't in a position to need a car, OH was for work with working unsociable hours like yours. It was probably luck more than anything that the car was in his name. We've had plenty of run arounds over the years and both have been registered keepers, him mainly as he deals with car tax, mot etc etc just seemed easier that way.

Must be plenty of other situations like yours, its amazing isn't it, mine and my OH share ALL of the finances and nothing is separate but when it comes to BR, it seems not to be looked at that way with cars. Regardless of whether or not both cars are in your name, the OR may discuss a solution with you but again, you will not know until the time comes. In the meantime, what do you do with both the cars which in reality are classed as yours but at the same time, your main family earner NEEDS one for work.

We all do things that in hindsight we wish we had done slightly differently. I'm hoping someone on here has some experience or a kind of solution to guide you as this could greatly impact on your OH job or may mean putting BR off for a while ???

BR changes everything and when we did it, we were determined to sort everything out that was putting strain on us as a couple and then of course as a family as we're a very close nit unit and debt has affected us greatly over the past few years. Our goals included ridding the unsociable working hours and getting the job bit right, so far so good and with a bit of persistence, I believe we can get most things sorted.

We didnt go through this to end up with even more stress & I hope everything works out for you on the other side too. I'm not suggesting anyone changes jobs here etc etc, just pointing out that with the right mind set and determination which you seem to have, any little niggles during this process, & beyond which are of course different for us all, should get sorted over time.

I hope members can give you some realistic pointers as to where you can go from here, you need a solution after all. Good luck. x

Hi Maizy

Thanks again for useful advice, you are very reassuring.

I have been grilled on here recently about my child care arrangements and now have the cars as a worry! Its all dawning on me now that this is happening!

I spoke with BR expert today, they charge a fee but gave me some free advice. They think car should be viewed as 'family' car so if just the one car between us it should be ok as hubby needs it for work. Its so hard though as what if they did try to take it, my husband cannot change his hours of work and we would then be in real trouble. He gets paid quite well for what he does in this area...

Hoping that as he is listed as mian driver on policy, this will show he is in need of the car. I am regd keeper for both as I deal with tax, parking tickets etc etc... its always been easier this way....

x

PippaGirl_2

antrobus wrote: »

As a general rule, non-disclosure of material facts to an insurer (such as the identity of the main driver) renders the contract voidable at the option of the insurer. But until such time as the insurer does discover the truth and cancel the contract it's perfectly valid. You could only be prosecuted for driving with no insurance if you continued driving the vehicle after the insurer had cancelled the insurance and you'd failed to purchase an alternative.

Checked this with the police today as this wasn't how I understood it. And I was right, insurance is invalid if you break the terms and conditions (whether or not the Insurance companies are aware of the breach), one of which is that the insurance must be in the name of the main driver. A lot of people who are involved in accidents end up not being paid out as the Insurance company finds out the driver is the main driver but not the main person on the insurance policy. And apparently that renders the other party to be liable for their own costs even if they were the innocenty party in the accident. Same if you overload the car, say have 6 people in a 5 seater car, you are not insured and the other party you hit then has to foot their own costs. That is more frequently discovered though. Then the Police can charge you for driving without insurance even though you thought you were insured and had paid etc. That's what the Police today me today anyway.

lisa.89

PippaGirl wrote: »

Checked this with the police today as this wasn't how I understood it. And I was right, insurance is invalid if you break the terms and conditions (whether or not the Insurance companies are aware of the breach), one of which is that the insurance must be in the name of the main driver. A lot of people who are involved in accidents end up not being paid out as the Insurance company finds out the driver is the main driver but not the main person on the insurance policy. And apparently that renders the other party to be liable for their own costs even if they were the innocenty party in the accident. Same if you overload the car, say have 6 people in a 5 seater car, you are not insured and the other party you hit then has to foot their own costs. That is more frequently discovered though. Then the Police can charge you for driving without insurance even though you thought you were insured and had paid etc. That's what the Police today me today anyway.

Confused...


Ins company set up the policy as me as reg'd keeper and policy holder but husband as main driver.. why would they set this up if not allowed... don't understand... whay would they offer such a policy if it is not allowed..??

PippaGirl_2

lisa.89 wrote: »

Confused...


Ins company set up the policy as me as reg'd keeper and policy holder but husband as main driver.. why would they set this up if not allowed... don't understand... whay would they offer such a policy if it is not allowed..??

Why is that not allowed? Who said it is not? If he is the main driver then he can be insured as the main driver, whoever is the registered keeper.

http://www.uk-insurance-index.co.uk/articles/5-mistakes-that-could-instantly-void-your-car-insurance-policy.html

This article doesn't mention the most common reason for instantly invalidating your insurance, more people in the vehicle than seats.

lisa.89

PippaGirl wrote: »

Why is that not allowed? Who said it is not? If he is the main driver then he can be insured as the main driver, whoever is the registered keeper.

http://www.uk-insurance-index.co.uk/articles/5-mistakes-that-could-instantly-void-your-car-insurance-policy.html

This article doesn't mention the most common reason for instantly invalidating your insurance, more people in the vehicle than seats.

Hi,

Sorry, think I didn't understand what you were saying..

Just to clarify that I am policy holder but hubby is listed on policy as main driver so ins is under my name but he is the main driver. I did ask ins co about no claims bonus as this is my no claims as policy holder - even though he is main driver, they said to swap policy into his name we could be looking at a big increase in premium - although he has never claimed!don't get it but as long as we are not breakinng any rules thats ok.

Am hoping that he being main user and me reg'd keeper will be ok for us keeping car as no car no woork..

Thanks x

Maizy

Hi Lisa

So glad your insurance company have offered you reassurance, seems like the best option may be to keep the car he is the main user of, pretty sure any OR wouldn't want to jeopardise the family income.

I read your threads about childcare and was amazed at some of the responses, all I can say is take some of the responses with a pinch of salt. Some folks stand in great judgement when really there is no need. We will all go through hard times of some kind or another and there will be many folks who will be heading for the BR route and may not even realise it yet. I had similar responses to questions when I first joined and questioned why I was here, I like direct talk but believe in being realistic at the same time. As an outsider, your case seems as normal as the next domestic BR but that is just my opinion.

Good luck Lisa, all will turn out well for you, I've found the whole process extremely hard to be honest but 6 months on, now try and see all of the positives especially as I get nearer to discharge and can truly start to rebuild my life. I'm not prepared to carry BR around on my shoulder life long as I think we put too much emphasis on negatives and what others may think, I know we both did.

I have close friends who now know (very hard to keep it from them), they ask questions, the house has clearly been repo'd, they want to do things we can't afford to do......I feel better for 'certain' folks knowing and I decided if they want to judge then they are no friend of mine anyhow. My in-laws were the ones we feared most and yet they have been like rocks, supporting us all of the way. How wrong we were, they watch the news, read papers they are much wiser than we gave credit.

BR isn't a crime, its a legal process and in time I think we shall see a lot more of this and folks renting due to prices falling. When I first looked at BR a couple of years back, things have even changed a lot since then. Sorry for wittering on but I've picked up a few things from your other threads and just want to offer you some reassurances. Other folks really helped me to come to terms with a lot, there are and have been some fantastic members on this forum.

Keep your chin up, looking forward to hearing how things pan out for you.

PippaGirl_2

(((Lisa))) I can't remember how long it is until you apply for BR, I hope it is not long as I think sometimes the longer the wait the more time to worry and stress about things that when the time comes turn out to be no problem at all. I'm sure the OR will let you keep one vehicle and may let you keep both if they consider them both to be exempt, either way they will only decide to only let you keep one car if they believe you can manage with one.