2 people, 2 policies, 1 car

mahall1988

hi
is it possible to have 2 policies on 1 car?
i have been gaining no claims bonus and would like to keep it.
my wife has just passed her driving test and wants to start building her no claims, so is looking for her own policy.
yesterday she came home and said her friend says your not allowed 2 policies for 1 car.

i thought you just weren't allowed 2 policies for 1 person.

McKneff

No, 1 car, 1 policy.

The only way your wife can build up her own NCD is to buy her own car.

Not really sure whether you could build it up between you by you insuring the car one year and her insuring it the next.

Obviously it would take her twice as long to build hers up.

AngelsMadv

Get her a cheap run-around on a 10 month bonus accelerator scheme (only if cheaper) by using comparison sites. If you can't afford currently, I suggest you put her on your insurance (obv at a cost) and hope she stays claims free. If she does for say 4 years, when she then buys a car they will give her a 4-year introductory bonus that is often worth nearlly the same as 4-years no claims bonus, because in essences, she hasn't claimed in 4 years.

This would keep the first year down for her and then she'd have a year's no claims bonus at the end of that.

mahall1988

thank you.
another car isnt really practical as its a nightmare to get parking where i live anyway.
but its good to know she could get a introductory bonus.

InsideInsurance

Legally, you can have multiple policies on a single vehicle.

Many, if not all, motor policies state they will not provide cover if there is another policy in force. Thus you have issues if you have to make a claim, particularly if it is for a non-driving related issue (eg vandalism) because there is evidently no clear demarkation of who's policy should pick it up and the terms of each policy means that it should be the other.

For short periods this really is a fairly low risk, I've borrowed friends cars before and simply added them to my policy as a temporary additional vehicle and run the risk of the arguments if the car was stolen whilst I had it.

Personally I wouldn't do it for long periods because of the risk and the cost of running two independent policies is going to be much more than having one policy with two people on it.

System

Some companies give a NCD to a named driver, not just the policyholder.

InsideInsurance

Some give something similar to a NCD for a named driver but it isnt actually traditional NCD and so almost always won't be honoured by any company other than the one you got it from (ie it creates brand lock in)

This can be great if you both fit their target market, have vehicles that fit their market etc. You can find however that even with their ND NCD discount that it is cheaper to buy the new policy elsewhere with no NCD when it comes to the ND having their own policy - there is a thread on here about someone complaining that their sons was 3 times what he could get it for elsewhere despite the discount

thenudeone

McKneff wrote: »

No, 1 car, 1 policy.

Complete rubbish (although many otherwise knowledgeable people keep repeating this urban myth)

It is perfectly possible for two different people each to have a policy on a car as long as they each have a genuine interest in it, and they don't both try to claim if there's a theft or damage.

Just think about it - short term insurance offers exactly that, and there is no separate law covering short-term insurance.

So - as long as both policyholders are honest with their insurers about ownership, and who the keeper is, there is no problem.

But - both certificates should be carried at all times, because the full details of only one policy are available to the police. There will be a marker on the computer showing that a second policy is held, but many officers don't ask and may not even know it exists, because it's such an unusual occurrence. Even if you were insured at the time, and can prove it later, a seizure of the car would still be legal if you didn't produce the certificate at the time, and so the police may not refund the recovery charges in these circumstances.