driving a deceased persons car

thebull

Hi all sadly my father in law died 2 weeks ago.
Question is could I drive his car a few miles legally ?
He had the car insured and I also have my own full comp insurance for my own car.

raskazz

thebull wrote: »

Hi all sadly my father in law died 2 weeks ago.
Question is could I drive his car a few miles legally ?
He had the car insured and I also have my own full comp insurance for my own car.

Sorry for your loss.

If you are a named driver under his policy and it is still inforce then yes you can.

I would check with your own insurer beforehand if you intend to drive the vehicle under any "driving other cars" extension you have. This is because to be operative, driving other cars cover invariably requires the permission of the owner. The owner is technically the estate so the permission issue is a grey area.

BobQ

Unless your policy excludes driving a car you do not own (unusual), you can do so but it will only be insured for third party claims.

Your FIL's car is still insured on the policy till it expires against damage and theft but your FIL's executor needs to inform the insurer of his death.

Nobody can sell the car until probate or letter of administartion have been issued but you will probably find that the insurer will extend the insurance to cover you driving it in certain circumstances. You would have to show that you were doing so on behalf of the executor/personal representative of the deceased and of course that you werethe sort of person they would be willing to insure in the first place,

azzabazza

Hi, I am sorry about your loss.

I would be very careful here. When my BIL died his wife was told that technically his policy 'died' with him. They allowed her 7 days' cover following his death on his policy as a goodwill gesture. Thereafter she had to take out a policy in her own name.

anniecave

raskazz wrote: »

Sorry for your loss.

If you are a named driver under his policy and it is still inforce then yes you can.

Even in this case, if it was a policy paid up front then you'd need to check with the insurer as the policy holder is deceased, so clearly the policy under it's original agreement is no longer valid.

antrobus

BobQ wrote: »

...Nobody can sell the car until probate or letter of administartion have been issued ..

Yes they can.

• If the deceased left a valid will, you (the executors named in the will) can deal with the deceased’s car at any time after the date of death, including prior to receiving the grant of probate.
• If there is no will, you should wait until you receive the grant of representation before dealing with the car. This is the legal position but not a DVLA requirement. In reality, many personal representatives find that they are able to deal with the car before the grant is obtained (which many do despite, strictly speaking, this being unlawful).

http://www.thelawwizard.com/probate/guides/deceased-car-probate-sell-transfer-mot-insure.html

thebull wrote: »

...Question is could I drive his car a few miles legally ?

As noted; only if you have insurance. You can always buy some temporary insurance, even for just one day.

bouncydog1

The administrator should contact insures who should issue a cover note showing the insured as The administrator of the Estate of xxxxx. That is what my late Mil's co did, enabling the car to be driven.