Timing insurance purchase

Nebulous2

A friend has agreed to buy a car privately. He saw the car, phoned back later with an offer which was accepted and is going to pay it tonight, so he has not paid a deposit.

Obviously if he takes out insurance and the sale falls through because the owner has sold to somebody else for instance then he has to cancel the insurance.

Could he get a quote - accept it on his phone after he has got the keys of the car and drive away?

Any other suggestions on how to do this?

I seem to remember cover used to start at 12 midnight, so you didn't go on cover right away. The last car I bought at an auction I left in their compound overnight and collected the next morning, having started insurance in the meantime.

InsideInsurance

Motor insurance cover is instant, if needed, so you can pay for the car, get the keys and then buy the policy before jumping in the car and driving away.

Obv that assumes he needs a new policy and isnt transferring an existing policy onto the new vehicle. That too can be done instantly but it may have to be in the call centres opening hours if their online self servicing is limited

Nebulous2

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Motor insurance cover is instant, if needed, so you can pay for the car, get the keys and then buy the policy before jumping in the car and driving away.

Obv that assumes he needs a new policy and isnt transferring an existing policy onto the new vehicle. That too can be done instantly but it may have to be in the call centres opening hours if their online self servicing is limited

Thanks very much.

It's his first car so it will be a new policy. The owner has promised to provide proof the timing belt has been changed so there is still scope for the deal to collapse.

He has quotes he can afford so he can pay insurance on the spot and drive away.

InsideInsurance

Nebulous2 wrote: »

He has quotes he can afford so he can pay insurance on the spot and drive away.

If he wants absolute belts and braces he should wait for the email confirmation that the policy has been setup but strictly this isnt necessary as 99.99% of policies are setup correctly.

The MID database that police use to check that a vehicle is insured isnt updated instantly (neither for the current owner cancelling their policy nor the new policy showing). If they were very unlucky and were pulled over having the email to confirm it was insured again can help smooth the waters but ultimately as long as they know who they bought it from then the police can call the insurers to check.