Previous void on insurance

JRS1990

Hi I was wondering if anyone could help me please.

Back in 2008 I bought my car but having no internet at the time I asked my mum to set up my insurance online. Between us we had a lack of communication and she put herself down as owning the vehicle, she was the main driver and added me as a named driver. However I signed the documents to say I was the owner of the car. Stupid mistake and entirely our fault we know.

When someone broke into and wrote off my car in early 2009 the insurance company showed us our mistake and voided our insurance on it.

I have now come to where I need a vehicle again and mum has offered to put me on her car until I can afford to buy my own again. She told the insurers about the void and now I can not get on her insurance.

My question is - how long do we have to declare the void for? And is it mine or my mothers void? If we need to declare forever, well that's fine then I can accept that.

onomatopoeia99

You have to declare it for as long as insurers ask about it. The question they normally ask is something like "Have you ever had insurance cancelled?" So, probably forever.

Quentin

You are normally asked if you or anyone to be covered on a policy has "ever" had a policy cancelled or voided.


The cancellation does remain on your record for ever, but if the insurer's question is different (eg have you had a policy cancelled in the last x years) then you just answer the question.


But from what you say, as the policy that was voided was in your mothers name, and if that was the case, then it is her who has the void on her history, not you.

Aretnap

From memory, Direct Line and its associated brands (eg Churchill) only ask if you've had a cancellation in the last 5 years. There are a few other companies that do the same if you look around, but off the top of my head I can't remember which ones.

In whose name was the policy set up (ie who was the policyholder - not the owner of the car or the main driver)? That's the person who has to declare the cancelled policy. If it was your mum she should really be declaring it, or she might find that she has her insurance cancelled again. If that's the case then if I were her rather than ring up my current insurer and tell them about it (and risk them charging an enormous fee in backdated premiums or cancelling the policy outright) I'd cancel my current policy myself (even if it means a hefty cancellation fee) and take out a new one with a company which only asks about cancellations in the last 5 years.

JRS1990

Thank you for responding. It was my mum who was policy holder. I've rang diamond insurance (first company I could think of) to ask whose it is and if I need to declare it at any point etc. Anyway they said that they don't ask if any have been voided before and so we are giving them a call tonight to start up a policy with them. But they have also clarified that it is not my void and is definitely my mums.

Foxy-Stoat_3

So has your Mum advised her insurance company that she has had cover cancelled?

gibby9

Foxy-Stoat wrote: »

So has your Mum advised her insurance company that she has had cover cancelled?

I presume not. The insurers would not accept the OP As a named driver when they thought he had a policy voided himself. Therefore it is likely that they would not have accepted to his mother had she disclosed the voided policy at inception. If she discloses now I would suspect this policy will also be voided rather simply charging an additional premium.

To have a policy voided ab initio is seen as a serious occurrence and the more mainstream insurers would not generally quote someone who has answered yes to the question .

facade

Intentional or not, what the OP's mother did is called "fronting" (Someone claiming that they are the owner, and therefore main driver of someone else's car to obtain a more favourable quote), and insurance companies really really really hate anyone who they can catch doing it.

Most won't touch you with someone else's bargepole after you've been caught out.

The correct approach is for you to insure in your name, and then add a more experience older relative as a named driver. This usually results in a slight reduction in premium.

arcon5

I'd advise your mum to cancel her policy and take out a new policy with an insurer who doesn't ask the question.

dacouch

arcon5 wrote: »

I'd advise your mum to cancel her policy and take out a new policy with an insurer who doesn't ask the question.

It would be ironic if the son had done the arranging of the mother's insurance and not declared the void insurance for her

JRS1990

Thank you all, everything has been sorted. Void was declared for my mum originally and so she was paying hefty premiums. She told me they wouldn't accept me because she didn't really want me driving her car because it would mean even more expensive premiums than she has now. She had in fact never even asked the company about me! So now just going to save up for my own car and insure myself on that