Lending Car to Family Member - Insurance issues

Jameswales1212

Hi There,

We have a car on PCP. My brother in law needs to borrow it for an unknown period of time. Could be a long period, we're not sure yet.

The car is currently registered (bot for PCP and insurance purposes) to our address in my Wife's name.

Are we OK to add her brother as a named driver? Are there any issues due to the fact the car will be registered at our address but kept (for how long we don't know) at his.

Any advice appreciated!

Thanks!

InsideInsurance

Adding him as a named driver isnt an issue but you will have the question of if he is a named driver or actually the main driver. If he is mature/ long period with license etc then it probably wont come up but technically it is a risk.

The bigger issue will be the declaration of where it is normally kept overnight. If its going to be a few nights then you're almost certainly have no problems but if its potentially months then it should be updated to his address and if its on the road/ driveway etc for his property. Having a vehicle kept away from your property does tend to inflate the premiums.

Jameswales1212

Great, thanks for your quick post.

It's pretty much as I thought. Is it possible for my wife to own the car, as registered keeper and with the PCP and have it registered as having the vehicle kept elsewhere (his address)?

InsideInsurance

From an insurance and registration point of view yes. You'd need to check the terms of your PCP to see if has any terms on it.

Jameswales1212

Great thanks, so just to clarify (as it's all a bit confusing!)

My wife can stay the registered keeper / owner etc
She will classed as the main driver - and thus insured fully comp
Have him as a named driver
Have the "place this car is regular kept" as his address (even though he won't be the main driver or registered keeper)

We've checked the PCP contract and can't see anything that prohibits this.

Quentin

When you say she will be classed as the main driver, she will if she doesn't tell them who is the new main driver (who is presumably going to be the brother).


She needs to realise the implications of not disclosing the full story which will be a breach of her policy conditions - which could be that the breach allows the insurer to invalidate the policy in the event of a claim, meaning no comprehensive cover, so you pay for your own car's repairs or loss, as well as the insurer turning their sights on her to refund any payout to a third party for damage/injury etc

System

"Main driver" often seems a bit ambiguous - mileage, regularity of use, over what period?
I had it a few days ago driving to purchase a new car, and then wanting temporary cover for one day so that we could get the old car home.
Who was the main driver ? Me, over the course of a year, or my wife, for the 4 hours it took to drive home?
The insurer didn't seem to understand the point, but said it would be me, even though my wife would be the only driver for the duration of the insurance cover..

forgotmyname

If anything happens to the car at his address they will ask the question of how often is it parked there and how can she be the main driver when the vehicle maybe parked elsewhere more often than the home address.

Not disclosing the full facts could be costly.

Jameswales1212

Thanks, we don't want to risk anything.

Can we remain the registered keeper but change him to be the main driver?

I wonder if this will affect the PCP? Any ideas?

forgotmyname

You need to check the documents on the PCP or speak to them, As long as he is insured to drive with a comp. policy then it should be OK.

But worth checking.

InsideInsurance

Jameswales1212 wrote: »

Thanks, we don't want to risk anything.

Can we remain the registered keeper but change him to be the main driver?

I wonder if this will affect the PCP? Any ideas?

Where the vehicle is kept is much more likely to impact the PCP than the drivers/ main driver. Was never asked who if anyone was going to be driving the car when I did my PCP.