Driving Fully Comp Without a Car - ?

aviii

Just found out that my partner car has a blown head gasket, to fix it £1000.
My partner has Fully Comp insurance and so can drive my car.
She only has three months left before she has to renew and by then we hope to get another car?
I am wondering , Could she still drive my car if she no longer own her car, but kept the insurance?

shaun_from_Africa

I very much doubt if it would be legal as her policy wouldn't be valid if she no longer has an insurable interest in the vehicle that it was originally covering.


Another point to remember is that if your partner was to keep the policy going and whoever bought the car from her was to have an accident and they had failed to take out insurance themselves, your partners policy could still be used to cover the loss incurred by whomever the car hit and the insurers would then try to reclaim the money from your partner.

Iceweasel

The fact that she has comprehensive insurance doesn't necessarily mean that she can drive your car.

Check the policy wording for 'Driving other cars'.

If she disposes of her car then I think she would have no insurance for any vehicle.

If she just parked up her broken down car (i.e did not dispose of it) then her insurance would just run on for the next 3 months.

aviii

OMG - thanks Shaun: I completely overlooked the accident part.
given me something to think about...


I am still n shock over the repair bill, only got the car two months ago..

aviii

IceWeasel - thanks, that may be a good idea.

Herzlos

There's also usually a caveat about the other car being owned by yourself or a partner.

Keeping an insurance policy on a car you don't own is dangerous; if the new owner causes an accident without insurance, then you're going to end up liable for it.

It's much better to either sell the car now and sort a new one, get the head gasket fixed, or get added to your insurance policy.

lazer

Are you planning on scrapping the car?

Do you have anywhere to park it for 3 months, if you still own it you can still have the insurance on it regardless of if it on the road or not.


Driving under the driving other cars extension usually only comes with third party cover - is your car valuable, or would you be OK with your OH writing it off and you not getting anything for it?


Alternatively - she can transfer her insurance to your car, its not illegal to have 2 policies for the 1 car - I don't think anyway.

martinthebandit

I would be getting another quote for fixing the head gasket for starters. £1000 seems an awful lot of money for not an awful lot of job (depends on the car I suppose)

Just out of interest who has quoted you?

dacouch

The obvious answer is to add your partner to your own policy to drive your car, many Insurers will actually reduce your premium if you add your partner.

As has been pointed out, some (Not all) Insurers insert a wording to the effect that your own vehicle has not been written off, with some extending the wording to it being mechanically sound.

Also be aware some Insurers specifically exclude driving your partners car under the driving other cars extension.

You can check the terms on their Insurance by reading the Certificate of Insurance, also look in the Policy Wording under the "Liability" section and "Driving other cars" subsection

George_Michael

lazer wrote: »

its not illegal to have 2 policies for the 1 car - I don't think anyway.

There is nothing illegal about having more than one policy on one vehicle provided that when making a claim, all of the insurers who are providing cover are notified of this.
The reason for this is because each insurance company will only be liable for a percentage of the claim (so if there were two policies, each company would be liable for 50% of the loss).

This will no doubt lead to delays and problems when attempting a claim as apart from dealing with the policyholder and other parties involved in the claim, the insurers will also have to communicate amongst themselves.