Can I insure my Dad's car at my house?

Al44

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen!

So my father has decided to go travelling for 6 months in his later years in life:&)) and has asked me to look after his car whilst he's gone.

Therefore I was going to insure his car in my name and at my house (a different address to where it's registered) as the main driver whilst he is gone.

Would there be any issue in me doing this, as his car is still registered in his name and at his address, but I will be insuring his car at my house.

(He doesn't want to SORN his car off of the road because he wants to keep his battery fresh.)

Tilt

Al44 wrote: »

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen!

So my father has decided to go travelling for 6 months in his later years in life:&)) and has asked me to look after his car whilst he's gone.

Therefore I was going to insure his car in my name and at my house (a different address to where it's registered) as the main driver whilst he is gone.

Would there be any issue in me doing this, as his car is still registered in his name and at his address, but I will be insuring his car at my house.

(He doesn't want to SORN his car off of the road because he wants to keep his battery fresh.)

Shouldn't this be something your Dad should of sorted out with his insurers by adding you on to his policy? He would of simply advised his insurers that the car will be kept at your address for 6 months and they would of adjusted his policy accordingly. I doubt it can be done any other way TBH unless you transfer keeper details.

You don't have to keep a car off the road to "keep the battery fresh"... you simply run the engine a couple of times a week for about 10 to 15 minutes.

System

If the car isn't going to be parked or driven on the road you can get lay up insurance. If the car is spending the majority of the time at his address it needs to be insured there.

chrisw

The keeper details and address are irrelevant, as long as you correctly inform them of the main driver, ie the person who will be using it most, and the address it's normally kept at.

Presumably your father still insures it, so he would be better suspending his policy so there is only one policy in force at a time.

Bear in mind that unless you are transferring your policy from another car you own, you won't have any No Claim Discount.

Andy_L

Al44 wrote: »

Therefore I was going to insure his car in my name and at my house (a different address to where it's registered) as the main driver whilst he is gone.

Some of the online sites will refuse to quote if you or spouse/partner are not the owner/registered keeper so you may have to contact a real broker or shop around different sites

AdrianC

Al44 wrote: »

So my father has decided to go travelling for 6 months in his later years in life:&)) and has asked me to look after his car whilst he's gone.

Therefore I was going to insure his car in my name and at my house (a different address to where it's registered) as the main driver whilst he is gone.

Would there be any issue in me doing this, as his car is still registered in his name and at his address, but I will be insuring his car at my house.

(He doesn't want to SORN his car off of the road because he wants to keep his battery fresh.)

Has he already cancelled his insurance? If so, he'll be getting a stroppy from DVLA sometime soon, as it's illegal to have a car taxed and uninsured.

That apart, there's absolutely no problem with you insuring a car that's registered in his name - just be sure to tell the insurer the accurate situation.

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

The summary of the responses is:

You are asking the wrong question. The right question is:

My dad is away for 6 months and wants me to look after his car. What is the best way to insure it?

Your dad would need to check his policy, but the most likely thing would be for him to add you as the named driver - or at least have a clear conversation with the insurers about the driving arrangements as they may deem you the main driver due to the extended time he is planning to be away. It is quite common to have drivers named that have occasional access to the car. Should be no issues whatever with insuring the car at a different address from the registered address, however, you need to make sure you have regular access to the registered address to make sure you can intercept and hide all the speeding notifications and parking tickets that you plan to accrue! If they are not dealt with promptly it can end up being a problem.

If it is being kept at a different address for 6 months, then the insurers should be informed as it might lead to problems if it was stolen and they felt it was an area that they would have charged more for, or it is insured as garaged and has been left outside for 6 months.


By keeping the insurance continuous, it helps with issues like no claims bonus. Also, even if someone is not there, remember that car insurance is also to cover it when it is not being driven so it should be insured even if SORN'd if it is worth anything.

No point running 2 insurance policies unless the car is something very exciting and you have a cunning plan of driving it without permission while the cat's away and clocking it when he gets back!

Robisere

If you inform the insurance that it is to be kept at your address, first check this:
http://www.motorcarinsuranceuk.co.uk/post-code-ratings.php

Take a look at your postcode, compared to your dad's.

rudekid48

Robisere wrote: »

If you inform the insurance that it is to be kept at your address, first check this:
http://www.motorcarinsuranceuk.co.uk/post-code-ratings.php

Take a look at your postcode, compared to your dad's.

That information is from 2007 and is not accurate in any way.

EdGasketTheSecond

A battery charger would be a lot cheaper.