Temporary breakdown cover - legal to have 2 lots of car insurance?

weston800

Hi all,

We are travelling to the Isle of Rona (Covid permitting) in Sept, from Melton Mowbray so it's a good 9-10hr drive + 1hr boat. 
We have decided to take my 16 year old VW Lupo, she's a good car and pretty reliable, passed her MOT in Jan with no advisories (69k on the clock) but we've never gone further than 3 hours in her before.

We've decided to stop in Edinburgh on the 3rd and then Skye on the 4th, ready to board the boat on the 5th; to save driving so far in one day! Whilst we're in Rona my car will be parked in Skye for 7 days.

We have breakdown cover + onward travel (or overnight accommodation) with AutoAid but they don't offer a courtesy car option like RAC for example, we need to have a car as we'll have a lot of luggage - Rona is completely remote, no shops/pubs etc so we have to take everything with us. 
So, my question is; is it legal to have 2 car insurance policies for the same vehicle? I was considering buying RAC temporary breakdown cover for the 2 days prior to Rona but you can only buy this as an add-on when you purchase temporary car insurance, it's only £45 and I'd happily pay it for the peace of mind alone.

Heaven forbid but if we were to breakdown on the way home I would just use my AutoAid breakdown cover so I don't see the point in buying temporary insurance + temporary breakdown cover for the 10 day duration. For this same reason I don't want to hire a car as it'll be sat parked for 7 days, which is such a waste of £400!

I hope this makes sense.

Thanks all,

Emma

lincroft1710

Car insurance and breakdown insurance are two completely different things. Having car insurance with more than one insurance provider isn't illegal, but you can only claim on one policy.

Many people have breakdown cover with more than one company, it certainly isn't "illegal".

TadleyBaggie

lincroft1710 said:

Car insurance and breakdown insurance are two completely different things. Having car insurance with more than one insurance provider isn't illegal, but you can only claim on one policy.

However when insurance company A finds out it is also insured by company B they will attempt to offload partial liability to the other company. Could get messy.

The_Rainmaker

You will hire a decent car from £150-£200 for 10 days.

rs65

weston800 said:

 
So, my question is; is it legal to have 2 car insurance policies for the same vehicle? I was considering buying RAC temporary breakdown cover for the 2 days prior to Rona but you can only buy this as an add-on when you purchase temporary car insurance, it's only £45 and I'd happily pay it for the peace of mind alone.

What are you trying to achieve?  Courtesy car for your holiday if your car breaks down prior to going away?
I thought the RAC courtesy car was for something like 3 days whilst your car was being repaired.  Will they let you keep it for over a week?

To answer your question, it is perfectly legal to have two car insurance policies at the same time

weston800

The_Rainmaker said:

You will hire a decent car from £150-£200 for 10 days.

Unfortunately not where I live, there is only one company close enough and it's more than double that price.