Car insurance claim refused - no 'commute to work' cover

[Deleted User]

I'm with esure at the moment and it's a specific add-on if you want commuting - it's great for me as I have it removed to save money as I cycle to work daily - it's a great incentive to keep doing it, knowing I cannot drive there (though I wouldn't want to anyway, a 6 mile crawl through traffic particularly in covid times, is very unpleasant as well as bad for the diesel engine). Can always get the train if desperate. Sorry OP but she has no commuting cover and was commuting, it's perfectly fair they refuse the claim, if anything, it would be fortunate if they didn't cancel the policy for not declaring the fact she's commuting in it. Might be worth advanced driving lessons/getting a lower power car if she can't drive safely over a wooden bridge

Thrugelmir

Sometimes the attitude is simply the insurer will never find out. At 23 a BMW may not be cheap to insure depending on the model/value. 

tacpot12

Really she is quite lucky to have learned this before a third-party claim was involved, or heaven forbid, a personal injury claim. Any thank you for posting here, I have two step children who are starting to learn to drive, and who may make the same mistake. I will be sure to warn them of this pitfall. This definitely falls into the category of "one of those things they should teach you about at school, but don't".

The best option will be to get the car repaired as cheaply as possible, and get the correct cover in place so she will be covered when she is commuting. 

lcc86

It's normally pretty clear on comparison sites - they ask what level of cover you require - SDP, SDPC or business. I think your daughter is lucky not to have had the policy cancelled but this is an expensive mistake. I made a mistake on my insurance years back and paid the price with points - lesson learned. I also always go over my documents with a fine tooth comb now, which I should've done from day one. BTW most insurers say "it is your responsibility to check the cover and documents is correct" when they send the certificate out, this covers them for any errors the customer might have made which they then don't rectify.

Grumpy_chap

I have every sympathy for the OP's daughter.
I would like to thank the OP for sharing, as my wife has just started a new job which she drives to rather than the old job by train.  It never occurred to either of us that her insurance may not cover commuting.  I have always had business cover, but she only ever used her car for social use.  Until seeing this thread, just assumed that commuting was part of normal personal use.

HampshireH

Hopefully OP (if they work, drive and commute) has adequate cover.

I've never found it difficult to select the correct cover.

Comprehensive is a different question to that of what it is used for aka social, domestic and pleasure plus commuting or business.

OP just in case you have the wrong policy too. Comprehensive relates to the type of cover. I.e. you and others.

Sdpc relates to what the vehicle is used for and needs to be insured for.

Hopefully the car is  repairable and as you say your daughter is well.

John_

I don’t include commuting on my policies, unless the extra cost is negligible.

It’s unfortunate that she’s made this mistake, and I do accept that it could be a genuine mistake, but the fact is that she has bought a policy that did not cover her while commuting, and then had an accident, while commuting.

It’s an expensive lesson for her to learn, but no-one’s going to pick up the tab for the accident unless she can prove that someone else was negligent in causing it, which sounds unlikely.

This one, unfortunately, just has to be put down to experience. Hopefully the repairs are not unaffordable, and she will be able to get them done and move on.

chrisw

It's worth noting that commuting use is not the same as business use.

Generally speaking, commuting is travelling from home to a single place of work.

Business use is needed for travel to or between different places of work for meetings, seeing clients, etc. during work hours in connection with your job. You can usually claim business mileage for these type of journeys.

RBN20

Everyone has covered the facts already, which are all correct. 

Depending on the insurer it may be worth appealing to them in a calm manner, rather than accusing them of doing something wrong, which they haven’t. If it is explained that it was a genuine mistake and they believe it they may well add commuting on and back date it to renewal, and charge your daughter the additional premium, then cover the claim. 

I have seen this happen before, they weigh up whether they feel it was a genuine mistake of whether it was a lie to get cheaper insurance. 

May not work depending on the insurer, but worth a shot. No point going in trying to make a complaint and blaming the insurer though, as they have done nothing wrong. The onus is on your daughter to read documents, hopefully she has been more aware when reading her finance documents too... 

A_Lert

Every comparison site I've been on has made it reasonably clear. It will also be detailed in the insurance terms. It is something anyone of normal intellect who puts in the effort to learn should and would know. There are grey area cases, but driving to work on a Social, Domestic, and Pleasure policy is a clear cut one.

Morally you could argue it's sharp practice that insurers are happy to take the money, and only bother checking the customer told the truth when there is a claim. But legally you'll get nowhere with that view.

If the insurer declares the policy void or cancels it, which they are probably within their rights to do, your step-daughter will have to declare this in future and will be paying inflated premiums for life. She should count herself lucky if her insurers don't do this and merely refuse to pay this specific claim. (And that the police aren't prosecuting for being an uninsured driver.)