Children under 16 in the car without stating it on the insurance

Sandtree

lemondrops69 said:

Car_54 said:

Do car insurers ask whether you have kids? I don't recall that.

Yes they do, they ask how many children under 16 you have

Cant say I ever recall being asked for Car insurance... certainly for home insurance but thats more understandable in case they want to flush mummy's earrings or such.

The question almost certainly will be if you have kids under 16 not if you happen to know any or may at some point in the next 12 months carry some in your car and so unless you've already got one in the oven you're probably good for at least another 8-9 months with your current answer.

marlot

the_dudez said:

What is the legality of carrying kids about on your insurance if you say you have none but take say your sisters kid here and there and have even if you have no accident?

Surely if there not yours and only in the car a few times a year would you still be covered ?   

You'd be fine as long as there are enough seats and the children are appropriately restrained.

My wife was even covered for taking school children to appointments (she worked in a school).  But we had to have business cover - and we made sure she was covered in writing.

scrappy_returns

Third party covers third parties, eg passengers, pedestrians, other motorists etc etc. 

Aretnap

NBLondon said:

lemondrops69 said:

Car_54 said:

Do car insurers ask whether you have kids? I don't recall that.

Yes they do, they ask how many children under 16 you have

Never been asked that.  I'm assuming the logic is "Family Person with Children" is assumed to be more sensible than "Single and Childless".  It's only one factor though.

Or alternatively, if you have lots of kids, you're likely to have lots of passengers a lot of the time, which in turn means more potential injury claims if you crash your car. And also, anybody whose ever driven with the children in the back knows that they can be a source of distraction... 

Ultimately though, you only have to answer the question that the insurer actually asks. The question is "do you have children?" not "is there any conceivable possibility that you might ever want to carry children in your car?". Answering "no" has no bearing whatsoever on whether you can give lifts to other people's children. 

pogofish

user1977 said:

Car_54 said:

Grumpy_chap said:

Grey_Critic said:

kids of the four legged variety 

Is anyone allowed to take a young goat in the car?

I believe I'm allowed to, but have never had occasion to.

Reminds me of the money-saving exploit on Scottish ferries - get an agricultural discount by transporting livestock:

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12255210.dont-forget-to-pack-the-sheep-canny-islanders-take-their-sheep-for-awaydays/

Yup - Relatives of mine who were crofters on one of the islands used to do that and it was particularly popular back in the days when they had tolls on the Skye Bridge - The tolls were hated and exorbitant but "livestock transport" was amongst the exempt categories.  There was a farmer nr Kyle on the mainland who provided a temporary home for your sheep when you'd crossed-over whilst you went about your other business. You just picked it (or a similar beast) up on the way back! 

Freecall

marlot said:

...and we made sure she was covered in writing.

How inconvenient, never heard of that requirement before.  Tattoos presumably.

pogofish

Freecall said:

marlot said:

...and we made sure she was covered in writing.

How inconvenient, never heard of that requirement before.  Tattoos presumably.

Yes, back in the days I worked in schools, some of the kids from further-flung parts of the catchment area had to rely on volunteer "school bus" transport - mostly private cars with the owners registered with the local authority to provide the service.

This was in the days before DBS-checks etc and I can't remember what prompted it but one day there was a great panicky flurry of activity to see that all the volunteer drivers the correct insurance/other documentation/signs on display and properly be able to prove it.  I also had to get business insurance for my vehicle as I could be working and shifting bits of IT equipment and the like between the half-dozen schools in my group and the local resource centre.  In my case, after a bit of probing by the insurance company (mainly to ensure it wasn't hire or reward), it didn't add a great deal to my annual premium.  I also had to take a separate test to allow me to drive school vehicles/transport kids and be covered by their insurance.

born_again

Children in car = Distraction = less attention on road = higher chance of accident = higher premium 🤣

Sandtree

born_again said:

Children in car = Distraction = less attention on road = higher chance of accident = higher premium 🤣

Can go both ways... you're going to struggle to look cool racing the hot hatch next to you off from the lights with your 6 month old in their baby seat next to you and some of their vomit still on your shoulder

Ebe_Scrooge

Sandtree said:

born_again said:

Children in car = Distraction = less attention on road = higher chance of accident = higher premium 🤣

Can go both ways... you're going to struggle to look cool racing the hot hatch next to you off from the lights with your 6 month old in their baby seat next to you and some of their vomit still on your shoulder

Yup, that's the nub of it.  On the one hand you're a lower risk as you're going to drive more carefully than a boy-racer, on the other hand you're a higher risk as you've got more distractions.

That's the reason the question is asked at all - it's simply another factor in the risk weighting.  But who really understands the dark art of risk profiling that underwriters are privy to, and whether kids in the car actually represents an increased or a decreased risk????  Well yes, it's all just based on statistics of course, and I know it can get pretty complex when assigning different weightings to different factors, of which there are many.