Help with "Where is this car kept during the day / night" for car insurance purposes.

General_query

Hi,

I live in block of flats above shops and to the rear is a large tarmac car park for visitors, deliveries to the shops and for people who live here to park on.
There are also 3 garage blocks, and I have rented one of these garages for over 10 years.



 My car insurance is due for renewal mid-April. I have always put my car is kept in a locked garage during the day (except for when I commute to work like once a week), and I also put it is kept in a locked garage at night, which is the truth for my car insurance purchases.

The car park is adjacent to a road, but it is residential parking and not street parking on a road.

The garage owners have now given us notice saying they are demolishing them from 1st June 2022.

For my next years insurance, do I have to tell them the car will be kept in a locked garage day and night but only until 1st June 2022, or do i just renew then tell them nearer to this date it will be going from a locked secure garage to residential "open" parking?

I ran some quotes through price comparison sites and changed it from "locked garage" to "residential parking (non street)" and the prices quoted weren't much more than my latest renewal quote just above £400.

I'm not trying to cheat anyone, just asking for advice as what I should do, and do you think it will radically whack up my renewal quote? 

Like I said and as you can see, it's not street parking per se, it's in / on residential car park, and no one can hit me while driving past too fast like on a street / road, but obviously more prone to vandalism being left "outside" all the time once they knock these garages down for redevelopment.

Thank you.

Ebe_Scrooge

If you want to abide strictly by the letter of the law (well, the letter of their T&Cs), you state that it's kept in a locked garage when you renew, then phone them up and make an amendment to your policy at the appropriate time.  If your policy doesn't charge for such amendments, that's the easiest thing to do.

If, however, they'll charge an admin fee to make the change, I'd be tempted to say it's kept in the open from the word go.

As you say, there's little difference in price usually, anyway.

Some insurers actually charge slightly more if it's kept in a garage, on the basis that they get claims for people clobbering the garage walls as they're coming in and out.  It's a toss-up between that and the potential for vandalism if it's not in a garage, but usually there's little difference overall.

General_query

Thank you Ebe_Scrooge,

The terms in the renewal quote pack states under "Additional charges" 

If you change your policy online via your account £10.08 
If you change your policy by contacting us £26.88

Strange amount with pence added, anyway, surely changing where your vehicle is kept during the day and then night is more than a simple change? To me, and I know the area I live in, stating it will be now be kept "outside" (as we call it!) the price will go up as it's not a desirable area. And do you think it would be easy making that kind of change online?

£10.08 isn't to moan at, but how do I know they won't then add £100 to the quote I've already taken out and paid for in a lump sum? I bet they can do this.

And if I do it by phone / letter they want £26.88 plus whatever they will put it up by

General_query

And not knowing much about car insurance, would they then issue me a new policy starting for example from 1st June with it then being parked outside 24/7 from that date? For all I know, the garage owners could contact me tomorrow and say get out by the end of this week. Who knows. Just want to do the right thing but not get stung for £100 more on my policy.

General_query

...and a further spanner in the works so to speak is I usually go on live chat and speak to a renewal advisor to haggle the price, so say they knock £20 off so it costs me approx £380 for this years policy, I still worry they will then add another £100 when I tell them about losing the garage parking!.Yes, I worry (and talk) too much!

Ant555

Can you check with the online chat what the renewal will be with the location set to non-garage?  At this point its only a quote and the difference might be minimal.

IN any case due to the demolition in June you only have less than 2/12 of a year at the 'reduced' garage rate anyway (part of April and all of May) - if, for instance,  it went up £120 in total for the year then you would effectively be paying £15-£20 extra over the 12 months if you took the stress free option and did it off the bat.

PS - you can make authorised changes to your policy during the policy year (subject to potentially paying extra costs and admin fees of course) and it doesnt 'reset'.  Last year I changed cars mid way through and the new car was subsequently insured for the final 5 months on the original policy.

General_query

Thanks, before I answer that reply, just wanted to add that I spoke to another resident who rents a garage and mentioned my car insurance dilemma, interestingly they had just renewed theirs and they also were going to let the insurers know it will be moved from a locked garage to residential parking and on their renewal, it iust asked what is the postcode where the car will be kept, not in/out a garage or street/road, just the postcode. Weird.

Anyway, just re-read all the t&c's of my renewal quote and under Car insurance details > Your car > Where's it kept: it states Kept overnight at [my postcode]. That's it. I know it's like a summary that came with the renewal but surely it should say kept in a locked garage....?

Still don't know what to do and I want to buy the insurance today to lock in this just above £400 quote they sent me a week ago.

Worried if I do an online quote to include non garage parking and it's a lot more, then decline and accept first quote then they are aware  may not be keeping it in a garage anymore. Like I said, I'm not trying to dodge / mislead anyone, just asking for advice on what others would do. What if I didn't tell them, then someone damaged my car (after 1st June, I'd be in trouble for not telling them it was no longer kept in a locked garage. Sorry.

General_query

Interesting reading: Car insurance overnight parking rules | RAC Drive

General_query

And this: Where You Park Overnight Affects Car Insurance | comparethemarket.com

Seems I will have to tell them, but again, just realised they don't know my address is a flat and the previous paperwork all seems to say car is parked overnight at my flats postcode, when it's actually like 100m away in the garage block (see photo). Do they think I have a garage next to my property?

Yes, I'm over worrying again.

General_query

And finally after looking this up, it's NOT residential parking

"Residential parking schemes are permit schemes run by local councils. They allow authorised drivers to park vehicles in streets, which may be marked by parking bays or signs, frequently attached to standalone posts or lampposts. Only residents are allowed a permit which they will have to pay for".

It's just the land (above) that anyone can park on, no permit needed so I'm going to have to put "street parking" even though it's NOT street parking. I despise the garage owners for doing to this to us and causing all this hassle and worry.

The flats and land are not Council owned but by a local housing association, just to clarify.

Herzlos

It's parked at your flat even if 100m away. Is there an option for "car park open to the public"? I assumed it was based on a gate/barrier rather than a permit.

I'd treat it as if the garage was already away, since it won't make much difference to the quote and saves you changing it later.

If in doubt, phone the insurance company and ask them.