Got Private Plate - Forgot to inform Insurer

Grey_Critic

Why should they? You found the time to buy a vanity plate - you found the time to have the plates made and fitted - but then you did not find the time to inform your insurance supplier.

The car may well have been insured on the old registration but you were driving for 4 months with a registration that *was not insured* at least you did not have an accident during that time and were fortunate not to have the vehicle seized when stopped.

Ectophile

Grey_Critic said:

Why should they? You found the time to buy a vanity plate - you found the time to have the plates made and fitted - but then you did not find the time to inform your insurance supplier.

The car may well have been insured on the old registration but you were driving for 4 months with a registration that *was not insured* at least you did not have an accident during that time and were fortunate not to have the vehicle seized when stopped.

But it's actually the same car.  It's not like the OP has sold the car and bought a completely different one.

The Ombudsman has previously ruled that insurance companies can't deny their responsibilities over trivial things that would not have stopped them insuring the car in the first place.

But unless the OP wants to take it to the Ombudsman, which will take months, we may never know what the answer will be in this case.

Harrry09

@Ectophile if I raise it with Ombudsman which might take months to get a response on, and during this time will the court still give me the penalty points or wait until we hear from the Ombudsman? Sorry I am very new to this whole process of ombudsman and all. Thanks

MX5huggy

Harrry09 said:

@DullGreyGuy do you think if I contact Esure again and show this case document from ombudsmen would they consider and give me a letter of indemnity? 

Yes, if you can get that letter without taking your case to the ombudsman then you’re on to a winner. If they won’t provide such a letter then I believe you want a “deadlock” letter, so you can go to the ombudsman yourself. 

DullGreyGuy

Harrry09 said:

@DullGreyGuy do you think if I contact Esure again and show this case document from ombudsmen would they consider and give me a letter of indemnity? 

That depends on the person you speak to ultimately.

Unfortunately the ombudsman doesnt form precedent and so they arent bound to find the same result on two identical cases however in practice they do generally follow the same outcomes unless there has been changes in legislation. In this case I could only see one case where the customer simply forgot to tell them so its not a big cohort. 

Car_54 said:

My understanding of the Ombudsman's approach to cases like this ('accidental' non-disclosure or incorrect info) is to ask whether the true information would have resulted in a different assessment of risk, and a higher premium.

Would the insurer have regarded a vanity plate as increasing risk? I'd humbly suggest the opposite - if anything, it would make the car less likely to be stolen!

Other than that, the vehicle they're covering hasn't changed, it's still VIN xxxxxx.

Since CIDRA came in there is the additional question of if it was wreckless non/false disclosure, if it is then CIDRA allows the insurer to void the policy even if they would have insured the risk if they had made a true declaration. The FOS opine a lot on modifications on secondhand vehicles on if the policyholder should have known something was a post construction mod or not.

motorguy

I cant see how the police are doing you for no insurance.

You were insured on that car and that VIN, albeit the reg plate had changed.

Had you had an accident you'd have been covered, so i dont see how its no insurance?

ontheroad1970

If it goes to the ombudsman, then the insurer gets charged for it regardless of the result.  That sometimes concentrates the mind.  

sevenhills

motorguy said:

I cant see how the police are doing you for no insurance.

You were insured on that car and that VIN, albeit the reg plate had changed.
Had you had an accident you'd have been covered, so i dont see how its no insurance?

You have got to be able to prove that you have insurance.
The police officer didn't tow the car, so he was reasonable. You wouldn't expect the OP to get off Scott free?

born_again

Harrry09 said:

Hi, got a private plate in May and forgot to inform the insurance provider. Policed stopped me for not having insurance on the new plate recently and said I will receive a letter from the court. I asked my insurance Provider (Esure) to give an indemnity letter as the car is still insured (on the old reg) but they refused to do so. Is there anything I can do to avoid this 6 points? Thanks

You can change your vehicle registration by logging in to My Account and clicking on ‘Make changes’. It can take up to 72 hours to change and we’ll email you a confirmation when it’s done.

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Remember that it's not the car that's insured – it's the driver. So while the owner of the car may have an insurance policy for the vehicle,

So in effect the OP (driver) did not have insurance for the car they were driving. Due to registration change. Are DVLA aware of the change?

motorguy

sevenhills said:

motorguy said:

I cant see how the police are doing you for no insurance.

You were insured on that car and that VIN, albeit the reg plate had changed.
Had you had an accident you'd have been covered, so i dont see how its no insurance?

You have got to be able to prove that you have insurance.
The police officer didn't tow the car, so he was reasonable. You wouldn't expect the OP to get off Scott free?

He has insurance.  If he hasnt produced the docs already, he should be able to show the original policy for the original reg and the policy now updated with the new reg.

There was continuance there and at no point was the car not insured.

I dont think that warrants 6 points for no insurance.