Car Insurance - Permanent Place of Work

zargarf

Hi

what exactly is classed as a permanent place of work? I was in a car accident as the additional driver of a car (my fault). The car is a write-off. However the policy covered pleasure and commute (which apparantly was to a single permanent place of work). However I am freelance (although I only ever have a single place of work). Does that mean I am not covered? Does this mean that anyone who ever goes to a second site (like a head office) is not covered?

Cheers

lisyloo

However I am freelance (although I only ever have a single place of work).

I don't quite understand what you mean here.
Do you work at only one address.

Does this mean that anyone who ever goes to a second site (like a head office) is not covered?

Yes, if head office is not your normal place of employment then you need to get business cover and not just SDP & commuting.
Often there is little or no charge for the extra cover.

raskazz

Commuting covers you to go to and from a fixed place of work and your home.

For varying locations of work, or travelling between places of work (eg regional office to head office and vice versa) you need business use.

Prima facie, your case is apparently in the grey area between the two. It would really depend on how long you work at each location before moving to the next.

nickmack

zargarf wrote: »

However I am freelance (although I only ever have a single place of work). Does that mean I am not covered?

If you are freelance and travel to different locations on a regular basis, I don't believe you are covered by a standard Social, Communting and Single place of work policy.

Does this mean that anyone who ever goes to a second site (like a head office) is not covered?

I suspect if you travelled perhaps once a quarter, it wouldn't be an issue, but if it was every week, it may be. If this is a situation you find yourself in, it's best to give the insurer as much information as possible and let the underwriter decide if necessary.

zargarf

I only ever work at one place of work, but that place of work changes every 6 months or so as my contract ends

lisyloo

I am not an insurance expert but I would not regard a plcae of work for 6 months as "permanent".
I think this would be widely regarded as a temporary contract.

I would say that technically you aren't insured.
You don't say whether any 3rd party is involved but worst case you need to compensate the 3rd party and the owner of the car out of your own pocket.

nickmack

zargarf wrote: »

I only ever work at one place of work, but that place of work changes every 6 months or so as my contract ends

You need to clarify with the insurer. It could fall into several categories depending on the insurer including single place of work, multiple places of work or business use.

lisyloo

In the first post it says "single permanent place of work", but yes it's worth a phone call given the alternative.
Insurance companies are known for squirming out of claims not for being generous in interpreting the wording.

If I were you I'd get your friend to ring and say "I might be changing my employment, would I be covered if.....".
That way you won't be implicating yourself for a prosecution for driving without insurance.

If you are not insured then it would be wise not to give the insurer a whiff of either a claim or a prosecution.
There have been reports on this board of claims counting against people merely because one was registered even when there was no subsequent claim.
So proceed with caution.

There is not only the money problem here but potentially a offence of driving without insurance has been committed (albeing inadvertantly).

raskazz

lisyloo wrote: »

I would say that technically you aren't insured.
You don't say whether any 3rd party is involved but worst case you need to compensate the 3rd party and the owner of the car out of your own pocket.

Very unlikely given the circumstances of the non-disclosure. IMO the worst case scenario is that the insurer rewrites the policy, charging the extra premium that would have been payable if business use had been declared.

lisyloo

IMO the worst case scenario is that the insurer rewrites the policy, charging the extra premium that would have been payable if business use had been declared.

Really?

Well if you work in insurance then we'd have to giev your opinion some credance, but we are continually being told on here by people that work in the industry that insurers will do everything to squirm out of claims (like valid use of DOC extension) and this seems like a golden opportunity for them.
Perhaps responses are varied and you work for one of the "good" companies that would pay out.
However my gast be be well abd truly flabbered if they pay out on the non third party part if the person was not insured - in which case please let us all know which company this is.

raskazz

lisyloo wrote: »

Really?

Well if you work in insurance then we'd have to giev your opinion some credance, but we are continually being told on here by people that work in the industry that insurers will do everything to squirm out of claims (like valid use of DOC extension) and this seems like a golden opportunity for them.
Perhaps responses are varied and you work for one of the "good" companies that would pay out.
However my gast be be well abd truly flabbered if they pay out on the non third party part if the person was not insured - in which case please let us all know which company this is.

I am a motor underwriter.

If we were talking traditional insurance law but ignoring the FSA then the contract would be void.

However, where a non-disclosure is inadvertent then you are expected by the FSA/FOS to rewrite the policy, not void it.

The insurer in this case could only void the policy if it would not have accepted the risk at any price had they known about the business use, which is very unlikely (assuming no other non-disclosure/misrepresentation).

A relatively lengthy but useful guide to the matter can be found at:

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/46/46_non_disclosure_insurance.htm