Car Insurance Renewal - changing address where car is going to be kept for the majority of the year

NormalforNorfolk

Last year we bought my son his first car using some inheritance my husband had been left by his late mother.  As a university student with no money, we paid our son’s insurance premium.  When we insured the car we correctly gave the address the car was being kept as our home address as that is where he was living at the time (he was home from university for the summer holidays) but two weeks later he started a Year in Industry placement living away from home, so the address details where the car was going to be kept were updated accordingly with the insurer (and annoyingly the premium increased by £300!).  We are coming up to the renewal date and because the company he is working for has a week long shutdown, he will be back at home on the renewal date and for one week, he then returns to his placement for 8 days at which point the placement comes to and end and he returns home.  When he goes back to University at the end of September he will not be taking his car with him, it will stay at home locked in our garage and he’ll use it when he comes home to visit and during the holidays.  Therefore is there any reason that he cannot update the renewal with our home address as where the car will be kept, given that he will be at home on the renewal date and week following that, and is only returning to his placement for 8 days before coming back for good. I’m just concerned that if something happened to his car during the final 8 days of his industry placement the insurance company might try and claim that it wasn’t covered.  My thought process is that being away from home for those last 8 days of his placement is no different to if you went on holiday in the UK and something happened to your car during that period.  Any thoughts on whether there is an issue with us reverting the policy back to our home address from the renewal date would be appreciated!

DullGreyGuy

Ultimately only the insurer in question can answer the question for you. 

In reality a large amount of fraud is detected because of what the customer themselves tell them,  so lets say the car is hit whilst parked and unattended outside his digs at the placement. He calls them and says it was hit outside his home, they suggest a garage down the road from your home, he says no the cars not there but where his placement is and now the case is with counter fraud because he's said his home isnt the address on file. 

jimjames

NormalforNorfolk said:

My thought process is that being away from home for those last 8 days of his placement is no different to if you went on holiday in the UK and something happened to your car during that period.  Any thoughts on whether there is an issue with us reverting the policy back to our home address from the renewal date would be appreciated!

Your logic seems to make sense to me. One question that might be asked is where the V5C is registered to? If that's not the same address as the policy then it might raise queries

Hoenir

NormalforNorfolk said:

  My thought process is that being away from home for those last 8 days of his placement is no different to if you went on holiday in the UK and something happened to your car during that period.  

Not a holiday though. He's returning to his current place of work where's he been for the majorty of the past year and the address where the car has been insured at.  The additional £300 loading reflects the risk premium for the locality. 

NormalforNorfolk

JimJams - The V5 is registered to our home address, not his placement digs. As a university student, he is on the electoral register for home address and all bank accounts etc use our home address.

NormalforNorfolk

Hoenir - The car started off insured at the home address and then changed to his placement address when he moved because, as you note that’s where he was going to be living for the year.  If he wasn’t going to be at home when the renewal occurs so would have 2 weeks at the placement accommodation then I get where you’re coming from because that’s what we did in reverse last year.  However  he will be back at home address on the day of the renewal and the subsequent week and then returning to placement accommodation for just 8 days before returning home where the car will be kept - so out of the 52 weeks of the upcoming insurance year, the car will not be kept at the home address for just 8 days, so how is that different to going away for a holiday?

daveyjp

Last year is last year, that policy is ending.

Circumstances have changed.  His new address is his home address.  The 8 days away is inconsequential.  It could be 8 days staying in a holiday cottage on holiday.

I used to work away and spend 5-10 nights in digs or hotels 6-8 times a year. Was I expected to change my car insurance every time I went away?  

I would advise business cover, simpy to cover any issues over 'commuting' etc.

Money_Grabber13579

Isn’t the question phrased as where the vehicle is normally kept overnight? If the vehicle will be kept locked in a garage at your house for 51 out of 52 weeks of the year, then that has to be where it is normally kept (IMV).