Car being parked in my garage AND on the driveway - what do I tell the insurance company?

Goldwing1

So, I'm taking delivery of a new EV on Monday.

When it doesn't need a charge, it will be in my garage overnight.

When it does need a charge, it will be on the driveway. That's because the charger is outside of the garage. There's no point moving the charger into the garage because I won't be able to get to that side of the car AND open the drivers door to get in and out of the car.

The online form asks for one or the other so I guess I'll need to talk to a real person?

Nobbie1967

Presumably it asks where it is usually parked? If you only charge it once or twice a week, then you will usually park it in the garage.

glennevis

If you have declared your vehicle is garaged check your policy wording. My insurance policy specifically states:

"Theft cover is excluded in the event of the insured vehicle not being kept in a locked garage between the hours of 10pm and 6am whilst parked at your home address as last notified to us."

eddddy

Perhaps the best option is to declare the "worst case" risk.

So if parking on the drive is higher risk than parking in the garage, declare that you park on the drive.

Then, for example, if the car is stolen whilst parked on the drive, there should fewer problems with the claim.



But anecdotally, some people have reported that they are quoted higher premiums if they say they park in their garage - so that's actually considered a higher risk.

That's probably because the AI based risk assessment has found that 'the type of people who park their car in garages, are the type of people who make more insurance claims'.

It might not be directly because of claims related to parking in a garage - but perhaps just the worse driving style, mindset, etc of people who typically park in garages.

Goldwing1

Thanks for the thoughts.

I met a friend today who used to work in the industry. His advice was to declare where it was parked MOST of the time but still check with the actual insurance company and not simply do it online. I wonder how long it will take to get through to a real person.

Baldytyke88

glennevis said:

If you have declared your vehicle is garaged check your policy wording. My insurance policy specifically states:

"Theft cover is excluded in the event of the insured vehicle not being kept in a locked garage between the hours of 10pm and 6am whilst parked at your home address as last notified to us."

That is rather extreme; it means that you cannot stay out after 10pm!

XRS200

Goldwing1 said:

So, I'm taking delivery of a new EV on Monday.

When it doesn't need a charge, it will be in my garage overnight.

When it does need a charge, it will be on the driveway. That's because the charger is outside of the garage. There's no point moving the charger into the garage because I won't be able to get to that side of the car AND open the drivers door to get in and out of the car.

The online form asks for one or the other so I guess I'll need to talk to a real person?

What does the question actually say?  

Nobbie1967

Baldytyke88 said:

glennevis said:

If you have declared your vehicle is garaged check your policy wording. My insurance policy specifically states:

"Theft cover is excluded in the event of the insured vehicle not being kept in a locked garage between the hours of 10pm and 6am whilst parked at your home address as last notified to us."

That is rather extreme; it means that you cannot stay out after 10pm!

No, it just means that if the car is at home between those times, it must be in the garage for the theft cover to be operative. If it gets stolen in the pub car park at 11pm it’s still covered.

badmemory

Yes I discovered last time I renewed that I was charged more for the car being in the detached garage than it would be on the road outside the garage - not on a drive which I do not have.  I did wonder if they expected the garage to collapse on the car.

Goldwing1

XRS200 said:

What does the question actually say?  

Not the exact wording but roughly "Where will the car be kept at home overnight?"
Garage
Driveway
Street

facade

badmemory said:

Yes I discovered last time I renewed that I was charged more for the car being in the detached garage than it would be on the road outside the garage - not on a drive which I do not have.  I did wonder if they expected the garage to collapse on the car.

You can never tell.

It might be that being hidden away from nefarious eyes in the garage makes it cheaper, or it might be that being in a garage means people can work on stealing it unmolested  so it is more risky, hence dearer, or more people crash into the garage when putting it away than crash into the drive...

It might be that having your expensive/desirable car on the drive clearly flags where to break in and get the keys with even less work than relay theft, whereas if it is on the road they'd have to 'scope you out or risk breaking into the wrong house.  Or it could be that more people will crash into it on the road than on a drive...

Insurers use over 100 years of statistics that account for everything (apart from the colour of your underwear) to assess risk, and play their cards close to their chest as to how they calculate the premium (so they cannot be accused of discriminating against a Protected Characteristic).