Insurance - Owner and Keeper

[mbenz76]

OK, so as of tomorrow morning my new E350 goes on my own insurance having enjoyed 7 days of free insurance courtesy of MB.

Last week when I confirmed all details to my insurance company (Direct Line) they asked if I was the owner and keeper. I said yes, then told them it was financed. The woman I spoke to said as long as I was named on the V5 that's all that mattered.

However after I thought about it, I realised that technically, since the car is on MB Agility Finance, they are the owner and I am the keeper, so to err on the safe side I called Direct Line today to tell them and they put it down as a lease car with the lease company as MB Finance and myself as registered keeper.

Just wanted to check that this is what everyone else does, as they seemed a bit confused at Direct Line (not difficult it would seem).

 

[st4]

I would just say I was the owner. Technically you are correct though and you have the documentation that its MBs car. All conditional sale agreements aka hire purchase (which you PCP is) states MB are the owners until the final payment has been made.

 

[Will]

I know it is very unlikely to cause a problem, but perhaps confirm and clarify the details over the phone or by email/letter, and perhaps ask if they can write to you to confirm that they are aware/satisfied of this information.

Like I say - unlikely to ever be a problem, but it'd be nice to know that it's all watertight.

Perhaps I'm being too cautious..

Will

 

[Pappilo]

I am on Agility as well and put myself down as the owner with my insurers. No mention of MB whatsoever.

 

[mbenz76]

Maybe I am being over cautious but knowing how insurance companies like to get out of paying out I thought it best to cover every angle.

 

[JumboBeef]

Do you live in a house with a mortgage? Who is the owner? You or the bank? Discuss

 

[mbenz76]

True. But the bank won't refuse to pay out due to telling someone I am the owner not them, whereas the insurance company probably will

 

[Peterdon]

Do you live in a house with a mortgage? Who is the owner? You or the bank? Discuss

(Pedantic mode)A mortgage does not transfer ownership, it merely lodges the deeds as security against non-payment by the mortgagee. The Deeds remain in the name of the mortgagee.

 

[Mr E]

(Pedantic mode)A mortgage does not transfer ownership, it merely lodges the deeds as security against non-payment by the mortgagee. The Deeds remain in the name of the mortgagee.

(to continue...) Whereas finance agreements on cars are typically arranged as "Hire Purchase", where the ownership of the vehicle remains with the finance company until the final payment is made. So you can be the Keeper of the vehicle (with details on V5, etc) but the Title (ownership) can be with the finance company (or any other person).

 

[219]

The registered keeper is not neccessarily the owner .

Strange too , this business of some insurers requiring you to own a car in order to insure it ..........

A year or so ago , I offered my sister a loan of my 190E when her BMW was off the road - I told her she could borrow and use the car ( which was taxed and MOT'd ) as long as she insured it ( I had transferred my own insurance to the W126 I had bought , and was no longer using the 190 , although I had not decided what I was going to do with it ) .

After numerous phone calls , Carole found she could not obtain insurance for a car she did not own !!! WHY ???? In the end I gave her the v5 and let her 'become' the owner , needlessly adding another 'owner' to the list . Got the car back eventually and had to change it back to myself - another two 'previous keepers' needlessly added to the list - makes little difference on that car but with a newer car could affect value significantly .

It seems ridiculous to me that I cannot lend a car to someone on condition that they cover it with insurance . Surely this is what happens when people have to cover a courtesy car ?

 

[corned]

Strange too , this business of some insurers requiring you to own a car in order to insure it ..........

Is there a problem emerging where there is a car insurance scamming technique similar to the old life cover scam where a husband insures his wife for £10M and then immediately kills her?

How about I insure a car - someone else's - knowing that it is very expensive and that they are a complete idiot and certain to write it off in a few months. Nice payout awaits! But not in this scheme it would appear...

 

[SilverSaloon]

i'm confused.... I owned the Citroen picasso and I was on the V5, but my wife insured it in her name as main driver. maybe they dont bother aslong as its the same address?

 

[Gridlock]

What's yours is hers

(not being funny, usually "owned by yourself or spouse" is the term used iirc)

 

[Gridlock]

How about I insure a car - someone else's - knowing that it is very expensive and that they are a complete idiot and certain to write it off in a few months. Nice payout awaits! But not in this scheme it would appear...

It's illegal to have more than one policy in place per vehicle (for just this reason), I believe.

 

[219]

It's illegal to have more than one policy in place per vehicle (for just this reason), I believe.

In the case of my car being loaned to my sister , there was no other policy in force - which was why I asked her ( I thought perfectly reasonably ) to insure it .

Maybe it depends on the insurance company , and maybe she just asked the wrong ones .

 

[st13phil]

It's illegal to have more than one policy in place per vehicle (for just this reason), I believe.

I don't believe that it's illegal, but rather that most policies state that they will not pay out if the risk is covered by another policy (so as to stop multiple, fraudulent, claims for the same event).

 

[mbenz76]

I was advised to freeze my own policy while the free 7 day MB insurance was in place as one would cancel the other. Direct Line said they don't freeze, so they just left my old car which I didn't own any more insured for the week.

It is interesting though that most policies (car, home etc.) state this, but how any of them would know if you insured something twice I don't know.

 

[salesac1]

(Pedantic mode)A mortgage does not transfer ownership, it merely lodges the deeds as security against non-payment by the mortgagee. The Deeds remain in the name of the mortgagee.

[added pedant mode] the mortgagee is the lender, not the owner/borrower (who is the mortgagor). It's time to worry when the deeds are in the name of the mortgagee .

 

[ianrandom]

It is possible to insure a car for someone else - i wanted to loan my 2cv to a friend for a holiday tour, and my company were very helpful. It only cost £27 if i remember correctly, once i'd given them all my details. But i expect this was just adding a driver to my own policy really rather than having two. Hmm.

 

[spsducati]

I have a policy with Direct Line at the moment which states Policyholder (my name) who is neither the legal owner nor the registered keeper of the car. I don't own it as it is on contract hire and I'm not the registered keeper because I don't have a V5.

You should declare the ownership scenario fully to your insurers.