Insurance question - whose insurance is liable?

[ChrisCLS55]

We have fleet cover for our vehicles and in January one of our cars owned by a fellow director was being driven while he was a passenger (too drunk to drive) by his partner who managed to hit another car.

Her own insurance covers her fully comp and states if she has permission to drive another car and gets into an accident they will cover that, but not any damage or loss to the vehicle she was driving.

Fine or so we thought...

Only now they are saying it’s our insurance who is liable which surely can’t be? My colleague got his car fixed independently paying out of his own pocket so as not to push our claims up.

Her insurance are saying they would only have paid out if our car wasn’t insured so what’s the point in having insurance?!

I’m trying to argue it and don’t believe we should take the hit on our insurance when she was covered and her own insurance states she is covered and they will be liable to others if she gets into an accident.

Where do I stand on this?

 

[ph47mf]

how much are we talking about? If it's the sake of a few hundred, I would just take the hit and not bother going through insurance. Even if they pay, they will eventually get their money back from putting the premiums up, bloody crooks!

 

[ChrisCLS55]

how much are we talking about? If it's the sake of a few hundred, I would just take the hit and not bother going through insurance. Even if they pay, they will eventually get their money back from putting the premiums up, bloody crooks!

The damage to the other car was substantial and to my colleague’s, the driver she hit wanted to go through the insurance which to be fair I would have as well as it was a new VW. You got the crooks bit right, again what’s the point in having insurance...

 

[C240Sport97]

but your insurance does not cover her driving, so why are they paying?

 

[Rayny]

I would be looking into who is entitled to drive under the insurance policy covering the car. - This could mean that the car insurer is the primary insurer, and might therefore be liable.
Another point to note is - did the partner have authority, from the owner of the vehicle, to use the car ? - This is usually one of the restrictions when 'driving other cars'.

 

[st13phil]

A general principle of insurance is that if more than one policy is in force to cover a risk then only one of them will actually pay.

My guess is that the fleet policy covers directors & employees plus anyone driving with their permission. If that is the case then I presume that this is where liability for the claim rests as the director's partner was driving with his permission.

If the fleet policy covered only named directors & employees then she would have been indemnified against third-party risks under her own policy's "Driving Other Vehicles" cover. DOV cover normally includes a limitation that they will only pay out if no other insurance is in force.

Unfortunately, you don't get to choose which policy to claim against in these circumstances.

 

[ToeKnee]

Just to add, you state that the car is owned by the director but on the company insurance policy. The wording on my policy states I can drive other cars with permission but categorically states NOT if it's my partners car. If her wording is similar then that could be why they are not claiming of her insurance as she's not covered.

 

[Rory]

A general principle of insurance is that if more than one policy is in force to cover a risk then only one of them will actually pay.

You sound like you know what you're talking about, so apologies if you're an expert, but I'd always understood that insurance would share liabilities in that case. It's given as a reason why insurance companies don't like things covered by multiple policies unless they've agreed up front, as it complicates claims handling.

However, and writing this sounds a bit contradictory, isn't DOC is like an insurance of last resort? If there's cover on the vehicle itself then that would take priority.

 

[tangey]

You sound like you know what you're talking about, so apologies if you're an expert, but I'd always understood that insurance would share liabilities in that case. It's given as a reason why insurance companies don't like things covered by multiple policies unless they've agreed up front, as it complicates claims handling.

But this must happen very regularly. My partner and I have a car each and each our own comp policy. As its comp it automatically covers driving each other's car, but only 3rd party. I added her to my policy as a named driver, as she occasionally drives my car and wanted coverage for damage to my car if she was in an accident. I have never seen anything that suggests I need to tell my insurance company that the named party has insurance of her own.

So if she is driving my car, has an accident that damages a 3rd party car but not mine and there are no personal injuries, she is covered by both policies. Who do we claim from, and how do we make the decision. If the two insurance companies agree to split the costs, does BOTH NCDs get hit ?

 

[grober]

Because your wife is a named driver on your comprehensive policy on a certain vehicle that's the primary cover. Her third party cover for any vehicle etc derived from her comprehensive policy on her own named vehicle only comes into play if she wasn't covered by the primary cover- its a back up provision.

ps the "get out" clause for the partner's insurance company in the original situation hinges round the "fleet cover "aspect of the policy as suggested in post 6

 

[Thrash]

But this must happen very regularly. My partner and I have a car each and each our own comp policy. As its comp it automatically covers driving each other's car, but only 3rd party. I added her to my policy as a named driver, as she occasionally drives my car and wanted coverage for damage to my car if she was in an accident. I have never seen anything that suggests I need to tell my insurance company that the named party has insurance of her own.

So if she is driving my car, has an accident that damages a 3rd party car but not mine and there are no personal injuries, she is covered by both policies. Who do we claim from, and how do we make the decision. If the two insurance companies agree to split the costs, does BOTH NCDs get hit ?

A lot of insurers have a clause on DOC cover which excludes cars owned by yourself or your partner. Otherwise I would assume the insurance on the vehicle as a named driver would take precedence over the DOC cover which is more of an emergency cover.

 

[Tiim533]

I sit in an insurance office, but not car insurance. However everyone here (apart from me) have their CII qualifications, and they even have to study car insurance even though we don't touch car insurance. Anyways, I just asked all these bright sparks what should happen, and I regret to say they all agreed with your insurance company, and not you! Sorry

 

[Deleted member 6183]

I believe that your insurance is the primary cover and will be liable.

If you cancelled the policy now it would be showing as uninsured on askmid.

 

[st13phil]

I'd always understood that insurance would share liabilities in that case.

It will depend upon the policy wording which may say words to the effect that if more than one policy covers the liability then they will “only pay their share”. Unless there’s been prior agreement as to what that share is, the split is likely to be 100% from the primary policy, and zero from the other.





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