UK:: Is Insurance on Second Car Mandatory

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ballig

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Is insurance on the second car necessary? I have 2 cars, one is owned by my wife and the other by me.

Technically if I take comprehensive insurance on one Car as main user and my wife as another named used, I can always drive the other car and be insured because of the insurance on the second car.

But strangely the law says, the other car must also be insured. Does anyone know why? Or is there a way around this.

In any case normally the only person who drives is me and so it is in a way paying insurance twice over by the same person.
 
The driving other cars extension which you're relying on to use the 2nd car only applies when you are driving it, so when you park it, it is uninsured. Cars need to be insured even when parked on the road.

Look for a multicar policy, there are some good deals out there.
 
Be careful who is defined as the policy holder on each of the cars. The insurance companies expect the main driver to be the policy holder, regardless of who owns the car, especially within the same household. I have 3 cars, mine, my wife's and my daughters' car. I technically own all three and am the registered keeper of all 3. However, for insurance, I am main driver and policy holder on one with my wife a named driver, my wife is main driver and policy holder on the next car with me a named driver finally my eldest daughter is main driver and policy holder on the third with my youngest and me both as named drivers. I have declared ownership and registration correctly.

I know the above sounds very complicated but it reflects accurately the true situation, anything else could be construed as fronting which is enough to consider insurance null and void which presents a whole barrel load of issues.
 
Highly likely to be drivinf uninsured.

Most policy only insure third party on a car that the policyholder does not own
 
But strangely the law says, the other car must also be insured. Does anyone know why?

The Continuous Insurance regulations mean that all cars must have their own insurance unless SORN'd.

The reason is to make it easier to catch people who, through various means, avoid insuring vehicles they are using. CIE has its downsides (can make it awkward when you're changing cars if you usually buy & sell privately, for example) but on the whole it's probably a good thing.

Driving Other Cars cover is widely misued - it was only ever meant for emergencies, not for regular use. Different companies applied different rules (some don't cover cars in the same household, for example) so people can get caught out even when they think they're covered.
 
You need a Multi-car insurance policy, as currently you're driving the 2nd car uninsured. There are a few policies around that will cover 2+ cars. Perfect solution for your requirements.
 
Thanks guys. I got insurance extension for the other car. The law is clear and I wanted to find out why. Part of which is explained by Rory. My personal opinion is that of a skeptism as I think the regulator seems to be working for larger companies against whom they are supposed to protect us.

Logically I cannot drive both cars at the same time and I have trouble accepting that parking insurance would be that high. The simple reason is that the best case (best insurable person) insurance is £250 pounds and worst case is £4000 so how come for worst case insurance for 2 cars it is £7700? It could only be £4250 max because a car parked for the worst insurable person should be no different for the best insurable person.
 
Worst case scenarios :-
A) You insure a 1 litre car, then use the 'driving of other cars' policy extension to drive 5 litre car - completely different risks.

B) Worst rating driver could crash the first car, then go home and be driving the second car within minutes.
 
Logically I cannot drive both cars at the same time and I have trouble accepting that parking insurance would be that high. The simple reason is that the best case (best insurable person) insurance is £250 pounds and worst case is £4000 so how come for worst case insurance for 2 cars it is £7700? It could only be £4250 max because a car parked for the worst insurable person should be no different for the best insurable person.

It doesn't necessarily follow that your car is at less risk when parked than when it is being driven. Depending on where it is parked, there could be a high risk of its being damaged or stolen.

There are companies out there (such as Coverbox) who will tailor your premium to the way you use your car, right down to the hours during which you drive it. This is primarily aimed at young drivers, who can effectively opt to impose a curfew on themselves in an effort to bring their premiums down, but it's available to any driver.

Coverbox charge a minimum £180 pa to cover times when the car is not being driven, and then use a Tracker device to determine the charge for miles driven (and when). Not something I'd consider, and I've a funny feeling it would end up working out more expensive overall than a conventional policy, but it does at least address the issue of paying per usage.
 
Theres new regulations out now from the dvla, if the vehicle has no insurance and is taxed, then you must surrender the tax disc and declare the vehicle sorn otherwise you may face a penalty fine if not declared and surrendered.
 
Theres new regulations out now from the dvla, if the vehicle has no insurance and is taxed, then you must surrender the tax disc and declare the vehicle sorn otherwise you may face a penalty fine if not declared and surrendered.

Yep if you have no insurance on your car by law you must now SORN the car
 
you insure car A in your name as policy holder which belongs to you ensuring cover provides driving other cars TP

your wife insures car B in her name as policy holder which belongs to her ensuring cover provides driving other cars TP

you can drive car B TP.

wife can drive car A TP.

and you pay out once for each car, but obviously either party driving the other car will only be driving Third Party.

however your last sentence means you are the normal driver for both cars, so you should insure both cars in your own name as 2 policies. Remember also also you cant use the same NCB for both cars.
 
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Highly likely to be drivinf uninsured.

Most policy only insure third party on a car that the policyholder does not own

Also all insurances I've had state the other car must be insured by the owner.
 
Also all insurances I've had state the other car must be insured by the owner.

This is not correct. I am 'owner' of both of our cars and the insurance company (Aviva) are happy for the Merc policy to be in my name with wife as a named driver and Mazda policy to be in my wifes name with me as a named driver.
When collating quotes all online quotes I filled in had fields to allow vehicle owner and policy holder to be different.
 
Also all insurances I've had state the other car must be insured by the owner.

ESURE

Certificate of Motor Insurance.

Paragraph 5. Persons or classes of persons entitled to drive. ME

Provided that the person driving holds a licence to drive the vehicle or has held and is not holding or obtaining such a licence.
The Policyholder, ME, may also drive with the owner's permission a motor car that they do not own and that is not hired or leased to them under a hire purchase or leasing arrangement

Then at the bottom of the policy:-

Driving other cars.

If paragraph 5 above allows you to drive a car not owned by you please note that cover is limited to third party only, you are not covered for any loss or damage to the car you are driving. The driving other cars cover only applies as long as the car is not owned by you or your partner, or hired or leased to you or your partner under a hire purchase or leasing agreement, or hired or rented to you or your partner under a car hire or rental agreement and:-
-you have the owners permission to drive the car
-the car is insured by the owner and is being driven in the UK
-you still have your car and it has not been sold, written-off or damaged beyond cost-effective repair.

The above is what my ESURE policy says about driving other cars.
 
Thanks guys. I got insurance extension for the other car. The law is clear and I wanted to find out why. Part of which is explained by Rory. My personal opinion is that of a skeptism as I think the regulator seems to be working for larger companies against whom they are supposed to protect us.
No. They are there to protect the general public from people like you that want to drive uninsured.
Logically I cannot drive both cars at the same time and I have trouble accepting that parking insurance would be that high. The simple reason is that the best case (best insurable person) insurance is £250 pounds and worst case is £4000 so how come for worst case insurance for 2 cars it is £7700? It could only be £4250 max because a car parked for the worst insurable person should be no different for the best insurable person.
Let me guess. You want to insure the cheaper car then drive the high risk car on the same policy...:rolleyes:
 
The above is what my ESURE policy says about driving other cars.

Those conditions are unusual (but probably not completely unique).

The part about needing to be insured in it's own right was always a constant source of mis-information in discusssions on Driving Other Cars, but it's a moot point now as all cars now have to have their own insurance.
 

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