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A friend has kindly offered to lend me his VW California for a Europe road trip this summer.
I've been trying to get temporary insurance that includes comp cover in Europe. It looks like it just doesn't exist - I thought you could insure any risk for the right amount of money!
I want to avoid using his policy just in case something goes wrong.
Any suggested solutions to this dilemma?
Thanks 🙂
It's his van - so really it's his risk lending it to you.
Just get yourself added to his policy for the time needed.
You shouldn't insure a vehicle twice either, so if you take separate insurance and he still has it insured who would pay out? Can of worms.
Thanks for the response TMM.
He's looking into me being added to his policy, I was just trying to avoid it so I own the risk.
These days you can get secondary temporary cover for a vehicle that's already insured. My son does it when he visits us and wants to use the family car which he's not insured on. eg https://www.veygo.com/
Cheers
You can have two policies on the same car/van, if there is a incident leading to a claim then whoever is in charge of it is the one to claim, effectively whoever is driving or has parked it.
It might be worth looking a a annual policy & canceling it on your return.
I see they are part of Admiral - and this is from Admiral's website!... 🤣
[i]Can you insure a car twice?
It's certainly not impossible, and it's not illegal, but that doesn't mean that you should choose to do it.
In fact, doubling up on your insurance is not only potentially costly but it could cause real problems should you ever need to make a claim.
Contribution clauses mean that both insurers would be in contact with each other to see how much they each need to put towards your pay-out, and there's no guarantee that they will agree. Such cases can delay your claim significantly, causing you an entirely unnecessary and avoidable headache.
Making a claim from two insurers can push up the price of your renewal significantly, as well as seeing you lose your no-claims bonus across both providers. It's also worth remembering that you can't claim for a full amount from multiple insurers, as that's fraud.
One claim is all you can make, so why make it complicated by involving multiple different companies?[/i]
Thanks for your suggestion captmorgan - I have considered an annual option but I think the vehicle needs to be in my name based on the questions I was asked for a quote.
TMM - from the Veygo website:
I WANT TO SHARE THE DRIVING, BUT ISN’T THIS DUAL INSURANCE?
It’s not. Dual insurance is when the same person has two active insurance policies on the same vehicle.
As long as you’re not named on the car owner’s insurance, or any other insurance policy covering the car you want to drive (perhaps to learn in), this won’t affect your ability to take out temporary cover, and it won’t be dual insurance.
My wife has worked in insurance for 30+ years so sees the shit people get themselves into.
Crack on if you want, but you must make sure the cover you are getting matches or betters the cover already in place. There will be loopholes and get out clauses everywhere. A friend could easily be an ex friend if it gets complicated.
Temp cover to be legal for a day or two, they yeah maybe that's fine. A road trip around Europe in a mates expensive van, not a chance.
If OP is not covered by the owner's insurance, then there is no scope for disagreement between the insurers. The owner's insurer will not pay anything and OP's insurer will pay everything.
Going back to OP's question: why not have your mate rent the van to you through one of the van sharing platforms? That way you can throw him a few notes, and the rights, responsibilities and insurance are all clearly defined?
Not all insurance brokers/companies have the same criteria, it is unlikely you find no company to insure you. Who have you tried so far?
If OP is not covered by the owner’s insurance, then there is no scope for disagreement between the insurers. The owner’s insurer will not pay anything and OP’s insurer will pay everything.
OP parks the van in a car park in Ghent
Goes off for a few beers and stays in a hotel.
Comes back the next day and some twonks taken his car down the side of it and done a runner creasing all the panels and the doors. - significant damage that you'd claim off insurance.
Who's insurance pays out ?
I still can’t see why you’d complicate something when there’s already a simple solution.
If there was a crash the owner of the van would still have to notify his insurers as not doing so would be withholding a material fact.
If OP is not covered by the owner’s insurance, then there is no scope for disagreement between the insurers. The owner’s insurer will not pay anything and OP’s insurer will pay everything.
This is insurance companies we are talking about!!! 🤣🤣
Know nothing about this stuff a cheap rental deal sounds like a clever move
I’m quite interested as I’m sure this will crop up for me at some point
Have you asked you insurer if there’d cover you? From memory I think an insurance company told us not to add my sister in law to our policy for a week, instead she got covered by her insurer. I think I’ve done the same to drive a masters landrover
I used Adrian flux when driving to France last year and they did fully comp temporary cover.
When I took out an annual policy with another company (performance direct) they assured me it was ok to add euro cover nearer the time of the trip however this turned out not to be true - policy ends next month. I won't be going back
Thanks for the extra thoughts and ideas.
We're exploring getting me added to his insurance which might be simplest. A middle aged bloke with a boring job and a clean driving record shouldn't add too much to the premium.
Re Adrian Flux, I approached the British Insurers Brokers' Association a couple of weeks ago. They suggested AF - phoned them up and said they couldn't do a temporary comprehensive EU policy. The could offer a normal policy, which as someone has suggested I could then cancel.
I'll continue with the getting added to an existing policy idea for now....
The could offer a normal policy, which as someone has suggested I could then cancel.
It's what I did.
There was a disparity on the return of a lease vehicle - my insurance ran out a few of days before they could come collect it. I spoke to my insurer who said just to take out a normal policy and they'd put a hold on taking payment, cancel it within 14 days and I'd owe nothing bar an admin fee which was something like £15.
Comes back the next day and some twonks taken his car down the side of it and done a runner creasing all the panels and the doors. – significant damage that you’d claim off insurance.
Who’s insurance pays out ?
To have a vehicle on a public road it requires insurance even if it's not being driven. I would assume that this sort of scenario is why?
OP parks the van in a car park in Ghent
Goes off for a few beers and stays in a hotel.
Comes back the next day and some twonks taken his car down the side of it and done a runner creasing all the panels and the doors. – significant damage that you’d claim off insurance.
Who’s insurance pays out ?
Who was in charge of the van, who parked the van, who collected the van, in the case you hypothesised it’s the op, so clearly the op claims on their policy.
If there was a crash the owner of the van would still have to notify his insurers as not doing so would be withholding a material fact.
Why? They have not had a accident, nor will they have made a claim as they were not responsible for the van at the time, the person who was responsible for the van has taken out their own policy to cover both their legal 3rd party responsibility & their financial exposure should the van be damaged while in there care.
Who was in charge of the van, who parked the van, who collected the van, in the case you hypothesised it’s the op, so clearly the op claims on their policy.
Does any of that matter? What does "in charge" even mean? No-one was in charge of it, it was parked on a public road, the most recent driver is in the hotel bar enjoying paying twenty quid for chicken in a basket and the registered keeper is 200 miles away watching Love Island. There is no driver involved so it defaults to the owner's / keeper's insurance. It has to, doesn't it?
(Genuine questions, I honestly have no idea.)
glad you cleared you cleared that up.
Does any of that matter? What does “in charge” even mean? No-one was in charge of it, it was parked on a public road, the most recent driver is in the hotel bar enjoying paying twenty quid for chicken in a basket and the registered keeper is 200 miles away watching Love Island. There is no driver involved so it defaults to the owner’s / keeper’s insurance. It has to, doesn’t it?
(Genuine questions, I honestly have no idea.)
IME it does matter. When a young scrote wrote off the side of my Passat that was parked on the road, my insurance wanted to know who parked it. It could have been me or Mrs OTS. It was me and I was the one that had to declare the non-fault accident for the next 5 years.
Huh. I wonder what would have happened if you'd said "we don't remember"?
(You and your wife had separate insurance policies on the same car?)
Does any of that matter? What does “in charge” even mean? No-one was in charge of it, it was parked on a public road, the most recent driver is in the hotel bar enjoying paying twenty quid for chicken in a basket and the registered keeper is 200 miles away watching Love Island. There is no driver involved so it defaults to the owner’s / keeper’s insurance. It has to, doesn’t it?
(Genuine questions, I honestly have no idea.)
Most unlike you Cougar…
Yes it does matter especially when it is a case of dual policies.
If both insured parties were on the same trip with separate coverage & neither could recall who was the one in charge of the van during the incident period then yes I’d expect there would be discussions between insurers about who was libel.
However in the op’s case where it seems clear he is loaning a van & wanted a independent policy to ensure he minimised the risk to the kind friend who is prepared to loan him his van &that makes the claim process much clearer as (I admit I’m assuming here but) the op hasn’t indicated the owner is joining the trip.
If your having issues with this just wait until someone from a club suggests hiring a 16 seat minibus to go to a event & chip in for costs, the hire & reward issues are immensely difficult to navigate…
(You and your wife had separate insurance policies on the same car?)
Nope, same policy. The issue was about declaring the claim even though it was no fault. Mrs OTS didn’t have to declare the claim because she wasn’t responsible for the car at the time it was hit. I was, because I’d parked it there. It was my judgement to park it there.
In reality, it would have been a double pain n the neck if she had parked it, because she’d have to declare it to her insurance, and I would have still had to declare it because it was my policy.
Not much logic in it tbh.
Huh. I wonder what would have happened if you’d said “we don’t remember”?
(You and your wife had separate insurance policies on the same car?)
You might recognise this question “Have you had any accidents claims or convictions in the last five years?” Most insurance companies/brokers ask it when quoting for a new policy.
If you held a policy with a named driver & they had an accident / claim on the policy in your name you’ve made a claim, they have had a accident, you both declare for the following five years.
If you held a policy with a named driver & you’ve had an accident / claim on the policy in your name you’ve made a claim, your named driver hasn’t, so only you declare for the next five years.
If your named driver has their own policy on a vehicle you do not have a insured interest in & they make a claim you do not have to declare a accident or claim for the following five years, unless they are named on a policy you have taken out & in that case you are responsible for ensuring the company is aware of your named driver’s history.
Hi all
A quick update - I've finally found the solution:
This company specialises in people who want to lend their campervan to friends or rent them out (thanks for the suggestion politecameraaction).
The van has to be insured by the owner of the vehicle and you provide details of the policy to Comfort.
The 'borrower' pays £25 per day for the temporary policy. £1,500 excess. Includes breakdown. There's some paperwork, such as agreeing any pre-existing damage to the vehicle.
Happy days - unless someone is going to let my tyres down and point out flaws with this approach 🙂