What is the situation regarding driving a car without MOT as far as the insurance is concerned? I discovered today that the MOT for one of our cars has expired. The car has been driven for a week or so without MOT - had something unpleasant happened would we have been insured and would the insurance company paid out? What would the BiB have had to say if we had been caught? Would we have been done for driving without insurance? All hypothetical now as the car had an MOT this afternoon.
Moved from IHAQ as its legitimately motoring related.
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 26/10/2007 at 18:58
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If you had an accident they would pay out the third party.
If you had written your car off, they might well had reduced the value of it for not having an MOT.
One of my old policies required a valid MOT, but that was just under the fully comp bit of the policy.
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Damn - premature return key pushing.
Note the following correspondence, it could apply to some car policies?? This was ebike insurance, they do ecar, evan etc I think.
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A question about the clause below please re MOT.
My bike is currently laid up due to the weather and the MOT expired this
week. My insurance is due for renewal next week and it is currently taxed.
Would I be covered riding to an MOT station? I know it is legal to drive
without an MOT and tax disk for the purpose of a test, but the wording of
your policy would indicate I wouldn't be covered by insurance.
regards
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Your policy does not cover the following:
1. Any accident, injury, loss or damage whilst any Motorcycle insured
under this policy is being:
* Used or ridden otherwise than in accordance with the appropriate
sections of the effective Certificate of Motor Insurance.
* Ridden by any person other than described under the appropriate
sections of Your effective Certificate of Motor Insurance except that cover
will not be withdrawn if the injury, loss or damage was caused as a result of
Your Motorcycle being stolen or having been taken without your consent or
other lawful authority.
* Ridden by any person unless such person holds a licence to ride
such Motorcycle and is not disqualified from driving, holding or obtaining
such a licence.
* Ridden by, or is in the charge of for the purpose of being ridden
by any person to whom Your Motorcycle has been hired.
* Used in an unsafe or unroadworthy condition or, where such
regulations require, does not have a current M.O.T. certificate ( You may be
asked to provide details to show that Your Motorcycle was regularly
maintained and kept in a good condition.)
-----------------------------------
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reply
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Dear Customer
Thank you for your email.
The underwriter has advised me that unfortunately you will not be
insured to drive to the MOT centre.
The only way around it would be to get them to pick your vehicle up.
If I can be of further help, please contact me.
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So how does the above work ?
Ask the Police and they will tell you as long as you have an appointment and are taking the vehicle directly to the test centre, you can drive the vehicle.
The insurance company in the above case are saying the Police are wrong and you can only get the vehicle to the test centre by transportation.
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snipquote
It's two separate issues. By law, you are allowed to drive to the MOT centre to a pre-booked test if your car does not have an MOT. However the insurance company has decided that under the rules of the policy you are not covered in this instance. The law then says you cannot drive if you are not insured. So you can't drive there.
Hence there are two choices. Drive there anyway, with invalid insurance (though I suspect the third party cover is still valid?), which will be illegal if the third party is not valid. Or get it picked up.
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 26/10/2007 at 22:23
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In the above example I think I would be looking for a new Insurance Company come renewal.
If the law does not have a problem with taking the vehicle for a single journey to the test centre of choice then I see no reason why the insurance co. should.
It is not like the vehicle is in constant use or being used illegally (except for the insurance co. ruling), it is a one-off trip.
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Road Traffic Act 1988
148
Avoidance of certain exceptions to policies or securities (1) Where a certificate of insurance or certificate of security has been delivered under section 147 of this Act to the person by whom a policy has been effected or to whom a security has been given, so much of the policy or security as purports to restrict?
(a) the insurance of the persons insured by the policy, or
(b) the operation of the security,
(as the case may be) by reference to any of the matters mentioned in subsection (2) below shall, as respects such liabilities as are required to be covered by a policy under section 145 of this Act, be of no effect.
(2) Those matters are?
((b) the condition of the vehicle,
This to me means that no MOT they are obliged to pay out third party risks.
However, they may well have a civil claim to recover all/part monies paid out.
dvd
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...... would we have been insured .......
Check the terms of your insurance policy.
--
L\'escargot.
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Well if Mark RBLS was around these days he'd tell you that no MoT didn't render an Insurance Policy void. Whatever arrogance Insurance companies purvey in their T&C and profound statements about whether a car is "not allowed" to be taken to a pre-arranged MoT tests, they are not legislators and have to bow to the law of the land like everyone else.
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