I have a company car which Mrs B is insured to drive for social domestic and pleasure purposes.
Mrs B is self employed and hence all trips to and from work count as "business travel". Consequently she can't drive my car to work and this is becoming a slight pain.
We could buy her a car, but we don't need two and this would be costly.
So, I wondered if it would be possible to get insurance that would cover just her business mileage. My first thought was to try one of the motoring syndicates at Lloyds of London.
Has any backroomer ever attempted to buy such cover or does anyone (Mark/RLBS?) know if it is available? Otherwise, any suggestions re. a Lloyds syndicate?
Thanks in advance.
Peter
PS The company does offer a cash alternative but I can't take it until my car is up for replacement.
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May be a daft question but will the insurers of your company car not cover your wife for business miles for an additional premium?
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Pretty much your only chance is to approach the insurers of your company car. And to be frank I don´t fancy your chances even there.
First you´ll need to go to your Fleet people to find out what the current insurance actually is. Then you´ll need written permission from your Fleet and probably HR people for your wife´s intended use. That will then need to go to whoever supplies your Fleet and even if they agree, they will almost certainly charge.
Even if you obtained the separate business mileage policy, which would cost you a darn sight more than another car, you would still have to go through the route above to advise the leasors and the owners of the car of its change in use.
In other words, not a chance.
What is your wife´s profession ?
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Thanks, guys.
Our fleet/HR people would be OK, but I fear that the leasing co. (Marshalls) might be less happy.
Wife's profession is musician (classical), so not brilliant for insurance. Her mileage would be approx 5k. and the car is an IS200.
I feared that things might be as you suggest, Mark. However from a fundamental perspective the risk is quite low.
I'll try the leasing co and our fleet insurers but I won't hold my breath.
Peter
PS I would guess that at least 25% of company car drivers let spouses/partners use the car for business without ever realising they are uninsured.
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I would have guessed that most companies which provide a company car expect the employee to use it for HIS business rather than his spouses, but I know a guy in exactly the same situation - he walks to work while SWMBO takes the car on a 180 mile round trip daily to her work. His company pays the fuel too!!
I will suggest to him that he checks the terms of his insurance.
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Our company car scheme specifically states that "private use" (which is permitted "is not intended to cover the practice of the partner using the vehicle to travel to work on a daily basis".
I still know people who indulged in this practice though ... always the ones on "free petrol" who lived near to work but whose wives worked the other side of the universe.
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Authorised use by partners etc. varies by policy. Some group policies will allow a partner to drive to and from their normal place of employment but all will exclude "business use" by partners (traveling to clients/other sites/suppliers etc. plus any work-related journey for the self employed).
BTW the free fuel benefit is now so heavily taxed that it isn't worth taking-up unless you cover intergalactic mileages. For most people, the tax payable exceeds the value of the free fuel, while nearly all recipients would be better off with a modest cash allowance. However, it is a benefit which is dying suprisingly slowly - as we've discussed here before, people don't always do the sums!
Peter
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Not quite right Peterb. Well, not in my case. I get a fuel card for all fuel. I run my own car (but the company pays me an allowance). The taxman said I can't claim the mileage allowance as it includes an element for fuel, so up till last year I claim all car expenses against tax, in the proportion of business v private miles. Including the fuel. My fuel spend was about £3.5k last year and my business mileage about 70%, so I only paid tax on 30% of £3.5k for my private fuel.
Hope that made sense.
An accountant friend has told me that this all changes this year, but I'm waiting to hear that from the taxman.
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