I'm insured for SD & P.
Yesterday I drove myself to the Airport on Biz.
I will claim a mileage allowance.
I called my insurer who said MY SD & P cover *would* cover me for this.
I then called again to double check. I was told the same again by a different operator.
Is this true? If so why does anyone bother with Biz cover?
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Your certificate may cover SD&P, but this will be defined in your policy document.
It is normally one of the following
1) SD&P only
2) SD&P including to & from permanent place of work
3) SD&P including bus. use by policyholder excl hire & reward
A Lloyds Syndicate will typically give you 1) or 2)
A Composite will normally give you 2) or 3)
You cannot check this from the certificate with any certainty, you need to look at the policy document itself. If you don't understand it, mail me and I'll give you a fax number and I'll read it for you.
As to why people bother, its because whichever category they get from the above list by default, and it changes from insurer to insurer, may not be the one they want.
Clear ? Because I typed this pretty fast,
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Mark (Brazil) wrote:
>
> Your certificate may cover SD&P, but this will be defined in
> your policy document.
>
> It is normally one of the following
>
> 1) SD&P only
> 2) SD&P including to & from permanent place of work
> 3) SD&P including bus. use by policyholder excl hire & reward
I have No 2.
Should I be driving to the airport on company biz?
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I called up mine about this as whilst I don't use the car for business I do have to travel. As far as they were concerned I was using the car to "get to my place of work" even though it wasn't permanent and so I have "Number 2". A mate of mine, however, is with a different company and was told he had to have business use so I guess it's down to insurer and not too clear cut.
Best thing you can do is ignore anything some telephonist says to you from the insurers, if you call them and they agree you're covered, ask them to send it in writing. At least that way, should anything untoward happen they will not have a leg to stand on.
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>>Best thing you can do is ignore anything some telephonist says to you from the insurers, if you call them and they agree you're covered, ask them to send it in writing. At least that way, should anything untoward happen they will not have a leg to stand on
Either that or fax your policy document to me.
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Dave,
Have gone into this subject in writing with my broker and the Insurance company over the last three months (really!).
I think you will find Mark is spot on. SD&P plus to and from normal place of work does not include any other work related journeys...in particular if you are paid mileage. Even going on a course to a hotel for a day will not be covered.
Ignore the verbal assurances of any employee, advisor or manager. It'll be your butt on the line if you have a claim in these circumstances. Get it in writing.
The good lady had to stop making certain journeys with her car because of these strict interpretations of "additional business use", she now requests a company car to be provided for these circumstances. Too complicated to explain why she couldn't simply have extended her cover to include business use, tied up with her being on my trade insurance.
David
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David
Absolutely spot on. My wife worked for a big insurance company for many years and is very twitchy about this topic. We've always had SD&P plus personal business use for covering work related mileage, especially if it's paid for. SD&P plus travelling to normal place of business doesn't even cover you going to the station if you're off on a business related trip.
Regards
John
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> I have No 2.
>
> Should I be driving to the airport on company biz?
If you are correct about No. 2 - ABSOLUTELY NOT
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To be clear...
to & from one permanent place of work is EXACTLY that.
If you have two offices, if you drive to a meeting, if you collect someone from the airport and you claim expenses, if you drive to a course, if you drive to an alternative office for a meeting - THEN YOU ARE NOT INSURED.
Nobody is careful about this. If you have a rear-end shunt it will probably never matter; but if you fall asleep and drive off a freeway onto a railway line and then cause a train to derail and people to be hurt or killed - you better believe they are going to go through every point on your policy - they cannot deny an injury claim, they will have to pay it, but they can reclaim their costs from you, and you REALLY don't want that to happen.
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And strictly speaking, 'to and from place of business' does not include taking work home with you. 'Work' might only be a file in a briefcase, or it might be a van full of tools, equipment, ladders etc.
Cliff
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But if you phone them up beforehand and they say OK, how can they go back on their assurance?
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if you are not insured, it is your responsibility, irrespective of what the Insurance Company or one of its employees tells you.
It is your responsibility to be insured correctly. This is an absolute and there is no way to avoid it or to get around it. There are no exceptions.
Therefore, as far as the law is concerned, you can, and frequently will, be prosecuted.
However, if you suffer damage. for example crash your car, and they refuse to pay out because you were not insured, you can then sue them.
The case will then be judged on its merits and the insurance company may or may not have to pay you compensation. Therefore, you may well be able to recover your losses, although you're going to have a tough time proving your word.
You can judge as well as I how likely you are to win in a court of law when there is no proof of what was, or what was not, said.
However, usually if the judge is 50:50 split in his mind, he will find against the Insurance Company. The Insurance Companies are aware of this and therefore deal with threats of lawsuits with this in mind.
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In the event of a claim, how would you prove that they gave you that assurance?
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I think you have to consider the policy your contract and query anything that you understand to be true but that isn't in there.
David
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the other one to watch here is business cover for insured and spouse. It means exactly that, someone to whom you are legally married. Common law does not recognise the common law wife and neither do insurers.
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Mark is right, I have the "to and from permanent place of work" on my policy and work as a pilot. Sometimes I fly from Heathrow, sometimes Gatwick. My insurer had to put a note on my file to make sure that either location constituted my permanent place of work as the normal policy terms did not cover me.
Colin
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I'm a self employed fitness instructor,who travelles to different studios'.My petrol and servicing costs are tax deductable as well as insurance. I'm insured
for SD&P as well as to and from work.However,in view of what I've read today
it would appear that I'm not insured when driving to the studio.Now i am worried.
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Penny,
There is no doubt you need your own business policy cover. My wife used to do something similar visiting various locations on a self-employed basis with motoring costs tax deductable. There was no doubt she needed such a policy.....but it wasn't be that expensive.
I think a call to your broker/company is needed ASAP, I'm sure they'll upgrade your cover with no hassle.
As we've discussed above beware of someone on the phone who says you are already OK, the'd be wrong. If it came to a claim you need top know yourself you are spot on with the cover/details.
David
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Penny wrote:
> I'm insured for SD&P as well as to and from work.However,in view of what
> I've read today it would appear that I'm not insured when driving to the studio.Now i am worried.
What does it say EXACTLY ? If it says to & from PERMANENT place of work, then yes you do have an issue. DEpending the company, the business use definition changes also. Just because it says business use, you still need to check what that means.
BTW, if you wrote on your original proposal exactly what your use is, then you don't have an issue. An accompanying letter does not count.
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