Hello. I am again requesting the advice of the experts here, particularily those who know a bit about insurance.
As I have said before, I am going to New Zealand and my car while I am away will be used by my sister. My insurance is due for renewal in a couple of months and wonder what the best way to renew it is. I am 21 and my sister is 20, and I have two years no claims, her none, and between us we have never had a claim or points. Talking to insurance companies them want to have the policy in her name and also the car. I am not so keen on this as when I come back I will resume to be the main driver and so the car will have an extra couple of owners on it. However, as I will be back for the last couple of months of the policy where I wil resume to be the main driver would I be able to keep the policy and thus the car in my name?
Any advice on solving this problem whilst keeping the policy as low as possible would be greatly appreciated. (And if it helps the car is a 2000 Corsa SXi).
Paul C
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As regards changing ownership - the registered keeper is not necessarily the owner!!!!!!!!
Andrew
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Regarding insurance you should be able to add your sister as a named driver on your policy. They will charge an extra premium for this which is only reasonable.
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Here is my tuppance worth to tide you over until the insurance guys and legal experts get here. In the event of an accident if you.. the policy holder.. is out of the contry for an extended period of time... could pose problems... the insurance is in your name and whilst your sister is a named driver you are the main driver on which the majority of the preimum is calculated. The safest but by no means cheapest thing to do is to let your sister register and insure the car herself. Does the english reg document just show the number of previous keepers or there names and addresses as well?? Here they show names and addreses and as such it is easy to see when a car has passed from father to son / between siblings etc and if anything is good, as if it was a dog you would like to hope it was not passed on in the family!
This problem is as old as the hills as many people will insure there childrens cars with their kids as named drivers when in reality it is the kids who are the main drivers and it is just a money saving ploy. Insurance companys are wise to this.
Insurance companys, dont you just hate them........
Enjoy New Zealand
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There is no reason why you can't insure the car in your name, include your sister as a named driver, and tell the insurance company that she will be the main driver. The only issue would be that all correspondence would come to you, which might be a problem in the case of an accident due to the timescales inolved. You could give the insurance company her address? I cannot see any reason whatsoever why you should register it in her name. My wife is the policyholder for both of our cars, they are both registered in my name, but I am declared as the main driver on one of them. A possible option might be making her the main driver, you as the named driver, but still keep it registered in your name?
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You can insure anything in which you have a financial interest. However, insurers frequently refuse to insure cars where the registered keeper is not the owner simply because this can potentially involve them in a chaotic and problematic situation in the event of a total loss.
The ideal thing is to continue the insurance in your name, with the car registered in your name and to have your sister added as a named driver.
There is no reason why an insurer should have a difficulty with this, although I would expect them to rate the policy on her rather than you.
From your comments I suspect you have been talking to your broker, not your insurer.
You should also include a written note that between date x & y she will be the main user. Be careful about her driving it to work - you will need to check the usage classification on the policy.
The one issue that you might have is anything which requires your signature. (accepting an offer, recovering the car from the local pound, etc. etc.) Assuming you trust your sister you should probably consult a solicitor and have a power of attorney drawn up allowing her to sign things in your name. Whatever the solicitor tells you will probably be right, but check with your bank as well.
Be aware that PoA are difficult to restrict, and you might give her more access than you choose.
The alternative is to rely on FedEx or somesuch.
You might also want to have a quick chat with the local constabulary and ask them if the forsee an issue. And take the name & number of the policeman you speak to.
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I have just gone through an exercise to get quotes to renew my insurance as my current insurer wants a hefty rise in premiums, even though there has been no claim on either of my two policies with the same insurer now for over 12 years!
I found that one of the first questions they (all the that Insurers I tried) ask is to confirm that you are the owner and registered keeper of the car, and the other is that you are resident in England, Wales or Scotland (and not in Northern Ireland). You can nominate the second driver as the main driver if you want.
You can insure a driver, who is not the owner and registered keeper, separately on an individual policy but you have to go via Brokers to find a specialist insurer willing to so.
In case you all are wondering: I found that www.esure.com were the cheapest for the best cover for me. Esure is a subsidiary of HBOS Halifax/Bank-of-Scotland and is joint venture with Peter Wood, the founder of Directline.
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Mostly agreeing with less than 0.1 %, however be a little careful dealing with Brokers. The majority of them know nothing and frequently steer people wrongly.
They may well help you find an insurer prepared to take a risk, but make sure you clarify that risk in writing directly with the insurer.
Typically when wanting to insure a vehicle of which you are neither the owner or registered keeper, the question is "why ?". There are very few valid answers.
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Just an update here. Vauxhall insurance (underwritten by UK insurance(?)) have agreed to continue the cover with my sister as the main driver with out change of ownership and while still building up my no claims.
Have to be happy with that especially as their quote was good too.
Thanks for all your help.
Paul C
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Just an update here. Vauxhall insurance (underwritten by UK insurance....especially as their quote was good too.
Good stuff, any change of posting the contact details?
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