Don’t assume you are safe
6th June 2013
Shropshire drivers who believe they can borrow a car and rely on their own insurance cover could well be breaking the law.
That’s the message from Anthony Hughes, at Henshalls Insurance Brokers in Newport and Shrewsbury, who said research had shown up to 2.2 million motorists had driven without insurance at some point in their driving careers.
“The vast majority of that number an incredible 1.8 million mistakenly believed they were insured at the time, as they assumed the insurance on the vehicle they borrowed, or the insurance on their own car, automatically came into play.
“Those figures in research carried out by LV= are probably only the start of it though, as motorists who drive a vehicle belonging to a friend or relative without insurance generally aren’t picked up.
Anthony said almost half the drivers interviewed for the survey who had committed a crime by lending their car to an uninsured driver said they loaned out their vehicle regularly, at least once a month.
And from this group, 25 per cent lend their vehicle to an uninsured son or daughter and 15 per cent to a flatmate.
“It’s not just the person who borrows the car who would be in trouble if they were caught by the police the driver handing over the keys would be just as guilty, and both would be committing a motoring offence.
“So it’s vital that drivers are fully aware of the implications of lending their car to someone else, even if they’re doing it as a kind deed to help the other person out. Don’t just assume that if you have comprehensive insurance cover on your own vehicle that you’re automatically covered to get behind the wheel of someone else’s, as this is not always the case.
Anthony said some policies allowed no cover at all, while others only offered third party cover.
“This means if the person who borrowed your car was involved in an accident which they had caused, the insurance company would refuse to pay out and you’d be left out of pocket with a hefty repair bill to face.