Fully comprehensive cover? Maybe not…

Thousands of people across Shropshire could be driving illegally – despite having their own fully comprehensive car insurance policies in place, a county broker has warned.

“People think that fully comprehensive insurance covers them for every situation in any vehicle,” said Martin Pitchford, a director of Henshalls in Newport and Shrewsbury.

“But that’s just not true, and it’s worrying how many drivers are risking a bill running into thousands of pounds because they are not fully aware of this.”

Latest research shows that more than one in three motorists think their own fully comprehensive policy applies to any vehicle they drive. The figure rises to one in two of drivers below the age of 35. Martin said:

“Almost no insurers offer an open cover for driving cars which are not listed on their own policy.

“Most policies do include the ability to drive someone else’s vehicle, but it will only be the legal minimum ‘third party’ cover – meaning you will have to pay for any damage to the car, and would get no compensation for any injuries you suffer.

“More worrying still, most policies only allow you to drive other people’s cars for a very limited period, and you may find in the small print that you are actually uninsured to drive any other vehicles.

“Even those insurers who allow you to drive another car in an emergency will often ban drivers under the age of 25, and also exclude many other people based on their job titles.”

Martin said it was important for everyone to check their own policy wording, and urged people to consider taking out temporary insurance if they planned to drive another vehicle.

“Temporary car insurance offers you the same level of cover as a normal policy, but with a lot more freedom. You can get cover in less than a couple of hours, and it costs less than a taxi fare in many cases.

“Drivers have a duty of care to make sure they have appropriate cover in place at all times – uninsured motorists drive up the cost of premiums for all other drivers, and ignorance is no excuse in the eyes of the law.”

  Martin Pitchford

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