SORN insurance and driving other cars?

Cyber-Mav

Cyber-Mav

Cyber-Mav

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Iv got fully comp on my car that has driving other cars extension. Due to covid i havent driven my car for weeks now and thinking of sorning it and using wifes car on which i am a named driver.

i also have access to use my brothers car which is fully taxed and insured My policy says when driving other cars its 3rd party only but not sure if anything changes if i sorn my own car that the policy is taken out on.
 
My understanding is that if you SORN the car you have to cancel both your tax and your insurance. If you want that car insured while it is SORN you will need to take out a separate "laid up" insurance instead. Either way you won't be able to drive your brothers car.


EDIT: It seems the above is wrong so please ignore it.
 
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Hades said:
My understanding is that if you SORN the car you have to cancel both your tax and your insurance. If you want that car insured while it is SORN you will need to take out a separate "laid up" insurance instead. Either way you won't be able to drive your brothers car.
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If you SORN a car the VED is automatically cancelled and refunded. You don't need to cancel your insurance, though – the VED status of the vehicle has no bearing on that, in this respect.

You don't have to have insurance on a car that is SORN, though, but you can take up a cheaper policy (the laid-up type) for vehicles that aren't going to be driven. No legal requirement for that, however, and I think that often requires the vehicle in question to be garaged. :)

I can't imagine there would be any issue driving other eligible vehicles, given that the policy is still in full effect (you could drive your car to an MOT on it, for example).

As always, though, you might just want to give them a bell and check.

Just in case it applies here, it's also worth bearing in mind that you can't SORN a car that's parked on the road. It has to be on private land.
 
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Hades said:
My understanding is that if you SORN the car you have to cancel both your tax and your insurance. If you want that car insured while it is SORN you will need to take out a separate "laid up" insurance instead. Either way you won't be able to drive your brothers car.
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This idea may be because if you want road tax you *have* to have insurance - to have insurance you do not need either tax or valid MOT test, but as the above poster says, it is possible to get cheaper insurance with a laid up type policy.

My car was insured a few years ago with no MOT test or tax for 8 odd months on a normal policy with no issues (including agreed valuation that, amongst other things, declared there was no valid MOT test).

(Tax/VED whatever :p )
 
Hades said:
My understanding is that if you SORN the car you have to cancel both your tax and your insurance.
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What? Declaring SORN is a taxation measure so you don't need to cancel the tax, declaring SORN is cancelling tax.

No idea where your insurance idea comes from. Perhaps you are confused with the reverse - if a car is taxed it must be insured even if kept off road.
 
Yes it seems like I misunderstood the situation. I thought with the rules brought in a few years ago you have to have both tax and insurance, or neither tax and insurance.

I am incorrect so please ignore me :)
 
Cyber-Mav said:
Correct im not cancelling the insurance on my personal car that im planning to sorn.
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Cool - then your current insurance stays exactly the same as it is now :)

Edit: Caveat - you *may* want to go through your policy's terms and conditions but I would be amazed if anything is referred to regarding tax and/or MOT test condition.
 
Lashout_UK said:
If you SORN a car the VED is automatically cancelled and refunded. You don't need to cancel your insurance, though – the VED status of the vehicle has no bearing on that, in this respect.

You don't have to have insurance on a car that is SORN, though, but you can take up a cheaper policy (the laid-up type) for vehicles that aren't going to be driven. No legal requirement for that, however, and I think that often requires the vehicle in question to be garaged. :)

I can't imagine there would be any issue driving other eligible vehicles, given that the policy is still in full effect (you could drive your car to an MOT on it, for example).

As always, though, you might just want to give them a bell and check.

Just in case it applies here, it's also worth bearing in mind that you can't SORN a car that's parked on the road. It has to be on private land.
Click to expand...

I'd still insure a SORN car, if there is a fire or it gets stolen you'll still want a payout.
 
Nasher said:
I thought they changed the law years back so that you DO need to insure cars which are off the road now?
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Nope. Back in 2011, a system called Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) was introduced – and I think many people took it to mean that all cars must be insured at all times.

However, CIE was purely designed to reduce the number of uninsured drivers by comparing the insurance/DVLA databases and then doling out warnings and penalties as required. If a car had insurance but no tax, for example, it was deemed as in use and you'd get a warning – and then a fine – and so on.

If a car's SORN, it's not on the road – so it's exempt from CIE and no cover is required. :)

That said, it is often sensible to insure a car even if you're not using it. One of my cars is SORN, as a case in point, but I've let its insurance policy run. If the garage caves in on it, or someone breaks in and damages or steals it, I won't be out of pocket.
 
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I'd suggest that you are OK to drive another car (with 3rd-Party cover only), however, I would advise you to check with your insurance company first.
 
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