Extremely worried about my insurance claim

[Hyburnate]

I actually had an accident on the way to work when I didn't have commuting insurance. I simply explained to the insurance company that I was at a social meeting the night before (true as I visited a friend in London) and that I had driven from there to work and then planned to drive home, in the end they did take some money away from my final settlement to cover the additional cost of commuting but they paid out and never really asked any more questions. All the police cared about was the accident and if we both had insurance, they never went into further detail other than if I was covered by a policy, I was however cautioned at the scene following further investigation and pending the health of the gent who ended up wedged under my car.

It was a bad one as well as it was a biker who got taken away in an ambulance he was wearing no leathers, driving a high powered sports bike like a tool in shorts and a t-shirt. None the less I felt really bad as accidents like that have the potential to change somebodies life, I was massively worried about what might happen. It took pretty much 6 months to a year before the police tracked me down and delivered me a letter explaining that they wouldn't be perusing me any more and that they would be taking action against the other driver (no insurance/license and some other stuff) so from a criminal point of view I was all good. From the civil side my insurance paid out as a fault claim again me which wasn't fully settled until many years later.

I am sure I actually have the letter from the police and the insurance company laying around somewhere, even if that was more than 10 years ago.

This reminds me, the police never ever wrote to me about my accident That clearly got lost, oh well.

I have to admit, seeing this thread and some of the replies I had to check my insurance to ensure that both of the policies I have include commuting and they do. Again, it's not something I've ever thought about not including as my wife drives to work daily and although I work from home in the main I do have to pop into the offices in Bracknell a couple of times a month.

You'd need business for that.

 

[Armageus]

Again, it's not something I've ever thought about not including as my wife drives to work daily and although I work from home in the main I do have to pop into the offices in Bracknell a couple of times a month.

You'd need business for that.

Commuting would be fine imo - it's still a single permanent place of work that you are travelling to (e.g. it's not visiting different offices etc).

Social and commuting

• This provides cover as above for social, domestic and pleasure use, as well as for driving back and forth to a permanent place of work.
  
  
• Travelling to a railway station en route to work, where the car is parked, is usually classed as commuting. Dropping someone else off at their place of work may also be classed as commuting by your insurer.

Railway clause is also interesting and given some of the responses on here so far, could catch people out

 

[Hyburnate]

Commuting would be fine imo - it's still a single permanent place of work that you are travelling to (e.g. it's not visiting different offices etc).


Railway clause is also interesting and given some of the responses on here so far, could catch people out

Fair enough, I'd say it's probably dependant on the wording as his usual place of business is his home, so if it asks "Do you travel to a place of work that isn't your main fixed place of work?" it'd be yes... But to be honest, the questioning I've had from insurers they're usually quite happy as long as it's roughly correct.

 

[Lopéz]

Well it is. Only people with certain occupations or lower experience (usually 2 years) won't be given DOC. An age of 25 years is generally otherwise the threshold for DOC to kick in. Happy to be proven wrong.

Well it's not.
Have a search around for some recent articles. The days of being given DOC cover as part of a standard policy are largely over.

https://www.gocompare.com/car-insurance/cover-to-drive-other-cars/

www.uswitch.com/car-insurance/driving-other-cars/amp/

www.comparethemarket.com/amp/car-insurance/content/am-i-insured-to-drive-any-car-on-my-current-policy/

www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/cover-to-drive-any-car-its-a-thing-of-the-past/amp/

etc

 

[SC0TTRS]

So many variables to consider and so many different situations but for the minimal cost, probably better to have it than not.

Commuting to and from work would be a mind field of situations such as you finish at 5pm, after that your not class as in work, right, so could be domestic or pleasure when using the car, who's to say you walked into town first, then an hours later jump in the car and drove to the gym before eventually going home, still classed a commuting from a place of work? So many if's and but's...

 

[bremen1874]

As already stated, if your car is at work you would have needed commuting on your policy to get there in the first place.

I've had either occasional business or full business on every policy I've had over the last 30 years. The cost difference has always been minimal.

 

[muon]

Well it's not.
Have a search around for some recent articles. The days of being given DOC cover as part of a standard policy are largely over.

https://www.gocompare.com/car-insurance/cover-to-drive-other-cars/

www.uswitch.com/car-insurance/driving-other-cars/amp/

www.comparethemarket.com/amp/car-insurance/content/am-i-insured-to-drive-any-car-on-my-current-policy/

www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/cover-to-drive-any-car-its-a-thing-of-the-past/amp/

etc

I'd like real evidence. I can name 5 companies now that command the majority of the market that do provide it to 95% of people.

The telegraph article only speaks about some people not getting it, which doesn't contradict what i'm saying.

 

[Lopéz]

We're not in court so I'm not going to provide you with "real evidence" because er... I don't care

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Just checked my policies and they are both SDP and business.

Neither specifically say commuting but I played with the online quote systems for those companies and one has the options of SDP, SDP+C and SDP+B. The other automatically was SDP+B unless your in the motor trade (which is SDP+C only).

I have concluded SDP+B also includes commuting, it would be odd not to include it....

Correct me if I am wrong there.

 

[jellybeard999]

After a quick skim over this thread I need a lobotomy!

It's not complicated and it's your responsibility to ensure you're covered. In the same way it's your responsibility to ensure you have renewed the policy and entered the right registration/car.

Clarified.

SDP + Commuting + Business - Driving for work, to work and general use

SDP + Commuting - Driving to work and general use. No driving for work within work hours.

SDP - General driving. No driving to/from work and no driving for work within work hours.

 

[Rroff]

After a quick skim over this thread I need a lobotomy!

It's not complicated and it's your responsibility to ensure you're covered. In the same way it's your responsibility to ensure you have renewed the policy and entered the right registration/car.

SDP + Commuting + Business - Driving for work, to work and general use

SDP + Commuting - Driving to work and general use. No driving within work hours.

SDP - General driving. No driving to/from work and no driving within work hours.

I just insured a vehicle through Admiral and it is clearly laid out there as to the types of cover and if they do and don't include commuting - however it isn't on all insurers and/or comparison sites.

 

[Housey]

This is why I’ve a premium policy that covers both my wife and I, all our cars, allows us to drive any car up to £1 million in value fully comp and anyone over 30 to drive any of our cars fully comp. Covers all uses, full international, provides like for like hire car for months and loads of other stuff. I don’t envy you young sorts with the preposterous insurance costs these days but don’t cut corners on the fundamentals ffs!

 

[loltim]

sfyw

 

[NickXX]

This is why I’ve a premium policy that covers both my wife and I, all our cars, allows us to drive any car up to £1 million in value fully comp and anyone over 30 to drive any of our cars fully comp. Covers all uses, full international, provides like for like hire car for months and loads of other stuff. I don’t envy you young sorts with the preposterous insurance costs these days but don’t cut corners on the fundamentals ffs!

Insurance is insurance tbf. As long as I’m legal I don’t care. I’ve not made a claim in the many years that I’ve owned a car, and if I have to and get a raw deal on the claim, it would have well be worth it for the 10+ years of cheaper premiums.

That said, I got a very good deal on my Aston this year with a specialist insurer which actually worked out a fair bit cheaper than the high street names.

 

[muon]

We're not in court so I'm not going to provide you with "real evidence" because er... I don't care

So be it, but the significant majority of people get DOC. In this particular case I know Im right.

You want to make a claim, you back it up.

I welcome you to start a poll to see how many people don't have DOC.

The media love pointing out a very small minority of exceptions.

 

[Rroff]

As an aside half of my household don't have DOC, half do - has this changed recently? (not really followed the conversation on it in this thread) as when I first started driving it was almost universally included by default on full comp. but doesn't seem to be the case any more looking at the policies.

As an aside I see my insurance expressly names the Nürburgring Nordschleife as not covered by the policy heh.

 

[bainbridge]

The issue raised by the OPs error is simply a matter of risk. If his occupation and other details are correct and adding commuting doesn't increase the premium hugely then there's no moral hazard and the insurer will honour the claim once the policy is corrected, provided they're happy nothing fraudulent is going on.

All this talk about one box being ticked incorrectly and the policy being null and void really isn't the case.

 

[Lopéz]

As an aside half of my household don't have DOC, half do - has this changed recently? (not really followed the conversation on it in this thread) as when I first started driving it was almost universally included by default on full comp. but doesn't seem to be the case any more looking at the policies.

As an aside I see my insurance expressly names the Nürburgring Nordschleife as not covered by the policy heh.

Don't tell @muon because you are wrong.

(You are not wrong. DOC is now no longer given as standard by all insurers, and has not been for some time, but he knows he's right so that's the end of that)

 

[-westy-]

Don't tell @muon because you are wrong.

(You are not wrong. DOC is now no longer given as standard by all insurers, and has not been for some time, but he knows he's right so that's the end of that)

To be fair, a major prerequisite when I buy insurance is that I have DOC cover - I've not once found an insurer that don't offer it. However if this changes in the future I wouldn't be surprised.

 

[wolfie138]

SDP + Commuting - Driving to work and general use. No driving within work hours..

never seen that stipulation. if you have SDP you're covered for any driving you do no matter what the hours.