Motor insurance / NCT / Indemnity.

NUTLEY BOY

The general position seems to be as follows ;

1. Motor insurance policies contain a condition requiring the policyholder to maintain the insured vehicle in a roadworthy condition.
2. Most motor insurance policies also contain a condition that the insured vehicle must have a current NCT certificate.

The proposition seems to be that if your NCT is not current at the time of an accident or loss indemnity will be refused. Is that correct ?

Q. If yes, what is the underwriting basis for insisting on a current valid NCT certificate ?

Insurers may argue that the NCT condition relates to roadworthiness of the insured vehicle. Is this a valid argument given that the NCT certificate is not a warranty of roadworthiness ?

kippy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058293316/motor-insurance-nct-indemnity

I suppose the NCT is just a "point in time" test - in that the vehicle passed all tests on the given day and was given a cert for the next year or two years.

If you go out and change the brand new tyres you had on it with older tyres with no thread (or done something similiar - ie not repair a subsequent leaking fluid or similiar) then had an accident - the car was not really road worthy at the time of the accident - whether or not it had an NCT.

The NCT does not indicate that a car is roadworthy for the duration of it's issuance.

Del2005

Having a valid NCT/CVRT means that you are allowed to drive on the road, you still need to maintain your vehicle in a roadworthy condition. If you have no NCT regardless of the state of your vehicle it wasn't insured as it's not road legal, except for the limited reasons why a car doesn't require an NCT.

With the NCT backlogs they are just going back to the vehicle must be roadworthy.

Eggs For Dinner

In the majority of cases where a car fails the NCT, the average Joe Soap is unaware of the fault involved. By insisting that the vehicle is NCT'd, insurers are trying to ensure it is inspected at the scheduled interval and therefore reducing the risk of a fault related accident.

Having no NCT or road tax are motoring offences, but having no tax does not increase the risk of accident, so it doesn't receive the same treatment as no NCT with regard to providing indemnity

NUTLEY BOY

Thanks for the replies.

What concerns me a bit is that there seems to be a backlog of NCT test dates again. What will an insurer do if you do not have a valid NCT because of delays where you have taken all reasonable steps to get an appointment in a timely fashion ?

Will insurers agree to regard your cover as valid if your NCT has expired but you have not not been able to get a date or you have a test date that is past the current expiry date of your NCT certificate ?