What's the risk of having a spare uninsured car?

on_the_roots

I have:

• Car 'A' which I use daily, fully insured, all good with it.
• Car 'B', which is now uninsured and sitting on my driveway. I won't use it for the time being but I don't want to sell it too.

My most recent NCB certificate have the Car 'B' reg on it, as it was my last car in use before I bought and insured Car 'A' (using this cert).

After sending the cert to finalize the insurance policy, I got a call from the broker saying that Aviva "is not happy" with me, having car 'B' still on my name and not insured due to the "risk" it imposes. I tried arguing with the agent over the phone to understand what that is, but no success.

Even if I drive car 'B' and causes an accident it has nothing to do with my current policy on car 'A', from what I understand. I also can not legally use the same NCB cert to insure it either, because the cert is already used for car 'A'…

So what's the point here?

coylemj

The risk they're referring to is that you lend the car to someone and they have a crash. Because more and more companies are now imposing an exclusion under their 'driving other cars' cover to say that the car borrowed must have a policy of it's own in order for the driver's DOC cover to apply. So a lot of people with a policy of their own would not be covered to drive car B.

And if such a driver had a crash then, as the owner of the vehicle, you will be on the hook for any damage caused. Aviva are probably taking the view that they could be dragged into such a scenario as they have provided you with insurance. I'm not sure if they could end up with any liability, they're probably just being ultra cautious.

on_the_roots

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122053246#Comment_122053246

The uninsured car has absolutely nothing to do with the other one from what I understand. That's why they will not add a second car to the policy I already have.

Also this is well known to everyone that "driving other cars" is only covered if the other car has also an insurance policy. I can't see where the liability lies down here tbh.

ELM327

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122053366#Comment_122053366

Driving other cars is often, but not always, only included for cars that already are insured. My policy for instance has no such requirement. I use it (and was covered once in an accident by it, in a car that was not otherwise insured!).

The other car is not an issue normally either. Just tell them it's off the road. I have 7 cars currently and only 4 of them have insurance. The rest are blocked in in my shed.

coylemj

Also this is well known to everyone that "driving other cars" is only covered if the other car has also an insurance policy. I can't see where the liability lies down here tbh.

It's not a condition in every policy. Axa doesn't require it, they simply say that the car you borrow must be roadworthy and have a vaild NCT.

It started off as an urban myth and was 100% false. Trouble is that the insurance companies got wind of it, thought it a good idea and it has been gradually adopted by the industry. Last time I looked, Liberty, Aviva, Allianz and Zurich had it. That's probably a year ago, wouldn't be surprised if the club has gotten bigger since.

on_the_roots

The whole problem started when I provided my NCB cert, which has the other car's reg on it. Then they started asking questions about that one and I can't lie.

They also said even if I transfer it to my wife we will have to take an insurance policy for it. 😤

Biggest problem is that Aviva offered me a much lower quote, if I move to a different insurer it will cost me nearly double.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122053415#Comment_122053415

Zurich allow it on one set of policies and not another; I think they may be very old Eagle Star policies rolled over that allow it - found this out when going through everyone in the families full policies to see if anyone could move my Dad's uninsured car. They have different policy booklets for different policy number prefixes.

coylemj

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122053643#Comment_122053643

I can see what you mean. Zurich have two completely different sets of Ts & Cs for driving other cars. I don't know what determines which policy you get when you do business with them but I've copied & pasted below the conditions for DOC cover under both policy types which were 'incepted or renewed' since Feb 15th, 2024.

This is a full list of the Ts & Cs for DOC cover in each policy document. In the context of the discussion above, their DMV policies do not exclude cover for a car owned by your spouse and the car you borrow is not required to have it's own insurance policy.

DMV Policies (policy document has a pale orange cover)

DOC Conditions & Exclusions

(i) Does not belong to the Insured.
(ii) Is not hired or leased to the Insured under a Hire Purchase or Leasing Agreement.
(iii) Is not the property of or in the custody of any Company or Firm of which the Insured is a Member, Director or Employee.
(iv) Is not the property of or in the custody or control of a Motor Trade Business of which the Insured is a Member, Director or Employee.

=======================================================

MPV Policies (policy document has a blue cover)

DOC Conditions & Exclusions

(a) does not belong to you or your spouse/partner
(b) is not hired or leased to you or your spouse/partner under a Hire Purchase or Leasing Agreement
(c) is not the property of or in the custody of any Company or Firm of which you are a Member, Director or Employee
(d) is not the property of or in the custody or control of a Motor Trade business of which you are a Member, Director or Employee
(e) has an engine capacity of less than 2500 cubic centimetres
(f) is not modified beyond the manufacturer’s standard specification
(g) is aged less than 15 years as measured from the date of its manufacture
(h) has a market value not exceeding €50,000 immediately prior to any loss of or damage occurring
(i) is registered, taxed and normally situated in the Republic of Ireland and is compliant with Road Traffic legislation and is the subject of a valid NCT certificate where so required by law
(j) is not a van, car-van with only two or less seats, crew-cab or pickup truck, motorcycle or a commercial vehicle of any kind
(k) is insured under a current policy of motor insurance in the name of another person who is not your spouse/partner

https://www.zurich.ie/existing-customers/zurich-insurance/documents/policies/car-insurance/

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122053742#Comment_122053742

Neither of which seem to require it to be insured now, but one of the two definitely did a while ago.

I'd better check my own policy as I'd never seen the engine size thing but someone else mentioned it being an issue up-thread, or the vehicle age thing. I very occasionally have to drive a 2007 2.6. Haven't done so since my last policy change anyway.

coylemj

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122053803#Comment_122053803

Sorry, condition 'k' (requires that the car have it's own policy) for MPV policies was on a new page and I pasted it late, you may have read my first post before I corrected it. I noticed it was missing, went back to the policy document and discovered it was all alone on the next page!

I've emboldened the significant differences in the MPV conditions.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122053810#Comment_122053810

I did, although it did make it in to the quote somehow.

We found someone in the family with a DMV policy to move the uninsured car in question anyway.

My current policy requires insurance and has a 2L limit, unless my own car is >2L. Which it is not. That's going to be awkward.

on_the_roots

Aviva is now accepting "car B" to be declared off-road as sufficient condition to not cancel my policy on "car A".

Also they mentioned this car will never be allowed to replace the other one in my current policy. They definitely hate my uninsured car!

Not ideal for me, but I think its the best solution at the moment.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122062057#Comment_122062057

Is it significantly different in performance characteristics?

There's been people claiming they thought they were covered by driving other cars to drive something utterly uninsurable that they owned, using a policy on something else. They were never covered to begin with, but it does make insurers wary if they are aware that you, say, own a Skyline and are insuring a Yaris.

FishOnABike

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122053810#Comment_122053810

The conditions only apply if it is using the driving other cars cover from a policy on another car. If it is sitting up, unused, on private property, there is no reason under the road traffic act for it to have to be insured.

on_the_roots

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122062118#Comment_122062118

Nope, just "normal" cars, nothing high performance or sporty. One is 2.2L diesel, the other one 2.5L petrol.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122062177#Comment_122062177

First excuse from them was that I could cause a crash on the uninsured car. When I questioned about that they couldn't explain exactly why it would affect my current policy on the other car. In a another call, another agent mentioned that I could use the same NCB cert to insure my currently uninsured car, but everyone knows this is fraud using the same cert for multiple cars (unless this is a multi-car policy, which is not my case), and you have to declare that you are not doing that when providing the cert. I still don't understand the reasoning for this mess, other than trying to push me to purchase another policy with them.