am i correct to presume if i am fully comp on one vehicle, i will be 3rd party on any other vehicle the owner allows me to drive?
while i understand this policy varies form different insurance companies; what is the general conditions on the rule?
i will be borrowing a friends old volvo estate to move furniture, while im not to concerned with the cost of replacing his car if an accident occurs (its worth tops £400) I dont want to run the risk of having no insurance.
also - if i was to own his volvo (a real future possibility) - would i still be able to use my main cars insurance policy to cover use of the volvo?
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check teh small print of your insurance policy, its the only way to be certain.
Generally yes, but there have been times when I've found out that fully comp hasn't covered me on other cars. A mate of mine got done whilst we were at university together. He renewed his policy and once the new details came through, found that the cover for other cars had been removed, unfortunately he'd been stopped by the BiB in the meantime. The magistrate was sympathetic that it wasn't really his fault, but still got a £75 fine back in the 80's
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I read often, only post occasionally
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DOC is exactly that - 3rd party cover to Drive Other Cars, any car as long as it doesn't belong to you or is not rented. Convenient, easy and simple. But it's alse where grey area starts:
I asked my insurer if the owner of the car, that I don't own but intend to drive needs insurance. The answer was no, there is no need for the owner to be insured. It's there for occasional use, or if your kid goes to university and you drive his car, owners are abroad and someone has to take it to MOT, etc, etc. However, theoretically it also means your wife, even if she doesn't have driving license can buy a car and you can drive it, using your DOC cover. But before you get the idea of buying yourself group 1 fiat Panda to insure it and get DOC extension just so you can drive your wife's higly modified japanese import (which, in terms of legality - you could actually do) here's few grey issues that make things difficult:
- You can't buy TAX without proper insurance
- Should you leave the car, on the street, close the door and walk away, it's unclear whether car is actually insured or not. You are no longer driving it. The owner is not insured. Technically, the car is not legally on the road.
- With the new DVLA/insurance data share going live soon such car would appear as one without insurance in database.
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I read that there is a current debate about whether the UK should switch to the continental system, where insurance is on the CAR, not the driver. Here it is the other way round - the DRIVER has to be insured, but there is no insurance as such on the car. Hence the very grey area.
It is generally understood that if your policy covers driving another un-owned car, and that car is itself insured under your friend's policy, then you are covered to drive it ocasionally.
The doubt creeps in if the other car is not actually insured at all. We have had lots of views on that one, but never an authoritative final statement.
What is clear is that if you become the owner of your friend's car, you will need separate insurance for it. I don't think he could just lend it to you permanently, because you would then become a main user of his car and under obligation to tell the insurance company.
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>>am i correct to presume if i am fully comp on one vehicle, i will be 3rd party on any other vehicle
No.
The two things are not connected. You may be comprehensive and not have the DOC extension or vice versa.
You must read your policy/certificate/schedule.
>also - if i was to own his volvo (a real future possibility) - would i still be able to use my main cars insurance policy
Not in addition to your other car. You would have to arrange insurance for the volvo in its own right.
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>& can I drive a car that is otherwise uninsured, but belongs to somebody else?
Again it depends on the insurance company. According to previous discussions, some (like ND's) require the other car to be insured (perhaps that's something to do with an Alfa policy); some (like mine) do not.
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thanks for all the help so far.
is their generally an age barrier?
im just under 25 years of age - just wondering if it would matter.
also he will be using my car for the 2 days i need his - he is aged 23, would that matter?
unfortunately im at work and dont have my policy to read, just wondering if my age would allow me to do it.
my insurance is with liverpool victoria
my friend is with tesco
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Frequently companies will not give the DOC extension to under 25s.
In the end I'm afraid you will have to read your policy & certificate & schedule - and he will have to read his.
Too much risk to take on the word of someone else.
I would suggest you read all of it, in case there are other doubts about cover, facilities or permitted usage.
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he has e-mailed me - and tesco dont cover under 25\'s.
still havent checked liverpool victoria.
anyone know of any insurance companies who do? minew is up for renewal in 3 months and would be worth considering a policy which would let me borrow his estate to shift my furniture to new premises.
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