Eccentric_Rich Posted January 29, 2004 Posted January 29, 2004 Um, I'm not 100% sure, but I seem to remember a clause in insurance that says if you're driving illegally, then insurance doesn't cover you at that point. No it's an urban myth. If it was true then insurance companies would never pay up as there would always be a technicality they could use e.g. your car is illegal if a bulb isn't working or if you caused an accident because you were speeding or if you crashed your car into someone because you were drunk or if you crashed your car into someone because the tyres were bald etc, etc. Richard. Quote
stu999 Posted January 29, 2004 Posted January 29, 2004 Richard, I think you should take the time to read the small print on you insurance documents. If insurance companies have paid out after the car was proven to be defective/ tuned and not declared/driver was drunk etc, it has been out of goodwill, not becuase they have to. Example of small print-quoted directly from my insurance information and conditons..... MAIN EXCLUSIONS AND CONDITIONS a) claims arising from any deliberate or criminal act (drink driving?) b) Accidents involving a motor vehicle owned or driven by a member, where the vehicle was not covered by a valid test certificate or road fund licence, or was not in a roadworthy condition, or if the accident was casued by a defect in the vehicle. c) blah blah blah and so on. Urban myth? I dont think so..... Quote
Blatman Posted January 29, 2004 Posted January 29, 2004 Buzz is writing b*****k* He's not alone........ Quote
Eccentric_Rich Posted January 29, 2004 Posted January 29, 2004 I think you'll find the exclusions on your insurance apply to you i.e. if you have car insurance your insurance company is legally obligated to provide third party cover to anyone injured or any property damaged as a result of your actions. If you drink and drive and crash into another vehicle your insurance company would pay out to the third party (the owner of the vehicle you damaged) but obviously would not pay for damage to your own vehicle. If this wasn't the case insurance for spotty teenagers or drivers with drink drive convictions etc wouldn't be any more expensive than mine or yours. Richard. Quote
stu999 Posted January 29, 2004 Posted January 29, 2004 Richard, the above is listing reasons as to why the insurance will not be held liable. I think we can safely assume this means for anybody/anything, or else it would have to be written in black and white. Besides, the insurance policy I quoted the above from wouldnt pay out for damage to my vehicle, because it is TPFT anyway..... If this wasn't the case insurance for spotty teenagers or drivers with drink drive convictions etc wouldn't be any more expensive than mine or yours They are quoted more because they are considered higher risk groups. Remember, not every claim is investigated fully by the police. So if a third party claim for damage is made against the insured and th police were not involved, how would the insurance know if the car was defective, the driver over the limit etc.? So they load premiums on previous history, whether the history be the driver's in question or the companies previous experience on age versus accident ratio etc. Insurance companies are trying to make money just like the rest of us. But insurance is a risk, and they offset this the best they can by loading those who are considered to be higher risk. The insurance company is indeed legally obligated to provide third party cover to anyone injured or any property damaged as a result of my/your actions, as long as you have stood by your half of the contract. IMHO Ignore it at your peril.... Quote
Eccentric_Rich Posted January 29, 2004 Posted January 29, 2004 Sorry Stu you're wrong, if you consider your TPFT insurance as public liability insurance your insurance company is quoting you a price considering you as a risk. If you crash your car into a bus and injure all the passengers your insurance company will be liable for compensation (to the bus passengers) etc whether or not you're drunk, high on drugs, whether the car has tax, MOT the same as if you and the car are 100% legal at the time of the accident. The insurance company decides the premium on many factors including the likelihood of you causing a third party claim through negligence. Quote
7SE Posted January 29, 2004 Posted January 29, 2004 Every insurance policy, since about 1932, has a general condition that states that the car must be maintained in a roadworthy condition. If you have an accident and the car has bald tyres, it is not roadworthy, ergo the contract is not liable to pay up. There is a complication, your insurer will be obliged to meet any 3rd party injury claims as part of its responsibilities - it is not able to sidestep the legal minimum cover liability. However it does not have to pay the costs of any damage to a 3rd party vehicle, or to your own vehicle. And they can sue you for any 3rd party injury payments that they have to make. Extending the literal law of contract, if your car has a defective bulb it is not 'roadworthy' and the above applies. In practice an insurance company will not be able to reject your claim unless a defect contributed to the claim. So if you drove into someone at night (and your lights weren't working) you can expect them to be reluctant to pay up, but in daylight a defective bulb would have not caused the accident and so they would have to pay. Whether you car is taxed or whether you are drunk at the time of the accident will not affect your claim; unless you are insured with that company who only insures teetotallers, in which case you are on dodgy ground Quote
Eccentric_Rich Posted January 29, 2004 Posted January 29, 2004 Whether your car is taxed or whether you are drunk at the time of the accident will not affect your claim; unless you are insured with that company who only insures teetotallers, in which case you are on dodgy ground Nice one - Thankyou. Quote
stu999 Posted January 29, 2004 Posted January 29, 2004 I've done some Googling, and it seems that a vehicle may or may not be insured if the taxed, this depends on the small print in the insurance. I found this site Claims Guru and although I cannot guarentee its accuracy, (as with most things on the Web) has a lot of information about such issues. Interestingly, a tea leaf pinches your car and runs some poor b******* over, they have cover through your insurance! And it's time for me to scoff a large chunk of humble pie. Once a certificate has been delivered, certain restrictions which may be in a policy are inoperative as far as the Road Traffic Act liability is concerned. These include the age or physical or mental condition of the driver, the condition of the vehicle and the number of people carried. The Act(s) is designed to protect the innocent victims of accidents and insurers cannot escape responsibility for those categories of claim set out in the legislation because their insured turns out to be a worse risk than they anticipated. The above is a quote from the link on this page, underlining what you, and 7SE have said. Damn pesky small print. Just when I though I was on a winner But folk are still gonna get a fine for not getting the Sorn in Quote
Eccentric_Rich Posted January 30, 2004 Posted January 30, 2004 And it's time for me to scoff a large chunk of humble pie. Don't worry about it Stu, I was starting to sweat myself thinking that I'd got it wrong. I agree with the SORN process but I do think Buzz's post was unnecessarily offensive towards ROC (Rich). Richard. Quote
david.c Posted January 30, 2004 Posted January 30, 2004 And it's time for me to scoff a large chunk of humble pie. But folk are still gonna get a fine for not getting the Sorn in Good to see someone giving an apology and getting the subject back on thread David Quote
Blatman Posted January 30, 2004 Posted January 30, 2004 And it's time for me to scoff a large chunk of humble pie. Can you cut me a slice of that please Stu? Ta.......... Quote
stu999 Posted January 30, 2004 Posted January 30, 2004 Thanks gents-after all, thats what this board is all about IMHO, I have certainly learnt something. Every day is a school day...... Quote
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