How Is Your Car Insured?

[McCardle 1]

I would say I have been practicing with fellow members and for the Disco, well its all in her indoors name, which means I am helping out a third party by transporting their gear?

 

Doesn't matter if you are "helping out" somebody else, you are carrying goods in relation to a business and should have relevant insurance cover. Its just the same if you have a full time job and your employer asks you to use your own private car for a business trip!.

 

Here's a cautionary tale.

 

One example of this in real life appeared on a motoring forum recently. A young lad was using his own car to deliver pizza's on a one-off basis to help a family member who ran the pizza outlet and whose regular driver had called in sick.

 

There was no accident involved, the police had simply stopped the lad in his car whilst on a delivery in a random check, found out he was delivering some pizzas and subsequently found he didn't have business cover on his insurance, and so proscuted him. In his defense he pointed out that he wasn't getting paid and was just helping out a relative and wasn't even employed by the company he was assisting. Non of this washed with the magistrate who promptly fined him and put 6 points on his license for having no insurance as his present insurer immediately revoked his cover, and refused to reinsure him on the basis that he had already driven outside of his cover.

 

Also consider that most insurers will ask the question "Have you ever had insurance cover refused or revoked" in their opening statement, in his situation the reply will be "yes" which usually results in the refusal to quote, let alone cover - try it in one of the quote engines yourself to see!.

 

Having the correct cover isn't as expensive as you may think, and for me its preferable to the risk of a charge of driving with no insurance and the possibility of being unable to obtain motor / home / travel insurance cover for a long time to come, through having cover revoked and all because I wanted to save a few ££££ on my policy.

[D.X 0]

As said earlier in the thread, check your policy to make sure it does not exclude the entertainment industry, some do apparently.

 

Insurance companies will try and find any excuse not to cough up, just because they didnt ask what the business was it does not mean that entertainment business is included with your policy.

 

Although quite why some exclude the entertainment business or why some charge a premium rate for this is a mystery to me.

 

There's no apparently about it mate, most insurance companies won't cover those in the entertainment business and that means us.

 

I suspect a lot of people have been driving round completely oblivious to the fact that if they'd had a crash their insurance company would run a mile and be legally able to do so leaving you in a rather bad situation. Brand new van + full disco set up = lots of cash and business down the toilet.

 

It costs extra to get properly covered but it has to be worth it even if it costs double.

[Devon Mobile Disco 0]

There's no apparently about it mate, most insurance companies won't cover those in the entertainment business and that means us.

 

I suspect a lot of people have been driving round completely oblivious to the fact that if they'd had a crash their insurance company would run a mile and be legally able to do so leaving you in a rather bad situation. Brand new van + full disco set up = lots of cash and business down the toilet.

 

It costs extra to get properly covered but it has to be worth it even if it costs double.

i would agree iith everyone who is honest especially with the police carrying equipment that tells about your tax insurance and mOT. We often get followed after a gig and am sure if i was not all legal we would get pulled more like in the olden days when we were given producers. At least now when they follow me they can look it all up and see i am legal and above board. Beats getting pulled.

[YourBigEvent 0]

Totally honest with both vehicles, both have full business use, for any driver.

[Robster 0]

business use for me the named driver virgin car insurance I paid mine over the phone and was very clear in stipulating that it was for business use and what business it is. The policy states for business use( and lists entertainment industry )for the named driver ..its cost just over £600 with breakdown cover , this is more than the car is worth lol but i used to drive on company policies so i have not had my own insurance ever so i have 0 no claims. been driving for years but always had my companies pay it all.

 

can i claim some of this back.. tax wise?(i will ask my accountant anyway)

Edited November 18, 2008 by Robster

[Award Entertainment 0]

My V8 Estate car is sign written, 100% business use and insured as such. It's a commercial car and I got it reclassified as a 'Light Goods Vehicle', which meant that I was able to tint the windows from the 'B' pillar back as dark as I wanted. The law's a bit peculiar here about that.

 

http://www.djrichard.co.nz/images/Holden_V8_01.jpg

[Robster 0]

I have a 1.3 petrol ford escort , insured properly cost me £600 ish ( car only cost me £500!) looks ok for its age and value but i love it .. its a dependable workhorse

[McCardle 1]

which meant that I was able to tint the windows from the 'B' pillar back as dark as I wanted. The law's a bit peculiar here about that

 

Virtually indentical to that in the UK. Tint the rear windows and quarter lights as much as you want, but the windscreen and side / passenger front windows must be industry standard with just legal factory tint

[Raymilkybarkid 0]

I use the following

 

Mercedes lwb sprinter

For transit Luton box

Swb Transit

and a 7.5 tonne box

 

depending on what shows are going out, they are on a company fleet policy for any driver over 25 with entitlement to drive. All the vehicles are insured as the job title Production company. This includes DJ's. but any accidents regardless of blame after midnight until 0700 we have got a policy excess of £750.00 for the smaller vans / Luton and £1200.00 for the 7.5 tonner.

I must stress that the renewal premiums are equal to £1400 per vehicle per annum this includes our 65% no claims discount.

[spinner 0]

just wondering how many people are being economical with the truth in relation to their insurance companies and occupations.

 

 

Unless the car is used for DJ work how is it relevant?

[McCardle 1]

Unless the car is used for DJ work how is it relevant?

 

Well this is a DJ forum, and the first option on the poll was

 

I'm 100% honest and its insured as a mobile entertainer

 

 

Why, what occupation(s) did you think I was refering to.

Edited April 30, 2009 by McCardle

[spinner 0]

Well this is a DJ forum, and the first option on the poll was

Why not tell me what occupation you thought I was refering to.

 

 

With respect, I think you've missed the point.

 

I have a car. I don't use it for DJ work.

 

I have a van. It is used and insured for DJ work.

[McCardle 1]

Sorry, but I think that you are missing my point.

 

I have a car. I don't use it for DJ work.

 

Immaterial as far as mentioning the fact that you are a DJ is concerned. I believe that you are still obliged to list ALL of your occupations whether part and full time with your insurers, regardless of whether the vehicle is used for business use or everyday SDP use and the quoted premium will probably reflect the type of work that they do to some extent.

 

If a person has a full time PAYE job, they aren't using the vehicle for the business use of their employers, yet they are still expected to declare all of their full and part time occupation(s), and to my knowledge Dj's and the self employed in general, are not excluded from this.

 

When you take out an insurance policy whether online or at a broker, then you are asked for / expected to declare your employment status and to list the job title and type of industry you work in and whether you have one job or several and whether they are considered part or full time, your insurer will want to know what they are - and not just the main one.

 

In fact SOME insurers will not even insure drivers with more than one form of employment.

 

Neither you nor any additional driver have a part-time occupation, whether or not this is in addition to a full-time occupation

 

http://www.devittinsurance.com/car-insuran...ssumptions.html

 

So for example, if somebody with a full time 'day' job took out a policy with the above company and just told them about their full time occupation and 'forgot' to tell them about their part time one as a DJ then cover can be withdrawn and they may also be refused insurance in the future. This company are not unique in in having these restrictions, so its as well to check.

 

So to rephrase the question for those with more than one car or more than one occupation, how many people are honest and mention ALL of their occupations to ALL of their insurance companies, including 2nd or 3rd vehicles because it is still relevant, at least the insurance companies seem to think so.

Edited April 30, 2009 by McCardle

[spinner 0]

So to rephrase the question for those with more than one car or more than one occupation, how many people are honest and mention ALL of their occupations to ALL of their insurance companies, including 2nd or 3rd vehicles because it is still relevant, at least the insurance companies seem to think so.

 

 

Interesting question.

 

I suppose it could be assumed that a DJ could use a car for work. I couldn't. Maybe some do.

 

Disregarding what the insurance companies think if, for example, being a container lorry driver was considered a risky occupation but a container lorry driver could only do the job with a container lorry, would there be any logic in loading the driver's car insurance?

[McCardle 1]

I'm not involved in the insurance industry so I cannot speak from the prospective of a representative of them, and I don't hold an HGV license so I couldn't possibly answer that question either, all I know (from obtaining loads of quotes at the moment and seeing the same questions and small print appear time after time) is that the onus is on the proposer to declare all material facts to the insurance company and that includes penalty points, modifications, accidents, convictions and all part and full time occupations, most of them even go so far as to physically actually ask the question 'Do you have any other occupations, including part time ones' or make it a yes/no compulsory field on their forms. And this is a question that still gets asked , and is still just as compulsory whether its the main vehicle you are covering or a second vehicle and whether its a quote for business or SD&P use.

 

I would hate for anybody here to be caught out. Anybody who believes that insurance companies do not research the facts and check the declarations or have entire teams of investigators to background check or who look for reasons not to pay out a claim, probably also believe in fairies and elves.

 

To highlight some of the lengths insurance companies will go to, there is one forum that i'm a member of, where there is a young woman who has insured her car in Daddies' name and put herself on it as a named driver, but on several previous posts she was seen bragging about HER new car and how SHE had bought and financed it.

 

A month or so later she was in an accident and wrote it off. The insurance company believed (rightly in this case) that she was in fact the owner of the vehicle and so should have been declared as the regular user of the vehicle and was just using Daddy as the main driver and proposer in order to lower her premium, they eventually discovered her forum posts and linked them to her, in addition, a Saga insurance investigator soon found a thread which also contained a photo of her posing with 'her' new car and bragging about it, she printed it off and presented it to her client as a reason for proving that she lied to them when taking out her policy and then withdrew her cover and voided her claim. She is now in pretty hot water, is blacklisted on the MID and so will probably struggle to find any company in the future to insure her and still owes the finance company the best part of £15k in payments, and the car is in the scrapyard. I wonder if it was all worth the saving on the premium?, still there is always public transport.

 

All I am saying is that it is better to be as honest and upfront as possible when taking out cover, regardless of whether its a main business vehicle or one on a SDP policy such as a 2nd car or a 'fun' weekend one because the consequences don't bear thinking about. If it isn't applicable and doesn't affect the policy or premium then leave it to the insurer to tell you that it doesn't matter, but at least you have been honest in volunteering and disclosing all of the facts.

 

Most of the major comparison sites, and websites of some of the leading high street 'names' automatically ask this question whenever you fill in the quote request form, and so it would seem to still be relevant whether you are filling in the form for a quotation for your main vehicle or for a 2nd vehicle - check for yourself. So I suppose the question, to put it straight across, is......

 

'If you DJ in addition to full time job, do you actively declare the fact that you are a DJ in the little part time occupation box, or do you simply overlook it or deliberately click 'no' ? -

 

its a yes/no question on the form and here in the thread, I can't see any in-between options on the quote and comparison site forms, so I guess there isn't one. I'm not asking for people to openly answer or reply to that question in a post obviously, its just about asking them to be honest with themselves and consider what the answer would be (or what they HAVE answered previously), and then maybe the relevance of the thread would be obvious to those who perhaps didn't understand the question.

 

Of course if you deliberately tick 'no' to the part time occupation question, then there is a huge, and very real risk that the quote engine / broker may offer / return you policies with companies who do not insure people with part time occupations (like the example one I linked to above) - digging yourself into an even deeper hole, should you take out the offered policy and somebody has reason to make checks or claim, and its not going to hard to prove you are a DJ if your business website is at the top of google or that wedding directory or yell listing appears when you google your name or address.

 

Either way, if you fall into the category I mentioned and DJ on a part time basis and have not declared it to your insurance company(ies) then perhaps it might be a good idea to ring and ask the question on whether you DO need to disclose ALL occupations including part time ones to them. Better to assure yourself now rather then later, then there will be no surprises should you ever be in a position where it would be checked.

 

Its a fact that some occupations carry a high risk and a high premium, and some insurers simply refuse to cover certain occupations, as I highlighted on another thread last week.

 

Despite using Iggy Pop for their ads, Insurance company Swiftcover, will not insure entertainers (which include DJ's - i've asked) which means its impossible for us to use their company and we will not be insured on any vehicle, regardless of whether we DJ as a sole occupation or in addition to a full time one.

 

http://www.nme.com/news/iggy-pop/42968

 

Anybody here with Swiftcover?

Edited May 1, 2009 by McCardle

[spinner 0]

I'm not involved in the insurance industry so I cannot speak from the prospective of a representative of them, and I don't hold an HGV license so I couldn't possibly answer that question either,

 

 

The likelihood is that certain occupations are considered to have a higher risk factor and not necessarily as drivers.

 

For example, a public figure may be unpopular in certain quarters. In that case his/her vehicle might be considered to be in greater danger of vandalism, therefore attracting a higher premium or, possibly, refusal of cover.

[Dukesy 0]

Scary results, eh?!!

[Dream Catchers 0]

Nearly 60% are actually in effect uninsured, as omitting to tell the insurer a material fact will void your insurance.

Lets face it, we know that when a claim arises they don't just get the cheque book out, they will try to limit their liability in any way they can.

Now if they decide to void your insurance, will you then get prosecuted for driving without insurance?

If so, if you already have some points on your license you may be looking at a ban.

 

All for the sake of a few quid.

 

Jim

[McCardle 1]

Yep, don't you just love the irony. If this was a poll about who is using illegally downloaded mp3's or operating without pli or using a laptop without pro-dub then you wouldn't be able to move for criticism and finger pointing here and there would be no doubt a rush and desire for certain people to shop them, but a potential driving whilst uninsured offence which is just as criminal and probably considered to be more anti-social by society in general appears and...

 

S-I-L-E-N-C-E

 

Of course it will be a different story when it actually affects them :ads:

 

If you think that it will never happen to you and its perhaps worth taking the risk then think again. After all, we are a moving target aren't we. Seen to be leaving licensed premises at 1am or 2am by a passing police patrol will make you instantly of interest and probably worthy of a 'pull' even if its only to do their job by asking 'when did you last have a drink Sir?'.

 

Add to that possible charges of overloading a motor vehicle, or carrying goods in a hazardous fashion (judging by some of the pictures of MPV's loaded to the rafters that i've seen on forums), and by heck, those fines / points are adding up aren't they.

 

The police can and do instantly check from the MIB as to whether a vehicle is correctly insured and whether it covers the business that you are using it for, if it doesn't then the offence is 'driving otherwise in accordance with your insurance' and is treated just as seriously as driving with no insurance, and depending on the officer present at the time, your car (and your precious gear) MAY be towed away and impounded (at significant cost to yourself) and you'll be walking home on foot.

 

I understand why many people don't bother declaring that they are a DJ, because the profession is somewhat unfairly penalised by the insurance industry and in some cases (but not all) premiums can rise as a result.

 

Before you choose to take the risk, first see how much your insurance is loaded by, when you have 6 points on your license and are blacklisted on the MIB for effectively lying to your previous insurer. I'm sure that if you try the offence code for no insurance in Go compare or Compare the market that you'll find that its far cheaper and less hassle to just come clean about your occupation(s) and NOT take the RISK.

 

The police DO actively check these things. If they checked because a couple of pizza's on the back passenger side seat led to this guy being prosecuted for driving without business insurance as a Pizza delivery driver, then all the gear loaded into our cars isn't really gonna take Sherlock Holmes to figure out what we do now is it.

 

A cautionary tale:- http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=29129

 

As you can see, even taking equipment on behalf of a person running a business is still potentially an offence, so you couldn't even use the 'I was just running it about / dropping it off for a friend' excuse. Insurers have heard them all :hide: , they'll also read out your posts from DJ Forums and produce a snapshot of your website in court in order to cement the connection as the final nail is hammered home.

Edited September 3, 2009 by McCardle