could really do with some help, DS (21) car accident, not covered on insurance

[dizzycatdance2]

Hi

Yesterday my DS pulled out at a junction, got hit by another car.
Coming back from work to walk his dog.

Put claim through on insurance, turns out only had insurance for pleasure and social.

What can he do ?

Its going to cost £1,000s isn't it

He might have just misunderstood a bit of what they said. I drove into my fence and shattered my bumper. My blood ran cold when insurance said I wasnt covered. Turns out the car was covered, not my fence. I misunderstood. Maybe his car isnt covered but the third party is? He needs to confirm what is and is not covered on his policy.

My dh hit someone once. The claim was 65k so we have everything optional covered. 65k is ruining for most people

@Sleepinghyena

We all make mistakes, it was an oversite, a mistake, I've made plenty in my time, as we all have. I don't think that many young drivers could tell you EXACTLY what commuting means, from this thread alone its clear its a fairly easy thing to miss on an insurance policy.

Just because someone is over the age of 18 it does not mean they suddenly have all the "adult" skills someone in their 30,40,50 has.

He made a MISTAKE and will shoulder the responsibility for that.

I wasn't sure as always had business use on my insurance . Just checked my DD's and it says "commuting inc social, domestic and pleasure." We set her insurance up for her (first insurance as18). Im not sure she would of included commuting if setting it up on her own.

I'm not excusing him because of his age, I'm saying he made a mistake because of his age.

Even the most basic policies cover third party losses, so I think you should be OK in that regard OP.

If DS isn't covered for his own car then he will need to replace or repair it himself.

It's an easy mistake to make.

@dizzycatdance2 I agree it's an easy mistake, especially as all done online now and you don't speak to anyone. When we set up our first car insurance you spoke to a person who told you what you needed

Rather clutching at straws here :

he drove form work ( on his lunch time) to a shop near home, stopped there , then drove from the shop back home and then had the accident.

Is the last part of the journey still considered "commuting"

@CoffeeRunner

Even the most basic policies cover third party losses, so I think you should be OK in that regard OP.

If DS isn't covered for his own car then he will need to replace or repair it himself.

It's an easy mistake to make.

Basic policies cover third parties but only if you actually have valid insurance. For an extreme example of you say you're fifty and have been driving with no claims for thirty years and you're actually seventeen then your insurance is simply invalid. The insurer will pay out to injured third parties because that's how the system is set up to protect victims, but they may try to reclaim that payout from the perpetrator.

The son's case is much less severe so the insurer might go easy on him but they would be within their rights to declare that the insurance simply isn't valid and sue him for the payout.

he has virtually no money, if he gets sued by the insurance company he wont be able to pay , what happens then ?? cant get blood out of a stone, is it a debt for life ?

@dizzycatdance2

Rather clutching at straws here :

he drove form work ( on his lunch time) to a shop near home, stopped there , then drove from the shop back home and then had the accident.

Is the last part of the journey still considered "commuting"

He's already told the insurance company he was driving home from work.

In response to your question about what happens next - tell him to call the insurance company back and ask if all 3rd party costs are covered. They're best placed to answer the question.

www.confused.com/car-insurance/guides/car-insurance-classes-of-use
his insurance may be invalid OP

Has he got a receipt from the shop he was driving home from? That could help as he wasn't commuting from the shop.

This condition to cover commuting was included quite a few years ago. If he is 21 then I think it would always have been in force.
We should all read the documents to do with things that are part of contracts.

OP, first of all tell your son to not sign any documents sent by the insurance company until he has had proper legal advice. Especially any consent and indemnity forms.

The insurer will have to formally repudiate the claim based on the policy wording. Make sure this wording is properly checked and if it refers to the certificate of motor insurance then carefully check that too.

I work in the insurance industry and have experience both with issuing policies and dealing with claims.

If your son didn't have commuting cover yet he was driving home from work then they are correct in saying he wasn't covered. He won't be 'done' for no insurance as that's a separate thing altogether which is far more serious ie no policy whatsoever.

Usually if it would have been possible to include commuting cover, then the claim can be progressed once the additional premium is paid. I would strongly suggest he gets commuting added ASAP if he can. If it's one of these policies which is social only then unfortunately there's not much that can be done.

If the accident wasn't his fault and the third party driver admits this then there's nothing to stop your son claiming directly from the third party insurers instead. Does he have legal expenses or an accident management policy attached which could assist him? If the driver disputes liability it will be a bit more tricky getting the other insurer to pay up, unless your son has evidence which proves his case.

my sons fault, he pulled out ( difficult junction for viewing the road) and the third party went into the side of him.

He has added community to his policy now.

There is ( more than likely) video evidence of him stopping at the chip shop on the way back from work, so "technically" he was driving from the chip shop to home when the accident occurred.

I don't know if he has any legal assist on his policy , I will have to ask , though I think its unlikely.

Many thanks for all the excellent advice on the thread, it has helped.

Trying to put in all in perspective ATM, and as no one was injured in the end it is "just" money, a difficult process ahead of him , but he's here and well , as is the third party, and that's worth millions.

Can you check your home insurance to see if they have legal help on your policy?

I had no idea and neither did DP but we both WFH. Commuting certainly was included in SDP last time I commuted. I have never been asked about commuting when I've changed insurer either...

I hope all works out ok for your DS, OP. You may have just saved my similar aged DS from the same mistake. He needs to start using his car to drive to university work placements so he is going to check he will be covered tomorrow.

Would you have any idea, @Nookable? He is in full time education but needs to drive to multiple different work placements as part of his course for the next 2 years. So, for example, 2 weeks driving to one location 3 or 4 times a week, then maybe no driving for a month, then a month driving to a different location daily, followed by a couple of days a week at another location etc He gets paid travel expenses but isn't paid for the placement, so it isn't work in that sense.

Sorry to @ you, Nookable, it's just that I suspect the insurance company may struggle to understand the situation exactly so he might need to use the correct terminology. It took me weeks to get the same company to clarify whether the university cover on our household insurance covered students in private rentals as well as university halls as they couldn't grasp the concept that some most students rent properties on the open market.

Sometimes it is included automatically, I have Aviva car insurance and didn't need commuting as I'm retired but I automatically got commuting and I also think there was the lowest business insurance included as well. Hopefully OP as your DS didn't do it deliberately as shown by the fact he said he was coming from work and didn't cover it up, which he would have if it had been deliberate that will be taken into account.

Was he commuting to work in the car when he took out the policy? Has it been a recent change?
How exactly did he take out the policy? Was it an aggregator site or the insurers own?
Who are the insurers?

@chesirecat99 you'd have to check the individual policy. It could be that commuting is "to and from a permanent place of work" and this wouldn't be applicable. Best bet is for your DS to speak to his insurer. Commuting really is a relatively cheap add on.

Unfortunately, it's price that sells rather than cover, so loads of companies are reducing cover as much as possible to make customers pay for add-ons which would normally be included as standard.

Some insurance companies display low prices by not including much at the start then as you add on stuff, price goes up. I guess the DS was caught out by this. It’s just a crafty move to top the low price table

I feel for him, he must be gutted, when I was 17 I asked my brother to take my car for its MOT, he wrote my car off and I thought he would have been covered through his insurance but it turned out we both had 3rd party and so it didn't cover. Lost my car I paid thousands for, paid for repair to the van he hit so another 1k. Fully comp everytime since and nobody is ever allowed to drive my car.

We all make mistakes, I was fortunate enough to have my dad buy me another car afterwards. Hope it all turns out OK for him

I have never been asked about commuting when I've changed insurer either

If you've ever used a comparison site to get an insurance quote, they do ask the question. What type of cover do you need, it's one of the options.

@dizzycatdance2

i know I cant get an definite answers on MN but some idea might help to calm me , not worried about his car, it was cheap , but its the damage to the other car / any injuries to the third party that worries me.

I think the other car driver will have to claim on their insurance or against the uninsured motor bureau thing.