To not contribute to DH car insurance?

[licencetodrive]

Looking for impartial advice.

We're lucky enough to own two cars.
Family car we own equally but DH is the only one who drives it. I'm a relatively new driver and it's just too big for me to drive just yet. As a result, I'm not insured on it. DH obviously is.

We also have a small runaround car. DH bought it years and years ago so therefore owns it. Nowadays it's mostly used by me to ferry kids from A to B, DH drives it to a lesser extent. Both of us are insured on it.
(In case it's relevant, if it's ever sold, sale proceeds are his to do what he wants with - it's his car.)

Maintenance of both cars, MOTs, services, petrol etc all paid for equally by both of us so no issues there.

The question. AIBU to just pay my half of insurance on the small car, the only car I use, and not pay half of his insurance on the family car when he's the only one that drives it?

And before anything is said, most of our finances are joint. Just want advice on this scenario.

[Bluebelltulip]

For us all money is family money so can't really comment on paying half of his insurance. The point I wanted add was that even though I was newly qualified and DH had been driving much longer clean license etc having me on his insurance still reduced the premium, so just wondered if you had looked.

[RedneckStumpy]

Hard to say, we pool all our money in a joint account, we don’t have our own accounts. Therefore we both pay all bills.

[PawPawNoodle]

If you're going to split hairs about it then I think you should pay the whole insurance on the smaller car, and he pays for the larger car. You both have the option to use both cars however you choose not to. I dont see why he should pay 3/4s of the insurance when in reality you use a car each.

[Notatallobvious]

If most of your finances are joint, why should this be any different? It’s just another family expense and should come out of the joint finances. I’m assuming your DH uses it for family stuff and you go in it as a passenger, so you both benefit from the larger car for holidays/trips out etc.

[EmUntitled]

You pay for the insurance on "your" car (the one you use. He pays for the insurance on the larger car.
Personally I think this is easier and fairer than paying half of each, each.

[Elasticity]

I'd be covering the cost of both cars (any finance, maintenance, insurance etc) from your joint money. They are an essential 'bill' or 'expense' as it were.

[Elasticity]

Only situation I wouldn't is if one of you had say an impractical 2 seater sports car as a hobby, used only at weekends. That would def be your own responsibility in terms of costs.

[MrsTerryPratchett]

You just make everything joint and stop all this angst. The cars both get used for the family, they are family expenses. The smaller car gets sold, proceeds are the family's.

[footballmum]

I’ve just rearranged our finances so car finance and insurance for both cars come out of our joint account. As far as I’m concerned, both are family expenses and should be funded as such. We have one big family car and one small city car but both get used for running kids around and we each sometimes drive the other. Surely yours should be the same and they should be family expenses?

[Firesuit]

Why should insurance be different from all other expenses associated with the bigger car?

My view with cars driven only be one person is that if most of the mileage is commuting or work related, treat the expenses as negative income. In other words, the person who drives it pays all the expenses, but, if it matters for any other calculation, for example contribution to join bills, their income is what is left after they've paid those expenses.

To be a family expense, the majority of miles must be used for carting family around, or on journeys that benefit the family.

The third option, personal expense, is the least likely, and that's where use by the driver that doesn't fall into the first two categories is the main consumer of miles.

[Normandy144]

As it is a family car, i think you should pay half regardless of whether or not you drive it. The whole family uses it as passengers. That being said we pool all our money so there is no he pays/she pays scenario.

[SD1978]

Yes, it's strange. You have joint finances. If you were more comfortable driving you'd drive the bigger car, you benefit (I assume) from him driving you all in it. Unless you're suddenly splitting all finances, which I've always found strange anyway, you are being u reasonable considering it

[m0vinf0rward]

Given that he paid for the car and you almost exclusively use it, you should pay all the insurance on it, much like you expect him to pay all of the big car. Fairs fair...pay your way, or split the total costs 50:50.

[WitchesWeb]

Yes really you should imo.

[licencetodrive]

Unanimous verdict!  It's already be paid jointly which I was ok with but I'm more ok with it now that Mumsnet has spoken!
Thanks ladies!

[Havaina]

I pay for my own car's insurance and DH pays for his own.

The only reason I've added DH to my car insurance is because it made it a £100 cheaper per year!

The only reason DH added me to his car insurance was because it was only an extra £30 per year and I am more likely to drive his car then he is to drive mine.

So no, if you pay for your own insurance and you don't drive his car, then I wouldn't pay half of the insurance on his car.

Who will pay the insurance on your car?

[Mitzimaybe]

If you were willing to drive the big car (and insured, obviously) would he "let" you drive it? Or is it his penis-extension, "look what a big one I've got" car? If he'd be happy for you to use it sometimes then I can't see why the insurance wouldn't be the same 50:50 split as all the other related expenses.

You need to woman up and dare to drive it!

[QuackPorridgeBacon]

I’d suggest you pay for the insurance for he car you use and he pays for the bigger car. I’m not sure why he should pay a majority when you also do use one of the cars.

[myfatarse]

Also look at multi car insurance - where each of you is named driver on eachothers insurance - you'll be amazed at the reduction in cost and then treat them both as a family expense

[VanGoghsDog]

Presumably you and the rest of the family go in it as passengers?

Personally I've never had this sort of thing fully joint but then I'm not married and I don't have kids, if I was I'd expect things like car costs to be split equally as the family would have equal use of them, whether that's using it when you go on weekend trips or whatever.

[DontDribbleOnTheCarpet]

I pay for the insurance, TAX and repair costs for both our cars (my husband is retired which makes it a bit different). If he happened to have more money than me when one of the policies was up for renewal then he'd pay. Neither of us really cares about who pays, so long as the thing is paid for.
However, I am insured for both cars (and I'm a new driver too). We also both take the car which suits the job in hand the best- mine has 3 doors so better for trips alone or with only one child, his has 5 doors so does runs with all of the kids. There are 6 of us so if everyone is going then we take both cars and draw straws to see who drives more of the children!

[DontDribbleOnTheCarpet]

oops, I don't know why I yelled "TAX" in my last post. I was probably thinking about the MOT.

[Pissedoffdotcom]

I pay insurance on my car with DP as a named driver. He pays for his two cars. I can drive both should i desire but i don't. Mine is the 'family' car doing most of the day to day pootling about related to family life, DP drives one of his to work/social things/visit his family & the other is his hobby.

All the rest of our bills etc are split but the cars we pay for individually

[PurpleCrazyHorse]

We pay out of family money because both cars are used by both of us and with the children (either as the driver or as a passenger). The big car is used for long journeys to benefit all of us, I'm guessing that's the same for you too.

[mrsm43s]

In our family all car expenses for both cars are family expenses and come from joint funds. It doesn't really matter who actually drives the car, when its being used on trips that benefit the family - i.e shopping, holidays, ferrying the kids around, running errands, getting to work etc.