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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Car at Uni - insurance implications

31 replies

homebythesea · 09/01/2017 13:22

DS is determined to take his car back to Uni this term despite being strictly verboten and I think he needs to inform the insurer and pay any additional premium attached to being oop north to being in a different location. He says others have not so declared because they still "live" at their home address. Anyone got experience with this?

OP posts:
bojorojo · 09/01/2017 14:16

We had DDs car on our multi-car insurance. It was based on the car being with the other cars - at home. It was much cheaper to have this type of insurance and not a stand alone one fir her as a young driver. We had no intention of changing this so the car stayed at home! I think you do have to tell the insurance company if the car has a new home.

Has he checked if he needs a parking permit for the street where he is living? Also, my DD found hardly anyone turned up with a car, ever. This is mainly because they end up being the taxi for their friends - all the time. They cannot have a drink and it can be a real pain. DD found taxis cheap when shared and this was preferable.

Why does he want the car at university?

bojorojo · 09/01/2017 14:19

He is not living at "home". He is exempt from council tax at the university city, could go on the electoral role and is registered with a GP there. He spends more time there than at "home". His university city is his home. I just would not risk it.

HelenF350 · 09/01/2017 14:22

Phone your insurer and ask.

Januaryblues28 · 09/01/2017 14:23

I've just done this as I work away during the week - the insurer will let you add another address to the policy whilst keeping your house as the main address. Depending on the city his premium might go up a bit. Best to phone and ask than risk it imo.

Januaryblues28 · 09/01/2017 14:24

Oh and if it's a major Northen city then be prepared for a sky high premium!

ajandjjmum · 09/01/2017 14:27

Speak to your insurer and ask what the implications would be.

For DS there was no problem and no additional charge, although he did have to obtain a parking permit from the uni.

Original poster
homebythesea · 09/01/2017 14:57

Thanks all- the 2 address option looks good. I'm against him taking his car- it's against the rules and I really don't think he will use it that often. However in the first part of the term he is going visiting friends in other Unis and driving will be much cheaper than trains. Whether after this period he continues to keep
It there remains to be seen!

OP posts:
Squirrills · 09/01/2017 16:14

We had this. We live in a rural low risk postcode for insurance purposes and DS1's uni flat is definitely not. His car is on our multi car policy.
I'm paranoid about honesty with insurance so made sure to declare his uni address (off campus) and postcode. Also it's parked on a street at uni rather than in our drive.
There was a difference in premium, but more to the point, an insurer can always refuse to pay out if you have not given the full facts.

Original poster
homebythesea · 09/01/2017 16:47

Squirrills that's my feeling absolutely. I will get him to ring the insurance (he's on a stand alone policy) and we will see what they say

OP posts:
bojorojo · 09/01/2017 17:41

If it is against the rules - it is against the rules. No further comment needed really. Trains are cheap for students. Does he have no mates at his university? Why does he want to travel so much? Are he and his mates going away for piss up weekends? I would be worried and he obviously has no university work to do!

Squirrills · 09/01/2017 18:17

Parking on campus may be prohibitively expensive for students but not always forbidden. If he already has a car then petrol is much cheaper than trains even with a railcard.
DS has never used his car to ferry friends around.

Becca19962014 · 09/01/2017 18:57

What does strictly forbidden mean?

My uni clamped anyone parking without a permit which was only allowed in exceptional circumstances e.g. Blue badge holder or letter from consultant. There were other places to park but they were short term (think 30 minutes) without a residents permit so would mean a hefty parking fine. To be clear it also applied to lecturers and other staff as well. There just wasn't the space or space to build.

I briefly lectured there and the second most common complaint was being clamped/fined for parking the car they were told not to bring in the first place. (The most common was that they needed higher marks).

Januaryblues28 · 09/01/2017 20:08

If he rings to find the cost to be honest the hike in premium might put him off anyway..!

Mine has just gone from £300 to £1400 since moving to a major Northern city. I've been driving 10 years! With the two address option it's still around £850.

Original poster
homebythesea · 09/01/2017 22:14

bojorojo he is an adult and can take the consequences of his actions if caught- do you propose I physically prevent him from driving away? He wants to visit his best friends, not unusual for students to do this. Trains are certainly not cheaper than driving, neither are they necessarily quicker so driving might be actually better to facilitate maximum study time.

Oh and newsflash students have piss up weekends. Oh and often weekdays too. Oh, and he's an adult person.

OP posts:
Original poster
homebythesea · 09/01/2017 22:15

becca I'm not sure what the rules and regs are on his campus. He knows full well that this is on his own dollar so to speak.

OP posts:
Becca19962014 · 09/01/2017 22:33

I misunderstood. I thought you knew, hence the crossing out bit, I was just making the point that some unis do strictly enforce the no cars rule, though obviously not everywhere.

Original poster
homebythesea · 09/01/2017 22:40

They do have a no cars on campus rule, how it is policed I don't know. It may only be temporary for the first part of this semester. Come September though he will have the car permanently once he moves off campus- at that point he will need to establish residents permits etc if applicable.

OP posts:
bojorojo · 09/01/2017 23:47

So if he is doing it anyway why are you on here asking about it? He presumably earns all the money to buy and run the car including insurance so I guess he can do what he wants - as you have said. You appear to have no influence at all. He must be pretty bored at uni if he wants to drive to see mates all over the place. Most students don't have Piss ups at other universities do they? But, as you say, he is an adult.

Original poster
homebythesea · 10/01/2017 07:32

bojorojo I don't know whether you have a student DC but honestly you are way off the mark as to what is "normal" for students today. The car was given to him without any conditions on how he uses it / where he goes in it. My question was based on conflicting evidence of how to tackle the insurance if he takes the car at Uni, seeking others' experience in order to be fully armed with info before he calls the insurance company. But thanks for your contribution.

OP posts:
poisonedbypen · 10/01/2017 07:44

When we took out Dad's insurance we told them she would be taking it to uni at some point and they said to let them know when that became the place she was at most of the time. we did that and the premium actually went down. Next summer we will let them know when she is mostly here again. if your DS has a black box (DD does) they will know where he is and may query it anyway.

poisonedbypen · 10/01/2017 07:44

When we took out Dad's insurance we told them she would be taking it to uni at some point and they said to let them know when that became the place she was at most of the time. we did that and the premium actually went down. Next summer we will let them know when she is mostly here again. if your DS has a black box (DD does) they will know where he is and may query it anyway.

poisonedbypen · 10/01/2017 07:44

DD not dad, clearly!

TalkinPeace · 10/01/2017 08:00

DD has pointedly not taken her car because of insurance, parking, lifts etc etc
DH always had cars from 2nd year on but that was 30 years ago.

Squirrills · 10/01/2017 12:02

homebythesea Insurance companies do vary by the way. When he first got a car , I rang lots of insurance companies. Some were only interested in where the car was kept the majority of the time, others would only quote using the highest risk postcode. He was off campus in a dodgy student area while we live in a tiny village so risk wise for the insurer this makes sense. He was insured with Endsleigh at first but is now on our Admiral multi car policy.

DS2 is at a much nearer uni and on a campus where there is no student parking except for nursing / med students, so he does not have a car

bojorojo · 10/01/2017 18:33

One DD has just finished education after 6 years and the other DD finished last year. I am truly unaware of how the majority of students behave. I think it is you homebythesea who does not understand what 'normal' is. At any university anywhere in the U.K. the vast majority of students do not have cars. It is a fact. My DDs owned cars but they stayed at home and as we insure them and tend to abide by the rules we did not allow the cars to be taken to university. We did put strings on car ownership because it is sensible and important that they do what their universities asked of them. They didn't miss their cars. They didn't travel all over the place in term time and when they occasionally did they flew or got a train. I think it is you who have an entitled child who will do what he wants.