Just had my insurance renewal through, and as there were a number of highlighted changes I took the opportunity to read through it all thoroughly. It has left me a little concerned.
Both my car and the wifes are registered in my name since I do all the buying and selling.
I insure mine and the wife insures hers. Occasionally I drive hers if its not getting much use or I can't be bothered to get mine out of the garage!
Now I've always accepted that I was insured third party by default. On reading the policy it says I "may also drive with the owners permission a motor car they do not own".
Question is what constitutes ownership? The registered keeper is not the legal owner necessarily - so how do you prove ownership? For all intents and purposes the car is my wifes, I just bought it for her.
Any thoughts?
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I would say that for insurance purposes, you own the car.
You do the buying and selling, the car is registered in your name, its your car. Not hers.
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Who insures your wife's car ?- if its her it will possibly or even probably read insured and spouse.
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...read insured and spouse...
There's a couple who stayed in a grotty B&B in Cornwall who seem well up on the legal meaning of 'married'. :)
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Why dont you have both cars on a joint policy? or named drivers?
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Don't you have to be the registered owner of the car to obtain insurance?
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I remember some years back getting a quote to be out on wife's insurance as named driver and the premium went DOWN - they told me that i I was a safer risk as I was in a relationship.
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Mine was cheaper with the wife on as a named driver as well.
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get named on the insurance
i run under trade insurance and assumed i was insured on wifes car
turns out dodgy ground so i just got her to name me on her policy
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>> Question is what constitutes ownership? The registered keeper is not the legal owner necessarily -
>> so how do you prove ownership? For all intents and purposes the car is my
>> wifes, I just bought it for her.
>>
>> Any thoughts?
>>
Read the whole policy carefully, and/or contact the insurer to get the meaning of their terms confirmed in writing.
For example, some Morethan policies state:
"YOUR COVER WHILE DRIVING ANY OTHER CAR
This policy covers you for the cost of any claims if you are legally responsible for:
• causing injury to or the death of anyone; or
• the damage you cause to another person’s property (we will pay up to £20,000,000, including legal costs,
for any claim or claims arising from one incident).
You are covered while driving any other car only if all the following apply:
• You are 25 years of age or older
• You are driving with the owner’s permission
• You are not entitled to make a claim for the damage under any other policy of insurance
• The car is not owned by (or hired under a hire purchase agreement by or leased to) you or your partner
• The car is being driven in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man or the
Channel Islands."
Last edited by: Suppose on Tue 18 Jan 11 at 22:35
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>>Question is what constitutes ownership?
I suggest that your wife possibly has beneficial ownership of the car.
However, it doesn't seem worth the risk of grey areas when the consequence may be a custodial sentence.
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>> For all intents and purposes the car is my wifes, I just bought it for her.
If you bought it for her, and have given it to her, it's hers, not yours.
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not what the paperwork says, and I doubt the insurance company looks at it that way either.
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>> not what the paperwork says
The "paperwork" is the registration document. It does not say who the legal owner is.
The OP needs to check whether his insurance company are happy with the situation - some say that the legal owner must be the registered keeper, others don't. The OP should also be aware that he's responsible for making sure the car's taxed, MOT'd, and kept in roadworthy condition.
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so hes responsible for taxing it, and the mot. I think that means he owns it.
I could "give" my house to my wife. Would she own it? No.
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>>I could "give" my house to my wife. Would she own it? No.
It's too late.
Your wife very probably has beneficial ownership of a half share of your house, particularly if she contributes to living costs, fuel bills, mortgage etc. The name on the e-paperwork at the land registry is irrelevant for establishing beneficial ownership; effectively you hold it on trust for her in a bare trust.
It's unclear to me that OP is responsible for MOTing or taxing his wife's car; he's certainly the one to whom the fine would be addressed, but in court I suspect he might well wriggle free - leaving his wife the responsible one.
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Having taken half his house, she would deny he gave her the car.
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Nicole is in joint ownership at the land registry.
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Thanks for all the input.
V5 has been sent to DVLA with change of registered keeper into wifes name.
This was something we intended to do but just never got round to. In the past although I bought the car, the dealer etc has put my wifes name on the V5 at purchase. This last one however refused.
On speaking to the insurance company they apparently changed their policies June last year so that there is NO third party cover for a partners car - so I can't drive hers nor she mine without being a named driver on each others policies. We are with the same company.
Not sure of the reasoning behind this - it can't be to make or save money since both our premiums have now gone DOWN!!!!
If any of you assume third party cover via your own insurance for your partners car please double check the policy... Many people never intend to drive anything other than their own car, but it would appear that now even in an emergency if you are not named you're not insured.
>>leaving his wife the responsible one
Mapmaker - she already is! And the clever one too since she now earns more than me but 90% of the financials are in my name (how time and circumstances change...)
Last edited by: Everest Pete on Wed 19 Jan 11 at 14:52
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There are lots of warnings when buuying a car that the registered keeper is not necessarily the owner (e.g. finance agreements)
Check wwith the insurer.
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>> This last one however refused.
>>
That's very odd. Was it on finance in your name?
>> If any of you assume third party cover via your own insurance for your partners
>> car please double check the policy... Many people never intend to drive anything other >> than their own car, but it would appear that now even in an emergency if you
>> are not named you're not insured.
>>
I'm bemused that people wouldn't put their spouse, and vice versa, on their insurance. As others have pointed out, with many companies the premium goes down.
Driving Other Cars (DOC) cover is a can of worms - the Government tried to force insurance companies to drop it a few years ago but, perhaps surprisingly, the companies resisted saying many people could be caught out and criminalised, having relied on DOC cover in the past.
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>> This last one however refused.
>>
That's very odd. Was it on finance in your name?
No, no finance involved. Dealer simply wouldn't put anyone elses name on the documents since it was me he was dealing with (even though he had met my wife on test drive). Don't know why and to be honest at the time I didn't think that much of it.
We have never put each others names on the respective insurance before simply because my wife will not drive my cars (don't ask, long story!) and up until maybe 2 years ago I never had cause to drive hers. It was not common knowledge to me that being named reduced the premiums - you live and learn!
Anyway everything is now as it should be, although in the next month or two my circumstances will be changing work wise so which will probably alter things again!!
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....or two my circumstances will be changing work wise...
Getting out of windows EP?
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Am I insured? - Zero
