One off commute on a classic policy

One off commute on a classic policy

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snuffy

8,351 posts

271 months

When you say "day off", do you mean you have booked a day off as part of your annual leave? In which case, surely the answer is very simple?

davek_964

8,129 posts

162 months

dvs_dave said:
How is this commuting and not just taking it to a garage? Additionally how would it ever be proved you were “commuting” and not taking it to a pre-arranged garage appointment?
It probably wouldn't. Unless it was stolen from, or damaged in the work car park.

For ~£30 it really seems simpler to just add commuting......

Pebbles167

3,079 posts

139 months

I'd risk it for sure. But I'd also have specified SDP&Commute in the policy requirements. It comes in handy on occasion. In your position now, I'd pay the £30 charge for the policy change.

Alternatively I took out a comprehensive day policy on a car last week. It was £10 with Veygo.

E-bmw

7,835 posts

139 months

snuffy said:
When you say "day off", do you mean you have booked a day off as part of your annual leave? In which case, surely the answer is very simple?
No, he said it should have been his day off, but that he is now having to go to work, try reading the post before replying.

E-bmw

7,835 posts

139 months

shed driver said:
I've got a classic policy which doesn't allow use for commuting. I have booked it to have some work done on what was originally my day off however staff shortages mean I'm going to have to go to work. I can nip out of work and drop the car off with the specialist and then pick it up after work.

Would this count as commuting? My insurance company wants at least £30 for a change.

SD.
Yes, it counts as using your car to go to your regular place of work, which is commuting.

As others have suggested the £30 will be an admin fee to change the policy constraints.

Personally, I have always had "commuting" on every insurance policy, even if not needed as the added flexibility (at no cost normally) might just be handy one day.

Even when I had a daily driver, my Son's car (waiting for him to pass his test) a track day car, a motorbike & a car I was fixing up, all had SDP & C just in case.

snuffy

8,351 posts

271 months

E-bmw said:
snuffy said:
When you say "day off", do you mean you have booked a day off as part of your annual leave? In which case, surely the answer is very simple?
No, he said it should have been his day off, but that he is now having to go to work, try reading the post before replying.
That is why I asked my question.

Is the day off a part of working on say a rota, whereby your contract my say your employer can change said rota at short notice, or is said day off a booked day off as part of your contractual annual leave.

Try not to make assumptions before replying.

sherbertdip

826 posts

106 months

I had a specialist policy that was pleasure only, I wanted to knock off work early to go to sprint track nearby, phoned insurance and they said as long as work wasn't the sole destination and I went straight back home afterwards it would be ok, and as I'd phoned and asked they would note it so that if anything did happen on the way to work they have it that they said it was ok. This was through A-Plan.

sixor8

5,189 posts

255 months

Pebbles167 said:
I'd risk it for sure. But I'd also have specified SDP&Commute in the policy requirements. It comes in handy on occasion. In your position now, I'd pay the £30 charge for the policy change.

Alternatively I took out a comprehensive day policy on a car last week. It was £10 with Veygo.
The short term insurers have a vehicle age limit, probably due to possible high values. The OP states it is a 'classic.' Cuvva for example have a 15 year old limit, which is a bit low I think. frown

ETA: Veygo's vehicle age limit is 40 years old.


Edited by sixor8 on Friday 24th March 08:42

InitialDave

11,183 posts

106 months

Tell your employer it will cost them an additional £30 to have you cover their staff shortage on that specific day.

boombang

503 posts

161 months

snuffy said:
That is why I asked my question.

Is the day off a part of working on say a rota, whereby your contract my say your employer can change said rota at short notice, or is said day off a booked day off as part of your contractual annual leave.

Try not to make assumptions before replying.
The rota is irrelevant where the policy says anything like travelling to a place of work, which is what the OP is doing.


With the way my insurance is worded, I could drive to a weekend function at my workplace for something entirely not work related and it would still be classed as commuting.

snuffy

8,351 posts

271 months

boombang said:
snuffy said:
That is why I asked my question.

Is the day off a part of working on say a rota, whereby your contract my say your employer can change said rota at short notice, or is said day off a booked day off as part of your contractual annual leave.

Try not to make assumptions before replying.
The rota is irrelevant where the policy says anything like travelling to a place of work, which is what the OP is doing.


With the way my insurance is worded, I could drive to a weekend function at my workplace for something entirely not work related and it would still be classed as commuting.
Try thinking beyond the issue of insurance.




sociopath

3,207 posts

53 months

The obvious answer is to get a new job where you don't have to cancel a day off because the bosses haven't recruited enough staff.

On the other hand, if the OP is the boss then it's his own fault and I have no sympathy

IJWS15

1,359 posts

72 months

shed driver said:
It looks like I'll be paying the £30 fee for piece of mind.

SD.
No - You will be paying £30 to be insured.

My wife's car is insured for commuting in case I need to use it, she doesn't work. I have used it twice to commute in the last 6 years but I am insured and legal when I do.

MustangGT

10,225 posts

267 months

Cat said:
dvs_dave said:


One of many dictionary definitions specifies “on a regular basis”, or similar. This vehicle is not being used to travel to and from work on a regular basis. It’s a one off trip via his workplace in support of the regular upkeep of the vehicle. It’s ridiculous to suggest otherwise.
What is ridiculous is to suggest that because the OP is using a different vehicle than usual to get to work then their journey is not commuting. The OP regularly travels from home to their place of work therefore by the definition you have posted that journey is commuting - the vehicle or method of transport used doesn't alter tha fact that the journey is commuting.

Cat
For once, I actually disagree with you. He is taking the car to the place of repair. What he does between dropping it off and picking it up is totally irrelevant. The trip would take place to the place of repair regardless. If work called him up the day before and says 'we don't need you tomorrow' how would the trip to the place of repair change in nature?

What would be commuting would be to drive the car to work and have the repair place pick it up and return it.

Pickled Piper

6,297 posts

222 months

Op you know what the correct thing to do is. Use an Uber or get the correct insurance.

In terms of risk, it makes no difference to anyone you may hit. Your insurance will pay out on a third party basis.

If it's a small claim the insurance company won't bother to look into it. However, if it's a big claim, it will be subject to near forensic levels of investigation.

boombang

503 posts

161 months

As said above you would have to look at that specific insurers wording - in my case one notes the place not the purpose, the other states commuting and thus travelling for a place of work to work.

On the former popping back to the office to get a coat I left would be 'travel between the driver's home and permanent place of work.' and all the clauses relating to what people call commuting would apply.

On my other policy it states a 'commute'. If I was travelling to my work place for an SDP reason (for example fireworks night) the policy wording means no 'commuting' cover is required.

That all of course means you would need to know your insurer's wording on 'commuting' to make an informed decision.

Insurers don't pay out when you aren't insured. In this case would they ever know? Probably only if you told them - but if you claimed, didn't tell them it was travel to a workplace, and their policy wording meant you were should have had 'commute' cover, you've committed fraud.

oyster

11,878 posts

235 months

OP, it's a cost of employment - expense it.

snuffy

8,351 posts

271 months

oyster said:
OP, it's a cost of employment - expense it.
If that were the case, we'd all be claiming commuting costs from our employer. But we don't, because it's not.

Cat

2,832 posts

256 months

MustangGT said:
For once, I actually disagree with you. He is taking the car to the place of repair. What he does between dropping it off and picking it up is totally irrelevant. The trip would take place to the place of repair regardless. If work called him up the day before and says 'we don't need you tomorrow' how would the trip to the place of repair change in nature?

What would be commuting would be to drive the car to work and have the repair place pick it up and return it.
They are not simply taking the car to a place of repair. They are driving from home to work, doing some work until the repair place opens, then driving from work to the repair place.

The journey from home to work is commuting, the fact that they are taking their car from work to a garage later on doesn't change this (in the same way that popping to the shops in the car in your lunch hour doesn't mean that your journeys to/from work that day aren't commutes). The journey from work to the garage or from the garage home at the end of day would not be commuting.

If work told them they didn't have to work that day the nature of trip would change because it wouldn't be from home to work and so not a cummute.

Cat

E-bmw

7,835 posts

139 months

snuffy said:
E-bmw said:
snuffy said:
When you say "day off", do you mean you have booked a day off as part of your annual leave? In which case, surely the answer is very simple?
No, he said it should have been his day off, but that he is now having to go to work, try reading the post before replying.
That is why I asked my question.

Is the day off a part of working on say a rota, whereby your contract my say your employer can change said rota at short notice, or is said day off a booked day off as part of your contractual annual leave.

Try not to make assumptions before replying.
If he is going to work he is not on a day off.

If he is going to work he is commuting.