Here are the most frequently asked questions customers ask us on their policy cover. You may well find the answer you require by clicking onto one of the links below.
Casualty
Property
Additional Covers
Motor
Convictions - Can we let someone with a motoring conviction drive one of our vehicles?
You should first disregard any convictions considered spent under the terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. All current driving convictions are relevant in assessing whether or not you are happy for an individual to be authorised to drive one of your vehicles. As part of an overall risk assessment this information should be considered in conjunction with other factors such as the age of the driver, claims history, type of licence held and the type(s) of vehicle they will drive.
Whilst driving convictions may well attract internal disciplinary attention special underwriting terms are unlikely to be applied and need not be notified to us unless there is a history of serious convictions.
Drivers - Who can use our vehicles?
Under the heading ‘Persons or classes of person entitled to drive’ our Certificate of Motor Insurance usually states that cover is operative for any ‘authorised driver’. Where this is the case the Authority or delegated employee would be responsible for authorising drivers.
It is important to note that all authorised drivers must hold a licence to drive the vehicle or have held and not been disqualified from holding or obtaining such a licence.
The Certificate also specifies ‘Limitations as to use’. The primary cover is for use in connection with the business of the policyholder – the Authority. Where we are insuring motor cars cover is not automatically provided for use by a spouse or partner for their own or their employer’s business. This cover can be considered, subject to details of the business involved, for an additional premium. A separate Certificate would need to be issued for each vehicle concerned.
Green Cards - Do we need to get a green card if travelling abroad?
The reverse of our Certificate of Motor Insurance confirms the territories in which our policy cover is operative. This statement is given in five languages, including English.
A green card is no longer necessary in the countries where cover operates.
MID Access - How do I get a new employee set up so they can access and update our MID records?
Your normal underwriting contact will arrange MID access for new or additional members of staff. They will email to you a New User application form which will allow us to allocate a unique user ID. This will be followed by an automated email with their password to access the system.
Minibuses - Can we let a community group borrow one of our minibuses?
Our standard policy cover is for use on the business of the Authority only. Cover can be extended, for an additional premium, to cover use by charities, voluntary, welfare or educational organisations for an additional premium. This can be on either a one-off basis or on an ad hoc basis during the course of the year. A separate certificate will need to be issued confirming this extension to the policy cover.
It is assumed that there will be no element of profit involved in the hire or loan of the vehicle and that any charges made will be restricted to petrol and other running costs the Authority incur. We will require details of the proposed use and vehicles involved in these arrangements together with the checks and controls the Authority will adopt in respect of the potential drivers.
Where a vehicle is loaned or hired to an organisation without a driver it would be normal for the organisation to arrange their own cover. This will mean that any insured incident will not be reflected in the Authority’s claims experience.
NCD - One of our leased car drivers will be arranging their own insurance in future, can we have a note of their No Claims Discount (NCD)?
Under a blanket or fleet insurance NCD is not earned, therefore it is not possible to provide proof of an individual driver’s NCD entitlement. The policy cover is written on a blanket basis and we do not retain records for individual drivers. Many insurance companies will however accept a letter confirming an individuals driving record produced from the Authority's own records.
Overseas Use - Is cover provided for use of our vehicle overseas?
Our policy cover applies in respect of events occurring in all member states of the European Union [Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom] as well as Croatia, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
Passengers - Is injury to a passenger covered under a Motor or EL policy?
The Third EC Motor Directive made it clear that liability for injury to all passengers should be covered under a motor insurance policy. This came into force in the UK in July 1994. An Authority’s legal liabilities for a driver they employ, however, are always covered under an Employers’ Liability policy.
Personal Effects - Does our Motor cover include insurance for the personal effects of our drivers whilst in the vehicle?
For motor car risks, where the driver will regularly use the vehicle for social, domestic and pleasure purposes, we can provide limited insurance for personal effects in the vehicle. If you have this cover the limit will be specified in your policy schedule.
General operational fleet vehicles are normally used only on the business of the policyholder and as such we would not expect them to carry personal effects for employees or other passengers. As such it does not form part of our standard policy cover. Where coaches and minibuses are used to transport groups on holiday the personal effect insurance would normally be provided through travel insurance arrangements.
