[Closed] Posthumous car insurance

Not wanting to sound insensitive but how would your dad go about making a claim on his insurance if she drove it through a hedge?

I’m really sorry about the circumstances but if it all goes wrong and she has a bump there is no way an insurance company won’t use your fathers death to avoid paying money out
Regardless of what they have said about her being able to use the car
Make her the new keeper and put the policy on her name.

I'd assume it was no longer insured till the insutrance company confirmed otherwise in writing which I doubt they will. Just insure it in her name.

Yep as above. The insurance company *may* agree to temporarily put the policy into the 'Estate of' with your sister as a named driver as the Estate is a legal entity and has an insurable interest in the car.

You would have to speak to them though and see if they can do this.

Note until probate is sorted your sister can't legally take ownership of the car either so that's a non-starter.

Sorry for your loss. Speak to the ins company, they’ll likely be pretty good. When my Dad died, the car & insurance was in his name. When I called them it was pretty easy to get it all changed over to Mums name, having been a named driver may have helped.

I agree with the comments above, but one quick option is to use one of the day insurance companies. Then it is all above board and there are no unexpected surprises on the way.

After a similar (but not the same) question from me on here, I was prompted to use insuredaily

It worked a treat and there are no questions about who owns the car.

PS - Insuring only on the day you want to drive is a novelty, I put a pice of A4 on the steering wheel with the word "insurance" on it when I got home to stop me driving it without insuring it. You may be more intelligent than me.....

Note until probate is sorted your sister can’t legally take ownership of the car either so that’s a non-starter.

I thought the Executor(s) have discretion to distribute chattels before probate? But in this case, the OP said the car is on finance, so I don't think it's a asset of the estate. At best it would need to be cleared by the finance company.

I thought the Executor(s) have discretion to distribute chattels before probate?

Hmm, I don't know. I was told we had to wait for probate until at could transfer her car to my wife.

By yes you're right re the finance Co and I missed that bit. They certainly need informing

Thanks for the quick responses. Looks like we definitely can't just carry on blindly then! I'll get her to phone the insurance company and sort it out.

You'll be surprised how common this is. It's pretty usual to see policies converted "to the estate of".

Nearly as common as some of the horse shit spouted about insurance companies "not paying out".

Just ring them.

I agree with the comments above, but one quick option is to use one of the day insurance companies.

Would be amazed if that works as you don’t have the owners permission or insurance interest in the car.

Hmm, I don’t know. I was told we had to wait for probate until at could transfer her car to my wife.

You’ve been given guff advice I’m afraid. You just pop the V5 off to the Sensitive Cases team at the DVLA and they change the ownership. I’m now owner (including being registered keeper) of my uncles car. He died in February, still not got probate

https://www.gov.uk/tell-dvla-about-bereavement/keeping-the-vehicle

the OP said the car is on finance, so I don’t think it’s a asset of the estate

The estate owns it, but the finance company still has a security interest in it.

Note until probate is sorted your sister can’t legally take ownership of the car either so that’s a non-starter.

owner and keeper aren’t the same thing. She can be registered keeper without taking ownership

You just pop the V5 off to the Sensitive Cases team at the DVLA and they change the ownership.

That's useful to know. It was a few years ago now and my wife and I have run out of parents etc so unlikely to affect us again but good to know for others.

Same when my mother died. Had to change the registered keeper straight away to myself even though the estate owned the car. The insurance company just transferred the policy to my name. As a bonus of this I inherited a second maxed out set of no claims bonus.

@Mashr - We used insuredaily to recover a relatives vehicle when they were carted off in an ambulance. No permission was given (they were 'out of it') and we had no financial interest in the car. The website did not ask us for details of the owner/keeper or anyone with a financial interest in the vehicle. I read the terms and conditions and was happy that we were covered.

PS - The insurance costs we paid for a day would equate to about £6K per annum, so it's not 'cheap' when compared to annual insurance... I don't know what I could insure for £6K per annum, but I suspect its a lot more valuable than the Ford Fiesta I drive daily.

PPS - IANAL.

I don’t really want to phone the car dealership or insurance just yet as I don’t really want to rock the boat and cause a problem where there might not be one.

You can't cause a problem where there might not be one. There either is a problem or there isn't, and whomsoever you do or don't phone won't change that.

Not going to the doctor for a diagnosis won't stop you from being ill.

When my dad died Privilege insurance switched it to my name for zero cost for the rest of the policy. They couldn't have been more helpful, all it took was one call.

I thought the Executor(s) have discretion to distribute chattels before probate?

They can.

Just because someone dies it doesn't mean that all their 'interests' die with them, they still need to be 'managed'.

Not wanting to sound insensitive but how would your dad go about making a claim on his insurance if she drove it through a hedge?

He wouldn’t - his estate would. By your logic if someone legitimately drives a relative to hospital as a named driver and they die in hospital the same driver cannot take the car back home. Extending the logic even further, I’m the main driver on our car and my wife is the named driver. If I drop dead of a heart attack this morning, and she’s driving around the afternoon whilst rigour mortise is setting in entirely unaware of her new found freedom she would still be insured.

Would be amazed if that works as you don’t have the owners permission or insurance interest in the car.

Yes she does. The executors can give permission, and since having the owners permission is linked to s178 of the RTA, you don’t need to have express permission, simply a reasonable belief that in the circumstances the owner would give you permission.

You're confusing two different things - theft has nothing to do with it.

You’re confusing two different things – theft has nothing to do with it.

You are absolutely correct - s178 of the RTA has nothing to do with theft - I never said it did. What you are suggesting is that you need the owners consent to drive under day insurance - what I am telling you is that need not be explicit. Feel free to cite some case law that shows I'm wrong.

Feel free to cite some case law that shows I’m wrong.

This is a bit like saying "show me some case law that says blancmange shouldn't be used as cladding". I'm not going to waste both our time by trying to convince you of anything.

having the owners permission is linked to s178 of the RTA, you don’t need to have express permission, simply a reasonable belief that in the circumstances the owner would give you permission

As I read it, that is the case in Scotland. Is it applicable elsewhere in the UK?

Having an accident as a named driver in my dad's car when he was out the country was hard enough to sort out, wouldn't fancy having to do it when the policy owner was deceased

Having an accident as a named driver in my dad’s car when he was out the country was hard enough to sort out, wouldn’t fancy having to do it when the policy owner was deceased

If the insurers have sorted out the policy in the name of "The Executors of X" it's pretty hard for them to argue that you have to have the deceaseds permission.

10 seconds googling

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/dealing-with-finances-and-insurance-after-your-partner-dies

But as above the OP probably has already sorted with a phone call

All sorted now, my sister contacted the insurers and they sorted everything out, she got her own policy. Thanks for the advice above 🤛

Good news.

But we still haven't answered 'what blancmange for cladding xyz?' have we? 🙃