I just called Sheila’s Wheels as my car is away from home for a couple of weeks.

I was told that if my car is parked away from home overnight I need to tell them where and was offered cover for an additional 30% of the premium price.

WTAF? What is a car for if not driving places?

Presumably the risk of it being parked somewhere else for two weeks is quite a lot higher than being at home.

It wasn’t just the 2 week tho, it seemed to apply to any trip

In which case call them daily with details of your commute, shopping trips and exact space position with 10fig Grid reference of car park at the start of your next ride….

Also ask them for the phrasing in the policy, then pass that on to insurance ombudsman.

It does beg the question……

Why did you phone to tell them in the first place ?

Away from home for a couple of weeks.

So no different to being on holiday? If you’re on holiday would you tell the insurance the car will be at x Hotel on this night, this Campsite on this night, etc etc.

It’s where the car is ‘normally’ kept, i.e. the majority of the time.

Its always been pretty standard policy for any insurance company in my experience that if you’re leaving your car unattended at a location other than your home or the place from which it is insured that you tell them and they receive the right to charge an additional premium. Your insurance is calculated on the basis it is based at your home therefore the risk of your postcode. If you then go and park it in some dodgy inner city for a couple of weeks then that increases the risk and the insurance company well within their rights to charge accordingly. Clearly different if your on holiday with the car because you’re not leaving your car unattended because you’re accompanying it.

On the odd occasion I’ve left my car unattended for more than a week or so I’ve always declared it..for example if I’m going away on holiday from a mates house so park my car at their house for the duration of the holiday. It’s not resulted in any additional premium as my mates don’t live in dodgy areas but at least I declared it…and it was parked on the road as opposed to a driveway or off the road, which again might affect your premium.

Wow. In almost 30 years of driving it’s never occurred to me that this sort of thing might be notifiable. If I was abandoning it unattended for weeks then maybe (and even then… long stay airport carpark?)

Also,

I wasn’t aware you were a Sheila. Do they insure blokes too?

Yes, they insure blokes too.

Once being female only was a thing for them, but thats what equality is all about and they got told to open the doors to other species.

Back in 2012 IIRC…

Its always been pretty standard policy for any insurance company in my experience that if you’re leaving your car unattended at a location other than your home or the place from which it is insured that you tell them 

I’m pretty sure thats a load of rubbish, you’d spend all your time on the phone to them. Imagine if everybody started doing it! And where is the point at which you tell them? Trail centre car park for a few hours? Staying with friends for a couple days?

from Al’s OP I understood that he was “dumping” the car somewhere and not returning for 2 weeks

I can see that they might be more interested in that than “I’m going away in the car for a fortnight”

… but the question usually asked when I’ve had quotes is more “where is the car normally kept overnight”

Wow. In almost 30 years of driving it’s never occurred to me that this sort of thing might be notifiable. If I was abandoning it unattended for weeks then maybe (and even then… long stay airport carpark?)

+1

Also, if you kept your car overnight 4 nights a week on your driveway, and the other 3 nights of the week in a completely different location (doesn’t matter where) insurance are still only interested in where it’s kept MOST of the time.

In that instance the car would be away from the ‘normal’ place it’s kept overnight and declared on the insurance for 22 weeks of the year.

As I said, for the hard-of-reading, I don’t object to a surcharge for a couple of weeks at a different address, it’s the implication that any overnight away from home is notify-able and chargeable.

Anyway I have received an email saying my policy is to be cancelled, again…WTAF. Now I may have to declare this on future policy applications FFS.

As revs implies, tell them as little as possible!

At what point does the use of the car start to void the T&C’s of the policy?. These car insurance companies are getting silly. As mentioned above, what about a fortnight parked in the long stay car park @ Liverpool airport?

At what point does it become a requirement to tell them, 2 days, 5 days, a week???

I’m not sure it’s mention anywhere when you take the policy out.

They are starting to find every way possible to void insurance rather than being decent. I understand if someone is willingly try to defraud them, but come on, parking up away from home whilst on Holibobs is daft and underhanded.

Why have they cancelled it?

On what grounds is it being cancelled???

Yeah that sounds like even more shit.

Does seem odd to cancel the policy, but it does give you the  opportunity to get another quote from a-n-other insurer…

Have you tried a classic or reduced mileage policy? I have a reduced mileage on my other car and that sits in a Barn for weeks on end… there’s no restriction on that.

o explanation of cancellation, I hope there is no fee. I’ll maybe ask tomorrow, tho I’m abroad.

I ended the call saying I didn’t want the policy change and I would bring the car home so they probably think I am not being honest with the proposal any more.

This is bonkers.

As is the suggestion that its policy.

I’m.prettt sure they would soon get pissed off if I called them every time I left my car parked up a carpark that isn’t my house …or visited friends over night.

How ever most of the time it’s overnight in my drive.

A few years ago my car was damaged in long term parking at Leeds Bradford airport.
A note was left by a witness in a little plastic bag under the wiper blade (which I found when I got back 3.5 weeks later)

Claimed on my insurance just fine using the info on the note, and explained the delay in reporting and claiming as I was away for a month and the car was left at the airport. Insurance were fine with that, no issues whatsoever.
Either things have changed massively (I don’t think they have) or there is some serious misinformation going on here. 🤔

Sorting out the cancellation is vastly more important than anything. Having a cancelled policy is something you really don’t want, as it’ll hang over you for a very long time and bugger up all your future premiums.

I’m sure that if you live in a high risk area and notify them you’ll be staying in much lower risk area for a few weeks there will be a reduction in premium.

I think their “policy” is probably the unwritten rule – if anybody calls to ask a question or tell you anything that is a variation instantly add 30% to the premium. Sharks, all of them.

For equal insurance annoyance, I renewed with Admiral this year and recently contacts them about the level of cover being fully comp and covering driving others cars with their permission with 3rd party level cover. They confirmed this was correct for everyone except my spouses car now! Is this common across other insurers?

As I opened this thread I had just got off the phone with someone actually called Sheila. Bloody spooky.

Sharks, all of them.

Abso-f-in-lutely.

As the others – WTAF! 🙂

I’ve never notified my insurance if I’m away on holiday or staying overnight somewhere. I’ve even had accidents on holiday at it’s never been an issue, or even raised. My wife works in insurance (has done for 30 years) and she says this is a crock of sh*t to make money.

Ombudsman?

For equal insurance annoyance, I renewed with Admiral this year and recently contacts them about the level of cover being fully comp and covering driving others cars with their permission with 3rd party level cover. They confirmed this was correct for everyone except my spouses car now! Is this common across other insurers?

Why aren’t you just a named driver on your wifes policy?

For equal insurance annoyance, I renewed with Admiral this year and recently contacts them about the level of cover being fully comp and covering driving others cars with their permission with 3rd party level cover. They confirmed this was correct for everyone except my spouses car now! Is this common across other insurers?

I believe that’s a fairly common rule, driving other cars is meant to be something that is used occasionally, 2 or 3 times a year. If you were covered for your spouses car you can bet there would be people driving that car every day, rather than being added as a named driver.

I’d not noticed that one, but I’m not surprised. I’ve seen it stated that the 3rd party thing is not supposed to be used routinely, but I can imagine people using it rather than being a named driver on their OH’s car.

As for the original problem, as long as there’s not a specific requirement to inform in your policy wording, and your answers to the questions when you took the policy out remain accurate (i.e. where is the car normally kept), I would not notify them. I’m pretty sure I’ve had policies that have a definition of what “normally” means, and also policies that say that it’s not covered for theft if it’s left overnight in a different place but within a certain distance of my house.

Going on holiday is covered by the “social, domestic & pleasure” element of an insurance policy. This is standard throughout the insurance industry.

It is only not covered if the policy wording specifically states this, otherwise it is implied in the umbrella phrase SDP. It is impossible for an insurance company to state every instance for which you may use your vehicle so they use this umbrella wording and apply a “common sense” test. It’s easier for them to say what isn’t covered. That is, it is entirely plausible & foreseeable that a person would use their car to travel on holiday, therefore it would be entirely disingenuous to refuse cover or a claim based on the proposer using their vehicle to go on holiday. Unless the policy specifically states otherwise.

This is from my neighbour who has been a loss adjuster for his whole working life.

you sure its not because the womans insurance specialist has realised your not a woman 😀

Glad to hear some common sense.

I checked the email and it seems they are cancelling on the baisi of my car not being registered with DVLA…WTAF again but possibly a system error or human mistake.

I’ll try to call them toms (am on holiday in Estonia just now).

Update: I called them and was told that underwriters had cancelled the policy because I had hung up on the call (when I was told of the £67 cost of leaving the car away from home, and my saying I would.bring the car home-underwriters said they could not trust that I would do so). So I took out alternative cover and complained.

I have been exonerated and am getting my £60 cancellation fee. Mostly on the basis that the advisor said “that’s fine” when I said I’d bring the car home before I hung up, and.me calling in the first place was in good faith.

So, crappy service, but resolved in 4 business days from.my complaint, so I could have avoided new cover had I called them on day 1 after receiving the cancellation email. (Note DVLA reference was because they quoted an old set of T+C’s).

Also the implication is that occasional leaving the car away is fine.

Thanks for reading…

and.me calling in the first place was in good faith.

I hope you’ve learnt a good lesson there then, never apply good faith to insurance companies 😉

I think you just caused yourself a load of hassle, I honestly don’t know a single person that would have notified their insurance company if their car was somewhere else in the uk for 2 weeks.

Typical lawyers, always threatening the little guy with writs 😡