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JonV6
12-08-2014, 07:40 AM
Hi everyone,

I feel this is a pretty important post. I've recently found out that, for the year and a half I've been running my business, I have been uninsured for every business related trip I have made. This is despite the fact I have personal car insurance. I started looking into this subject after meeting a man at a networking event who had found out the hard way. I have not had any information regarding this provided to me by anyone, whether that's from an insurance company or government representative.

I found this page that summarised everything quite nicely: Business Car Insurance Explained :: Keith Michaels Insurance PLC (http://www.keithmichaels.co.uk/business-vehicle-insurance/business-car-insurance-explained/)

Was anyone else aware of this? I'm actually pretty angry as I see myself as a law abiding individual and would never intentionally drive around uninsured. Not to mention how much a crash could have cost me!

Thanks,

Jon

nealrm
12-08-2014, 08:51 AM
This would most likely vary by company and policy. Your best bet is to talk with your insurance agent.

BizAdvisor
12-08-2014, 02:18 PM
Generally, business car insurance is for fleet vehicles or vehicles used in transportation/delivery services, in which a large portion of their everyday operations involve being on the road. Driving to a destination for a business trip can very well constitute as commuting... Which should already be covered by your personal insurance.

Is your vehicle registered through your business? Does your vehicle have any tool boxes, ladders... etc. attached to it? Does your vehicle have any decals to distinguish it as a hired vehicle; taxi, limo? Does your vehicle have any insignias or markings on it which distinguish it as a company car? If not, how is your insurance company going to distinguish any claim as being business related? It's not.

JonV6
12-09-2014, 07:26 AM
If not, how is your insurance company going to distinguish any claim as being business related? It's not.

What you're saying makes complete and utter sense to me but I don't know if that would hold up well enough against an insurance company. If I have a crash on a Thursday afternoon for example, as a small business owner, isn't it likely I was travelling somewhere for work related purposes? What's to stop my insurance company arguing that point and most likely winning?

tallen
12-09-2014, 10:43 AM
The rules for insurance vary from place to place -- here in the United States it is generally on a state-by-state basis, although the basics are pretty universal across the country. The link the OP posted is from a website with a UK address, where they may be operating under a totally different set of rules.

If this is your personal car, owned by you for your own personal use, and driven by you, it has always been my understanding that you should be covered by your own personal insurance so long as you are not carrying passengers (or possibly packages) for hire, regardless of whether you are otherwise going to claim the miles covered on that particular trip as a business expense.

You say you "recently found out" you are not covered -- how? from whom? You really need to go to the horse's mouth and talk to your insurance agent and review your policy documents.