Safe Speed Forums

This is my 1st post, & basically this is my situation. My brother & I own a project/weekend car. Up until Oct the car was insured, MOT'd & taxed. The car had to come off the road so we could work on it, so we completed the sorn declaration. The insurance was up for renewal & although the car was off the road I completed & returned the documents to keep the insurance running. We pay for the insurance by DD & stupidly I haven't been checking to see if the payments have been coming out. At the weekend my brother took the car out to be MOT'd (which it passed) & was pulled by the police, at which point we found out that the insurance is'nt in place. The insurance company are saying that they never received the documentation I sent. This was a genuine mistake, & both me & my brother have always paid our insurance in the past (both of our everyday cars are currently insured). I realise we are in the wrong, but has anybody got any idea's about what we can do to help ourselves, or what we can expect ( I know that we are likely to be looking at my brother getting 6 points & a fine) Thanks Chopp

Now I BELIEVE this makes a difference. But who OWNS the car.

If I'm remembering correctly, if YOU owned the car for example, your brothers insurance may well cover him to drive ANY other vehicle not owned by him under his insurance 'third party' only as the documents rarely stipulate that the vehicle has to have an owner with relevant insurance. If however he is both the owner & drives without insurance, not a lot can be done. This is a loophole the insurance are trying to plug to stop 'normal' people driving other peoples cars.

Somebody else will have a better memory, and I'm sure there is a thread about something similar. So don't give up hope just yet, or quote me on this as it could be poorly recalled!

Cheers, but we've already gone down that road. Basically we jointly own the car (both names are on the V5), and to make matters worse he's not eligable to drive any other car 3rd party (he's under25). I think the option is to grovel & plead (if it'l do any good) Cheers anyway

Did you have an insurance certificate or even a temp cover note?

I think your best option will be mitigation, go to court with something to show you had reason to think the insurance was valid and grovel.

In fact, since you arrange the insurance but your brother was driving it would be reasonable for him to assume you had taken out the cover without seeing the paperwork, or to accept your word that it was covered. Nobody could expect him to know that the payments were not coming out of your account.

I don't think it will get him off without a very good solicitor but it might keep the penalty down.

I'm not certain but there may be a possibility that you could be charged with allowing the vehicle to be driven without insurance.

You might want to try Pepipoo.

If he was caught on the most direct route home from the MOT station, and you then insured it at the earliest opportunity this may help in mitigation, if he'd gone for a razz and was stopped its a bit trickier, but all is not lost, if youv'e not already done so check into pepipoo forums
fatboytim