Car insurance exclusions: what your policy won’t cover

thinkmoney

Financial Guidance

When taking out any kind of insurance, you won’t be covered for every possible event that could happen – there will be some exclusions included in the policy. To make sure you’re aware of some of the exclusions that you could face when taking out car insurance, we’re going to take you through some of the most common.

Drivers and use of your car

If your car is driven by someone that isn’t included on your insurance policy or doesn’t have a valid or current driving license, then your policy won’t cover you for a claim in the event that person has an accident. The same goes for if the person that you let drive your car is disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving license. If the car is used for a purpose not specified on the insurance then you may not be covered either.

The only people that can drive your car legally are those that you include as additional drivers on your policy, or those with ‘driving other cars’ included onto their insurance policy. Adding a more experienced driver to your policy can help to reduce the cost of your premiums, but you must ensure that you are listed on the insurance policy as the main driver. Otherwise, you could be committing a crime known as fronting . This invalidates your car insurance and if your insurer finds out, any claims that you make are likely to be turned down.

If theft occurs due to human error on the part of a main or additional driver, then you may not be covered by your policy. This could apply is if your car was left unlocked, with the ignition key still in, the engine running or the window or roof down.

Geographical limits

If you do not live permanently in the UK, and your car is not taxed and registered in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands or the Isle of Man then you’re unlikely to be covered on a UK car insurance policy that you take out.

Drugs and alcohol

You won’t be covered for any loss, damage or liability caused while driving under the influence of drugs, or while you’re over the legal limit for alcohol consumption.

Competition and performance driving

If you engage in any drag racing, rallying, speed testing, speed trials or driving on a motor sport circuit then most insurers won’t cover you for any injury caused to yourself or your vehicle.

Acts of war, terrorism or nature

This next exclusion may sound a bit extreme but it simply covers anything that’s out of the control of an insurer which includes acts of war, terrorism or nature.

What this means is you generally won’t be able to claim for anything which was caused directly or indirectly by an act of terrorism or war. The same goes for acts of nature such as an earthquake. Some insurers won’t cover you for damage caused by an underground fire either.

These are just some of the general exclusions that you could face, for the full details of your car insurance check your policy documents. Read these carefully as some insurers will have their own individual exclusions.

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