Driving Courtesy Car with no insurance.

[Man in the middle]

Can I get this straight (tell me if I’m wrong):

 

1. You were driving a courtesy car provided by a garage whilst your car was being repaired. 

 

2. You had an accident whilst driving that car.

 

3. You were told by the garage that your own insurers must cover the costs arising from that accident.

 

4. You told them they would not because you are not the policyholder but only a named driver on the policy which covers the car being repaired. Presumably the policy does not extend the “driving other cars” facility to a named driver.

 

5. The garage owner has now come back again as he has had notice of a claim from the Third Party involved in the accident.

 

If all that is correct, there is no need to hand yourself in to the police. Nor is there any likelihood of you receiving a Notice of Intended Prosecution (presumably for driving without insurance).

 

The garage owner is in a bit of  a predicament. If he had no insurance cover allowing you to drive the courtesy car he has permitted you to drive it without insurance, which is an offence. Whilst you would also be guilty of driving with no insurance in those circumstances (to which you may have either a defence or strong mitigation, depending on exactly what took place when you were provided with the car) you are unlikely to be prosecuted since there has been no police involvement. I suggest you point this out to the garage owner and let him sort it out himself.

 

If he doesn't, you may find the TP (or their insurers) pursuing you for their costs (provided you were at fault). It may get messy then, but I would continue with the strategy of believing that the garage owner had cover for his customers. 

Edited January 28, 2022 by Man in the middle

[Man in the middle]

Insurance companies do not issue NIPs. Only the police do that. They may ask you who was driving, but that's not a NIP..

 

There are two issues here: the criminal matter of driving without insurance and the civil matter of liability to pay for the damage caused. They are completely separate.

 

For the criminal matter to be pursued the police will have to issue you with a "Section 172" request for driver's details. This is the only request that you are required by law to respond to. Failure to do so is an offence which attracts six points. For information, no NIP is required for the offence of No Insurance anyway.

 

In the unlikely event that you do see action for driving without insurance, from what you have said I believe you have a reasonable case to argue that "Special Reasons" exist not to endorse your licence. You were provided with a courtesy car by a motor trader and it is reasonable to expect that Third Party insurance as a minimum is arranged by the trader, especially as you had been informed in the past that cover was provided. Not all motor policies provide a "driving other cars" extension and it is unwise of the trader to rely on this. At the very least you should have been told that no cover exists. If you are prosecuted the trader should be prosecuted as well for permitting you to drive his car uninsured.

 

The question of civil liability towards the Third Party is not so straightforward. There is firstly the question of who is at fault and it's never easy to determine that from brief descriptions. If it turns out to be the TP's fault that is no problem for you; the trader can sort that out himself. If you are liable completely or partly you do have a problem because you are uninsured. Your "reasonable expectation" that cover was in place should come into play but civil courts operate on a different basis to criminal courts and I am not quite sure how that would pan out.