Driving during lockdown

[mgcjag]

Hi all......quite a few articals going around at the moment questioning driving during lockdown and is your insurance invalid by doing so.......Im not giving opinions just highlighting so you can make your own mind up and be informed....Steve

[Marcus2571]

Well if insurers are playing that game i'm going to ask for a premium rebate as I've not driven close to the number of miles on my policy!

[max-it-out]

I can`t really see this as anything to worry about - If questioned , just say you were on the way to/from the supermarket ....

[christopher storey]

An insurance policy is a contract. No provision in contract for insurance being invalid during lockdown = policy stays in force . It really does infuriate me that people who really have not the faintest idea what they are talking about put these "scare" stories about . Before the internet, this never happened

[Heuer]

I can`t really see this as anything to worry about - If questioned , just say you were on the way to/from the supermarket ....

... or MOT, service garage, parts, click & collect just about anything.

I took the FHC into Nottingham on Saturday to buy some fresh spices etc from my favourite Indian Supermarket. I was expecting empty roads and being pulled over by plod as an easy target. In fact the roads were packed, both local rural and urban, with traffic jams and long queues at junctions. Similarly the play area in our small village was packed out with families - one of the locals counted 43 heads, few were from the village.

Life goes on it seems!

[Joes66]

I was out yesterday and today
Around where I live in weybridge the roads are packed with cars
From what i can see people are just ignoring the stupid lockdown
And now they have got rid of Trump just wait for the miraculous cure and end of all this stupidity

[288gto]

An insurance policy is a contract. No provision in contract for insurance being invalid during lockdown = policy stays in force . It really does infuriate me that people who really have not the faintest idea what they are talking about put these "scare" stories about . Before the internet, this never happened

Hi Christopher, out of interest do some policies have provisions that invalidate all or part of your claim if you are committing a criminal offence while using your car?

Simon

[Heuer]

Yes, we had a rememberance ceremony outside the village church and about 50+ residents turned up. Everyone was chatting and mingling (at a sensible metre distance). Police would have had a field day. In history this will go down as the 'phoney lockdown'.

[Gfhug]

Hi Christopher, out of interest do some policies have provisions that invalidate all or part of your claim if you are committing a criminal offence while driving?

Simon

Can we rely on Christopher being the forum Mr Loophole QC
PC Plod stops E Type driver and starts to berate him for “enthusiastic” driving then his worldly wise sergeant takes him to one side and says ‘can’t you see the forum badge on the car? They’ll have their Rottweiler on you if you’re not careful’

Always reassuring to get a voice of reason, thanks Christopher

Geoff

[288gto]

Hi Geoff,

Rather than being stopped by the Police, I was thinking more along the lines of David's scenario above. Heaven forbid your car is stolen while attending such a gathering, could the insurance company use the committing of an offence as an excuse to not pay out?
Now edited to "while using your car?"

I don't know the answer, hence my curiosity. As you keep warning me about the speed of my restoration progress, well be on our fith or sixth lockdown by the time I'm ready to use mine.

I'm with you though, KBO!


Simon

[rswaffie]

For the Rememberance services, there were reduced restrictions on gatherings, particularly if outside. I was driving back from taking the dog for a walk and was surprised when I saw about 25 villagers gathered (albeit very well spaced) and a handful of uniformed personnel paying their respects, at a war memorial. When I got home I checked on the gov website and it stated that local authorities could do this, as long as social distancing was observed outside. So, not illegal.

[288gto]

Thanks Richard probably a bad example. Just to be clear, I’m not suggesting for one moment that David’s gathering was illegal.

The question remains, can engaging in a criminal act while using your car invalidate or partially invalidate your insurance?

[rswaffie]

This is the only clause in my classicline policy that may apply:

Criminal acts
Any legal responsibility for loss or damage (direct or indirect) caused whilst your vehicle is used by anyone insured under this insurance:

- in the course or furtherance of a crime; or
- as a means of escape from, or avoidance of lawful apprehension.

So, for point 2 - if I commit a crime (attend a rave or gathering that is banned under current lockdown rules for example) and the rozzers spot me and give chase, and I use my car to make my escape and crash it - I’m not covered.

Point 1 is a bit more open to circumstances. If the lockdown prohibited anyone other than frontline staff to be away from their home by law, and I went out in the car and crashed it, unless I could prove to the insurance company I was legally allowed to be on the road (by being a frontline worker driving to my job in intensive care for example), again I wouldn’t be covered.

At the moment, as lockdown isn’t as strict as before, if I crashed it or it was pinched from somewhere other than my home address, there are plenty of potential ‘get out of jail’ cards that could be played to make it very difficult for the insurance company to not pay out.

Just my interpretation of my policy clause.

[christopher storey]

Hi Christopher, out of interest do some policies have provisions that invalidate all or part of your claim if you are committing a criminal offence while using your car?

Simon

There certainly are provisions - usually connected with driving whilst over the prescribed alcohol limit and /or with drugs - which provide that in such circumstances you will not be indemnified

The other point which has been raised is lack of indemnity if the car is used in the course of a crime. The question of what is a "crime" is not at all straightforward, and one view is that regulatory matters such as lockdown provisions , parking without lights , riding a bicycle on the pavement , driving with an expired licence etc are not criminal matters at all

[Simon P]

As a rather sadder reflection on modern society, on Sunday I diverted my bike ride via St Paul's where as th clock struck eleven I stood and observed the silence outside along with others who had gathered to do the same - perhaps no more than a dozen of us in number. A small but, as ever, poignant gathering.

The queue stretching round the block at Pret a Manger for coffee as I continued on my way on the other hand......

[Barry]

There is nothing illegal about driving your car in this particular lockdown. I am driving to site meetings and seeing clients, all be it socially distancing. Those are the rules we should be obeying, masks space and washing hands regularly. If you don’t, What part of this don’t you understand!
Stay Safe everyone..

[Series1 Stu]

From what i can see people are just ignoring the stupid lockdown
And now they have got rid of Trump just wait for the miraculous cure and end of all this stupidity

Stupid? Really?
People are dying as a result of covid and ignorant people deliberately flouting the rules and guidelines. That's what's stupid.

The belligerence of the British (read English) people is staggering!

[chrisfell]

“ Before the internet, this never happened”

Of course it did, but back in the days before the interweb, when to mix with your neighbour’s meant the pub, there he was, sitting on “his” bar stool at one end of the bar pontificating on all subjects from politics (now I’m no right winger, in fact my wife always says I’m too much of a liberal, but we should lock up anyone who even looks like a criminal) to driving (I used to be a test driver for Armstrong Siddeley) to boxing (I could’ve been a champ, me, but for my dodgy knees), and all matters to do with insurance (I had an insurance business once, ran it so we’ll all the other insurers paid me to stop).