Renewing without licence

Varta

Hi all, Looking for info. My uncle is in his 80s and his licence has expired. He has become infirm and would not be passed fit by a doctor. His insurance is due for renewal and he intends to renew it in the hope of regaining his licence at a future date. He has an open drive policy. If he renews his policy will it be valid?

I love Sean nos

Varta wrote: »

Hi all, Looking for info. My uncle is in his 80s and his licence has expired. He has become infirm and would not be passed fit by a doctor. His insurance is due for renewal and he intends to renew it in the hope of regaining his licence at a future date. He has an open drive policy. If he renews his policy will it be valid?

Possibly not for driving. Could you just insure the car for TPFT, leave it parked and declare it off the road?

Varta

It's not the open drive that is the issue. It's the doubt that the policy would be valid by virtue of the fact that it is renewed without a licence in the knowledge that a medical is required to renew the licence.

Holysock

Varta wrote: »

Hi all, Looking for info. My uncle is in his 80s and his licence has expired. He has become infirm and would not be passed fit by a doctor. His insurance is due for renewal and he intends to renew it in the hope of regaining his licence at a future date. He has an open drive policy. If he renews his policy will it be valid?

Usually the insurer makes a number of assumptions when offering to quote. Maybe check the fine print and see if one of the assumptions is that the policy holder has a valid licence? I just checked one insurer there and their website says that when providing a quote/policy that they make a number of assumptions including, among others, that the main driver or others hold a current valid full Irish, UK or provisional Irish driving licence and do not suffer from any condition which may affect ability to drive.

Cows Go µ

He should call the insurance company and let them know what has happened. They may be able to renew the policy in his name but exclude him from driving. Then if he gets his licence back, he can be added to the policy as someone who can drive again. Not every company will do it, but it is worth trying.

AudreyHepburn

Varta wrote: »

Hi all, Looking for info. My uncle is in his 80s and his licence has expired. He has become infirm and would not be passed fit by a doctor. His insurance is due for renewal and he intends to renew it in the hope of regaining his licence at a future date. He has an open drive policy. If he renews his policy will it be valid?

No it will not be vaild....if he has been declared unfit to drive then he should not be insuring a car.

In any case he cannot legally drive without a Licence so that alone will preclude him from getting cover even if he was fit to drive.

flyingsnail

Cows Go µ wrote: »

He should call the insurance company and let them know what has happened. They may be able to renew the policy in his name but exclude him from driving. Then if he gets his licence back, he can be added to the policy as someone who can drive again. Not every company will do it, but it is worth trying.

I believe these policy are called insured excluded, I know axa has done them in the past where the insured is excluded from driving but the named drivers can still drive.

Liam McPoyle

Varta wrote: »

Hi all, Looking for info. My uncle is in his 80s and his licence has expired. He has become infirm and would not be passed fit by a doctor. His insurance is due for renewal and he intends to renew it in the hope of regaining his licence at a future date. He has an open drive policy. If he renews his policy will it be valid?

Funnily enough, I had a conversation about just this subject the other day in work.

Short answer is, depending on the insurers Ts & Cs, he would be covered, even if his licence has expired.

He / you would need to check the specific policy wording but many insurers have something to the effect of that they will cover someone "that holds or has ever held a valid drivers licence" which essentially means that even if the licence is expired they would provide full policy covers.

Now of course if someone is driving without a valid drivers licence then that's a problem from a legal point of view however from an insurance perspective it's not.

I know that Liberty have specific wording that will allow them to get out of claims if the terms of the policy have been breached (they can refuse indemnity for the accidental/own damage side of it but have to cover any third party claims) such as a provisional licence holder driving unaccompanied or a drivers licence having expired but other providers won't do this.

As he does have a medical condition then he needs to declare this to his insurer.

They will likely allow him to keep his policy active but will exclude him from driving.

I know he has open driving but they will likely also require that he nominate a driver to be named under his insurance.

I love Sean nos

AudreyHepburn wrote: »

No it will not be vaild....if he has been declared unfit to drive then he should not be insuring a car.

In any case he cannot legally drive without a Licence so that alone will preclude him from getting cover even if he was fit to drive.

Should be able to insure an object in the driveway. Actually driving it is another matter.

Sue Pa Key Pa

Ask his insurer to amend the contract to. "Insured Excluded" It is the most honest way of going about it. Still his policy on his vehicle with the additional driving arrangements he prefers. He just can't drive it himself. Make sure that you get someone who knows what those terms mean

I love Sean nos

Sue Pa Key Pa wrote: »

Ask his insurer to amend the contract to. "Insured Excluded" It is the most honest way of going about it. Still his policy on his vehicle with the additional driving arrangements he prefers. He just can't drive it himself. Make sure that you get someone who knows what those terms mean

Just to confirm, even if he's excluded, this maintains his NCB, right?

NUTLEY BOY

If the policyholder's health is impaired to the degree that he will not be certified by his GP for licence renewal that is a material fact. This information must be disclosed at renewal as well as at proposal stage. The duty of disclosure actually revives at renewal.

Some policies require that the policyholder [as driver] must hold a current valid driving licence or, if they do not have a current one, must not be disqualified from holding one.

My elderly mother had a minor bump a few years ago. When filling out the report form she realised that she had forgotten to renew her licence but indemnity was granted. The licence was only out of date by several months. However, some insurers might take a much tighter view of that issue. Much depends on the specific wording.

Overall, the best thing would be a frank disclosure of the full facts to the insurers to see if they can provide what is needed. Better to find out now if insurers are to prepared to offer cover. I assume OP's uncle wants to operate on the basis that he retains ownership of the vehicle but that insured drivers may use it with his consent for SD&P and for him as a user e.g driving him to a hospital appointment as a passenger in his own car.

UrbanFox

For clarity, I think that disqualification from holding a licence means a court ordered direction as distinct from a GP declining to sign a renewal medical form (on medical grounds) for the licensing authority.

Sue Pa Key Pa

I love Sean nos wrote:

Just to confirm, even if he's excluded, this maintains his NCB, right?

Yes, everything is the same as up to now only he is not covered to drive. It is the best disclosure & solution option