Third Party and Public Liability Insurance - Advice Sought

[Mike63]

Thanks for response Garry...appreciated.
...probably best to keep both for extra 50p. week

.....Mike

 

[amigafan2003]

No because the vehicle is not road legal

I drove an unregistered, untaxed and no mot'd vehicle on a 200 mile round trip from Blackpool to Carlisle and I was fully insured

EDIT - I see you've revised your statement above

if real unlucky could get done for no insurance as well as no MOT invalidates it

Incorrect - no MOT only invalidates insurance in respect of damages attributable to yourself - no MOT does not and cannot under English law exempt an insurance company from it's responsibilities to a third party - and as the law only require third party insurance, not fully comprehensive, you cannot be "done" for having no insurance as a direct consequence of having no MOT - it's a total myth.

 

[tillson]

I paid an extra £16 to insure my named e bike on my home insurance.
Two months into the policy they rang to say that it was a mistake and were withdrawing the cover on my bike and refunding the £16.

Not being sure where I stood I insured for 3rd party with Cycleguard...I think £23 year.
....my bike is no longer insured.

Would you feel that I did not need the policy with Cycleguard being covered for 3rd. party with my household insurance ?

....Mike

The extra £16 that you paid was probably to insure your bike against theft, not your liability to others in the event of an accident. (I'm guessing here, so check)

If your bike fits the definition of a legal ebike, it is regarded as a pedal cycle and you don't need to do anything different in terms of insurance. Most home insurance policies cover you for your third party liability to others in the event of you doing something which injures someone. Those, "things" are limited and exclude certain events, but cycling isn't one of the exclusions, so yes, you are covered if the bike is a legal ebike.

Insuring against theft is another subject.

 

[GaRRy]

I drove an unregistered, untaxed and no mot'd vehicle on a 200 mile round trip from Blackpool to Carlisle and I was fully insured

EDIT - I see you've revised your statement above

But were you ?. Just paying the premium is not enough if you dont meet all the terms and conditions its not valid and even allowing for that all the other offences would cost you a small fortune if caught (up to £3500).

(of course this is assuming you wernt on something like trade plates which is cheating)

Yes I did edit my post but only for typos (as says at bottom of post) not to add another page of information.

 

[tillson]

So, playing devils advocate for a moment then, if it's now classed as a motor vehicle does that mean you'd be covered on your "driving other vehicles" part of your car insurance policy as long as someone else owns the "bike"?

No, because its effectively a non-type approved, non -registered, non-taxed, no-(anything else you care to think of) moped.

Just ask yourself if you went to a scrap yard and welded several different car bodies together to make something completely unique, un-proven, untested etc and drove it away (without owning it) would you be insured? No

This is getting stupid now. We have answers the OP's original question, just leave it alone.

amigafan2003, you clearly have a few problems, try and get some help from the appropriate organisation.

 

[JimA]

Thanks for all the advice, it seems it can get pretty murky and contentious very quickly if riding an illegal e-bike. I have a legal bike and have insured it under my household insurance. From all the replies it seems I don't need to worry too much about third party liability but it is fascinating to see the range of views and some of the passions the discussions in the forum arouse; the detail you all go into is incredible but can be quite daunting - I thought my question was really quite innocuous! Nevertheless, great to see the number of members taking an active interest and willing to provide advice and comment.

Once again, many thanks to all.

Jim

 

[tillson]

Thanks for all the advice, it seems it can get pretty murky and contentious very quickly if riding an illegal e-bike. I have a legal bike and have insured it under my household insurance. From all the replies it seems I don't need to worry too much about third party liability

Correct.

Thread Closed?

 

[amigafan2003]

But were you ?.

Yes I was - I was driving my Westfield to the SVA test center.

 

[amigafan2003]

amigafan2003, you clearly have a few problems, try and get some help from the appropriate organisation.

That's it, resort to personal insults when losing an argument. Is this how the cool kids are rolling these days?

I think I might make use of that ignore function.

Correct.

Thread Closed?

 

[tillson]

Yes I was - I was driving my Westfield to the SVA test center.

I used to have a proper one of those cars. It was a Caterham R500

Sorry, couldn't resist. Sold it a couple of years ago. Still miss it.

 

[flecc]

So, playing devils advocate for a moment then, if it's now classed as a motor vehicle does that mean you'd be covered on your "driving other vehicles" part of your car insurance policy as long as someone else owns the "bike"?

Actually no, since the insurance only counts if the "other vehicle" is a legal one. An illegal e-bike's non-conformity places it in limbo as unclassified, while having all the attributes of a motor vehicle for judicial purposes. To become a legal motor vehicle for an insurance company, an illegal e-bike must be UK/EU type approved as one.

 

[Kudoscycles]

Yes I was - I was driving my Westfield to the SVA test center.

So my comments about the history of the kit car industry must have been quite relevant to yourself. Did your Westfield pass first time?
Dave
Kudoscycles

 

[GaRRy]

Yes I was - I was driving my Westfield to the SVA test center.

So you met one of the special exceptions to the must have a MOT rule as i already said.

 

[amigafan2003]

So my comments about the history of the kit car industry must have been quite relevant to yourself. Did your Westfield pass first time?
Dave
Kudoscycles

Nope - failed with one side on the handbrake being innefective and the speedo out a little - two thing I couldn't test in a garage Passed the week after (drive to Carlisle for 15min retest) no problems.

Overall though, the SVA process was no biggy really and it was nice to know the car was getting a thorough going over before it could be registered.

 

[GaRRy]

Incorrect - no MOT only invalidates insurance in respect of damages attributable to yourself - no MOT does not and cannot under English law exempt an insurance company from it's responsibilities to a third party - and as the law only require third party insurance, not fully comprehensive, you cannot be "done" for having no insurance as a direct consequence of having no MOT - it's a total myth.

I stand corrected as you say your third party part of your insurance is valid even if you don't have a MOT.

Of course that is provided you can prove the car is road worthy Yep insurance companies can and will use any catch 22 they can. Especially these days when they have worked out there is more profit in selling policies cheap and then trying to find ways to not pay than selling a good policy at a more realistic price.

 

[amigafan2003]

I used to have a proper one of those cars. It was a Caterham R500

Sorry, couldn't resist. Sold it a couple of years ago. Still miss it.

Dammit - now I can't add you to my ignore list!

 

[Kudoscycles]

We are all looking at this from the viewpoint of the cyclist causing injury to a pedestrian. But as important is to ensure that you are legal, in case you are injured in an accident,from past experience insurance companies will wriggle and take any opportunity to escape a claim.
Dave
Kudoscycles

 

[amigafan2003]

We are all looking at this from the viewpoint of the cyclist causing injury to a pedestrian. But as important is to ensure that you are legal, in case you are injured in an accident,from past experience insurance companies will wriggle and take any opportunity to escape a claim.
Dave
Kudoscycles

Quite right, and if you ride an illegal ebike you should expect zero compensation or assistance from a third parties insurer if you are involved in an accident.


Fortunately though the NHS does not suspend it's insurance cover for you if you ride an illegal ebike

 

[eddieo]

Nope - failed with one side on the handbrake being innefective and the speedo out a little - two thing I couldn't test in a garage Passed the week after (drive to Carlisle for 15min retest) no problems.

Overall though, the SVA process was no biggy really and it was nice to know the car was getting a thorough going over before it could be registered.

Shame the same cannot be said for your bikes....

 

[amigafan2003]

Shame the same cannot be said for your bikes....

Have you seen my bike? Nothing wrong with the quality or contruction there Bikes are childs play when compared to building a car.

As I've said before - I'd be happy for this country to have a S-Class equivalent and I'd happily display a registration plate, have third party insurance etc - I'd even be happy for it to be inspected - which I'm sure it would pass no problems at all.