Motor Insurance
What do I need to do if I wish to drive a University Vehicle?
The University provides insurance for authorised drivers of the University fleet, as long as they are holders of a full UK licence and conform to a number of other criteria. In order to drive a vehicle in the University fleet, you must be an authorised driver. Please contact Tony Harper in the Estates Office for an application form (x5618), stating which vehicles you wish to drive and why. The form will require information including details of any previous accidents or convictions and regular updates of your licence need to be kept on file.
Please note that you should leave adequate time to allow your application to become an authorised driver to be processed, as it is not a task that can be carried out while you wait. This is especially the case if you require authorisation to drive a minibus, as additional approved driver training is required before your application can be approved.
Am I insured under the University Insurance for vehicles that I hire?
NO - THE UNIVERSITY DOES NOT HOLD ANY INSURANCE FOR VEHICLES THAT ARE HIRED FOR UNIVERSITY BUSINESS - YOU MUST PURCHASE THE INSURANCE THAT IS OFFERED BY THE HIRE COMPANY, OTHERWISE YOU WILL BE DRIVING WITHOUT INSURANCE.
When you hire a car for University business, standard insurance is normally included as part of the hire charge. Hiring companies do not usually like to remove the insurance aspect from the insurance, because they like to make sure that the vehicle is insured to a level to which they are happy. However there have been a number of recent circumstances where certain car hire companies have offered to hire cars to the University without insurance, assuming we have cover - WE DO NOT, AND IF DO NOT PURCHASE THE HIRE COMPANY'S INSURANCE YOU WILL BE DRIVING WITHOUT INSURANCE.
It is recommended that you purchase the best comprehensive insurance that the company offer including a 'collision damage waiver' or CDW, which is essentially an additional insurance to reduce the excess that you would have to pay in the event of a claim. Without this additional CDW the excess may be extremely high, particularly if you are a young (under 25) or an inexperienced driver. In the event of a claim the cost of any excess, or any damage which falls below the excess, will be a charge on the individual's Department.
If a hiring company is unable to hire a car to a member of the University for business purposes because they cannot insure the individual (because they are too young or inexperienced, or have penalty points), the University may be able to cover the vehicle on its fleet policy. However this is only at our insurer's discretion. The individual would need to submit a copy of their licence to our insurers for approval and will incur an additional premium. Also the checking process can take a little time to complete, so this cannot be done 'last minute'.
Can I drive my own vehicle for work purposes?
Your personal car is NOT insured for work purposes unless you have arranged cover through your own motor insurers. The University does not cover individuals to use their own car for business use. You will need to ask your private motor insurer for 'business use' cover on your vehicle if you wish to use it for this purpose. Your insurers may make a charge for this extension to your policy, and if this is the case then this is at the individual's expense and is not a cost on the University. It is intended that the mileage allowance will compensate for any such cost.
If you use your car for business purposes, all insurance issues are the responsibility of the individual. Therefore in the event of an accident, the individual is responsible for submitting the claim to their insurers and for paying any excess. Also any damage below the excess is the responsibility of the individual and not the University.
4th EU Motor Insurance Directive
With effect from 20 January 2003 the above directive requires the University to maintain the Motor Insurance Database Phase II (MID) with information of all vehicles insured against its motor insurance policy. The present requirements state that any motor vehicle insured on the University’s motor policy for a period of 14 days or more must be notified to the MID within 14 days. This database is maintained by Tony Harper in Property Services, who can be contacted on ext 5618. topˆ |
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