Uswitch offers advice to drivers during the second UK lockdown
Florence Codjoe, car insurance expert at Uswitch.com, offers advice to vehicle owners during the second UK lockdown.
Non-essential travel
We are pleased to see that the ABI has confirmed that making non-essential journeys in your car during the Government lockdown will not invalidate your car insurance policy. However, you do still risk being fined £200 by the Government for making journeys that you are unable to prove are essential and further advice for this can be found on their official website.
If drivers have any other concerns regarding a change in their policy during lockdown, whether that's increased or decreased mileage or a change in where the car is kept, we recommend that you speak with your insurer to ensure you're still correctly covered.
Parking on the road
It may be tempting to cancel your insurance if you’re not using your car this month. However, it’s a legal requirement to have insurance if your vehicle is parked on the road, even if it isn’t being used.
If you have off-street parking or a private parking space, you can inform the DVLA with a Statutory Off-Road Notification (SORN). A SORN means your vehicle is declared officially off-road. You can’t drive it anywhere, but you won’t have to pay road tax and you can cancel your insurance.
Reduce my cover
Millions of people will be working from home as of today, leaving their car parked up for the next month or using it for the occasional trip to the supermarket.
It’s worth contacting your insurer to discuss your policy and the options available to you. Ask if they might be able to reduce your annual mileage estimation, and recalculate your premium at no extra cost.
Driving more
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has said, you currently don’t need to contact your insurer if you have to drive to and from your workplace because of the impact of Covid-19. This support will last until 31 December 2020.
However, if you think you're going to be using your car a lot more during lockdown, then it’s worth speaking to your insurer. You risk breaching your policy and invalidating it, if your annual mileage is a lot higher than stated when you first took out your insurance.
MOT
MOT test centres will remain open during this lockdown, but book as early as possible if you have an MOT due, as garages are having to handle a backlog due to the Government’s MOT extension.
If your MOT expires, your car insurance will no longer be valid. However, you can still drive your car to the test centre as long as you have a pre-booked test and insurance in place. Check out our MOT check list.
About Uswitch
Uswitch is one of the UK’s top comparison websites for home services switching, including energy, broadband and mobiles.
More people go to Uswitch to switch their energy, broadband and mobile than any other site, and we have saved consumers over £2.7 billion off their bills since we launched in September 2000.
Free mobile app Utrack also helps households manage their home energy usage and make potential savings.
Uswitch is part of RVU, a group of online brands with a mission to empower consumers to make more confident home services, insurance and financial decisions.