Carrying Items In Car

[vulcan42]

I am retired and a volunteer member of a small committee formed to raise money for a charity by persuading people to open their gardens to the public, all aspects of the garden opening is covered by the charity's own insurance. Occasionally I and other members carry signs in the car and erect them to help the public find the gardens. Recently the charity suggested we should inform our insurance companies that we carry these signs.
I contacted my broker who said yes the Insurance co should know and the broker would be charging £15 for adding it to my policy, they couldn't tell me how much extra the insurance co would add. I needed to know this so e mailed the company, they didn't reply to me but contacted the broker, apparently the company doesn't deal directly with their customers.

A friend of mine is in the insurance business and said she had never heard of such a thing, how can I find out who is right or wrong with my insurance co not dealing with me directly and I'm only being told by the broker what he wants me to know? Also why would carrying signs in my car affect my insurance which by the way is fully comprehensive?
Apologies for a long question.

[woofgang]

I actually have "heard of such a thing" and I am not involved in the insurance industry. I am assuming that you have got "social domestic and pleasure" fully comp and not what used to be called "full class A" ? Going for the lesser cover can bring the price down. I used to need full class A because I carried people and equipment in the course of my work and I guess your insurers are lumping charitable work in with this. From my experience, some insurers will charge to change your policy from one to t'other and some will not. Some will charge an admin charge for making changes to the policy mid year and some will not. From what you have said, it sounds like a broker charge rather than an insurer's charge? Brokers have to make their money somehow and I guess this is one of the ways they do it and, incidentally, why i moved from dealing through a broker to direct insurance.

[cassa333]

The added insurance covers you not for carrying the signs because you might have the signs in the back of the car all the time. It's for when you carry out your responsibilities of erecting them.

If you stop your car and get out to put one up and have an accident say, putting it up, who is liable? Car insurance or public liability? Or when you are out of the car putting the sign up something happens and a claim is made by a third party agains your insurance and they look at the claim and say, no sorry not paying out we don't cover work related claims on this policy.

By the way does the volunteer group have public liability? You can bet your life that someone at some point will say you or your signs caused injury.

[bhg481]

We had a similar discussion to this a short while ago. I claimed that you should inform your insurance company and that your premium would increase (mine decreased when I removed the cover from mine), others said you should inform the insurance company but they were not charged extra for it; it clearly depends on your own company. The bottom line is that you must inform them or you can find yourself driving whilst uninsured if you have any property of the charity in your car. The fact that you are not being paid for the work is irrelevant; you are working.
I also agree with woofgang about brokers. They are just an unnecessary buffer between you and the insurance company and can cause delays if you have a claim to sort out.

[vulcan42]

woofgang, thank you for your reply. Yes I have "social domestic and pleasure" and I think you are right in saying the insurers are adding charitable work in with other work. It seems to come down to what the insurance companies want to charge for and from what you say, they can't agree. I find it annoying that my Insurance company, although quite happy to take my money, doesn't want to talk to me. I shall follow your example and move away from dealing with a broker, and possibly changing the insurance company. Once again thank you for your help.
cassa333 & bhg481, thank you for answering.
I did consider the the problem might be with erecting rather than carrying the signs, that's why I wanted to discuss it with the Insurance company, it's annoying they won't contact me.
I might be involved in an accident parked on the road taking a phone call, should I also inform the Insurance company that I carry a mobile phone, perhaps I should have already done so.
The problem here is it doesn't only concern me, all the committee members at some time or other will need to carry the signs and in some cases non committee members. I will try and find an insurance company that will actually discuss it.
Thank you all for your input.

[bhg481]

I must say I disagree with cassa over liability whilst erecting the signs being with your car insurance. How is how you got the signs to the site relevant?
You have chosen to get your insurance via a broker, which the insurance company pays, so they will expect you to do all your dealing through them.

[woofgang]

My experience is that all of them will discuss it (as in tell you what is covered by your policy and what to do about it) if you insure with them directly. Was it the broker who said your insurance company would not deal with you directly? Because that was not my experience when I had a broker provided policy....mind you that's around 20 years ago now. The broker find me a good deal and would do all the stuff if there was an issue, and that was what I was paying them for, but the insurer definitely would talk to me directly, eg when the brokers were closed.

[woofgang]

Again from my (limited) knowledge it won't be an issue with erecting the signs. The charity should be insured for that and for all issues arising and this should cover you. The issues around carrying items in your car that you do not own is cover if they are damaged in an accident and (more importantly) cover if you are in an accident and anything you are carrying in your car for the charity makes the accident worse.

[murraymints]

oo vulcan well done ..love the gardens open day here..have been asked to open mine..but in a cul de sac with no parking..would be mayhem...

[bhg481]

As an extension to this discussion, does your insurance company know hat you have a part-time job? When you take out a policy they always ask your employment status and it's important tolet them know you have part-time work, even if it doesn't involve your car.

[vulcan42]

Again, thank you for your replies, this seems to get more interesting by the day. My local town has mostly brokers with just one Insurance company having a local office, I have an appointment on Monday.
My existing company has a statement regarding contacting them, it gives a phone number for itself but says" if you deal through a broker please contact them".
bhg481, one more question, do insurance companies consider an unpaid, voluntary, five or six times a year a part time job?

[bhg481]

Sorry Vulcan, I've only just seen your post. I'm not an expert in these matters but insurance policies are known as (something like) "Contracts of good faith" and they rely on you telling them everything you think is relevant. Bearing in mind that they hold the trump card ie, they can refuse to pay you without a fight, I'd tell them exactly what you do and then there can be no quibble.

[Electrochem]

I recently retired and the insurance policies were due for renewal. When I rung the insurance company to say I had retired, I changed one policy to Social, Domestic and Pleasure. The other was the same with travel to and from work included plus business use. I was told that I must not use the one for SDP to travel to work, either paid or voluntary without paying an additional fee for the extra cover.