“So 'no commuting' sounds an unexpected clause to me.”
You keep on saying this, OG. I keep on saying it is not unexpected. Do yourself a dummy quote on here:
https://m.quote.comparethemarket.com/Car/about-your-vehicle/vehicle-details
Question #1 – Vehicle details
Question #2 – Vehicle Usage:
You are given 3 options in big bold boxes:
Option 1 – Social Domestic and Pleasure (SDP) only
Option 2 – Social, Domestic, Pleasure and Commuting (SDPC)
Option 3 – SDPC and Business use
Or here:
https://www.moneysupermarket.com/car-insurance/
You need to get a bit further in (they ask for driving licence details, accidents, claims and convictions first). But on page two:
How do you use your car?
Again, 3 options in big bold blue boxes
1 – Social Only
2 – Social and Commuting
3 – Social, Commuting and for Business
An “information” icon is available for this question. Clicking it reveals this:
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Why does this matter?
Insurers look at how you use your car to work out how much risk there is in insuring it.
See which option most closely matches your needs:
Social only – Choose this if you only use the car for your own reasons – and never drive to work or to where you study, and never drive for work either.
Social and commuting – Choose this if you drive to and from a single place of work or where you study, but don’t do any other business travel.
Social, commuting and for business – choose this if anyone uses the car on business, away from a single place of work.
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Couldn’t be clearer. I’ve chosen two internet “supermarket” type providers. I imagine all of them and individual insurers, are very much the same.