How do you take out more than one car insurance policy on a car?
Taking out two car insurance policies out on one car is quite a common mistake that people make. The most common reasons for having two policies are:
1. Insurance auto-renewal
Usually, this is because they have forgotten or not realised that their policy will auto-renew and so have taken out a new policy separately. Most people do realise this has happened when the money leaves their bank, though. By then it is often too late to get a full refund.
2. Overlapping policies
If you have two separate insurance policies that cover the same thing, such as breakdown cover and fully comprehensive, it’s called overlapping policies. You may not have realised that your fully comprehensive insurance also includes breakdown cover and taken out a separate policy for it.
3. One policy doesn’t cover you fully
On the flip side, you may want to take out two separate policies if it makes financial sense. For example, you have a great deal for car insurance, but unfortunately, it doesn’t include breakdown cover. You may want to include it in your insurance plan but have realised that it actually works out cheaper or is a better deal for you to get breakdown cover in an additional policy. Under these circumstances, it makes financial sense to take out two separate policies.
Just be aware that you’ll have to pay for both separately and deal with both sets of paperwork.
Note: You also can’t claim on both policies for the same incident because that would be considered fraud. It is also often cheaper to get fully comprehensive cover instead.
4. Excess insurance
You might want to take out excess insurance alongside your car insurance policy. This covers you for any excess you have to pay on your claim and there are a range of competitive prices available.
Is it illegal to have two car insurance policies on one car?
No, it is perfectly legal to take out multiple car insurance policies. However, doing so can end up being incredibly costly. Often, it’s cheaper to take out a fully comprehensive insurance policy that covers you for everything you need. You also save yourself time by having only one payment and one set of paperwork to deal with.
It can also become very complicated if you need to make a claim because you could have to pay two separate premiums for one pay-out. The insurers will also need to decide how much contribution they will make to the claim between themselves. This takes time and can cause delays in any pay-out you do receive.
Finally, you may also lose your no-claims bonus on both policies, making your premium shoot up on both, too. It’s possible that you will end up paying a lot more car insurance than you originally thought.
How to avoid taking out two insurance policies on one car
Finding yourself with two car insurance policies can be complicated and expensive. Ways to avoid leaving yourself in this situation include:
1. Check your auto-renewal date in advance
If this happens to you, the best thing to do is to contact your old insurance provider. Explain that you did not want to renew the policy and ask them if they can cancel it. Try and do this as soon as you realise what has happened – the quicker you get it sorted, the smoother and easier the process will be.
In order to avoid your car insurance auto-renewing if you don’t want it to, check your policy document a couple of months before it is due to expire.
Then make sure you tell your insurer that you want to cancel it straight away. The quicker you do this, the less likely it is that you’ll miss the deadline and have to make another payment.
2. Thoroughly read the terms and conditions of your insurance policy
Be fully aware of exactly what you’re covered for and when your policy ends by reading the terms and conditions. It’s good practice to do this before formally agreeing to any car insurance policy. If there is a part that you don’t quite understand, you can always contact your provider and ask them to explain it to you. Doing this will help you be fully in control of your insurance and not get any nasty surprises.
3. Make sure you’re fully covered for what you need
It would be a bit of a shock to think that you’ve taken out a fully comprehensive policy and then realise that you don’t have breakdown cover, for example. To avoid this happening, ask your insurer to talk you through the finer points of the policy. This way you’ll make the best-informed decision and not feel like you have to take out another insurance policy to supplement cover that your current one is lacking.
Can you be the main driver on two insurance policies?
Whilst it isn’t typically advisable to get multiple policies out on one car, adding multiple cars to one policy can be a smart move. With multi-car insurance, you can insure two or more cars on a single policy as long as it is with the same provider. This usually gets you the same level of benefits across the board, but also offers you an additional discount for every car added to the policy.
You can also:
- add a named driver to your policy – this is where another person is insured to drive your car, but you have to be the main driver
- take out temporary insurance on another car – if you have to drive another car for a short period, such as a rental car on holiday, you can take out temporary insurance alongside your current policy
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Disclaimer: All information and links are correct at the time of publishing.
Fiona Peake
Personal Finance Writer
Fiona is a personal finance writer with over 7 years’ experience writing for a broad range of industries before joining Ocean in 2021. She uses her wealth of experience to turn the overwhelming aspects of finance into articles that are easy to understand.
