Car Insurance Exclusions

General Exclusions
Own Damage Exclusions

There are certain perils that are normally excluded from the car insurance cover provided by insurers. These are listed as General Exclusions in the General Policy Terms, and as Own Damage Exclusions the Details of Cover.

General Exclusions

There are 3 general exclusions beginning: "This policy does not insure:"

Exclusion 1

The first Exclusion is in 7 sub-sections all beginning with: "loss, damage, destruction, injury or liability:"

"arising while the car is being driven by any person not covered by your certificate of motor insurance and/or who does not hold and comply with the conditions of a valid licence ..." A driver's licence indicates that the holder has achieved a certain minimum level of proficiency. Any claim resulting from a loss caused by an unlicensed driver, will not be covered. If the driver holds a UK provisional licence they must comply with the conditions of the licence. This includes being accompanied by a person over the age of 21, who has held a full UK licence for more than three years. Note that this exclusion also applies to persons whose licences have been lost or suspended.

".... deliberately caused ..." No insurance company would accept the risk of damage, which was deliberately caused by any person entitled to indemnity under the car insurance policy.

"arising from any incident occurring in any period in which any premium or any instalment in payment of any premium is unpaid or overdue." The insured will only be covered for an incident, which happened during a period for which the car insurance premium was paid.

" ... nuclear ..." "...war... civil war, rebellion, revolution..."

"...confiscation...." There are some perils, which are both very unlikely to occur, and of such a scale as to be beyond the means of any car insurance company.

"...caused by riot, civil commotion or any act of terrorism occurring elsewhere than in England, Scotland, Wales, the Isle on Man or the Channel Islands" This exclusion still provides cover for any act of terrorism that happens within the specified areas.

Exclusion 2

"This policy does not insure liability arising from any agreement or contract unless that liability would have existed otherwise" There are cases where a customer enters into a contract in which he may be faced with liabilities resulting from a motor accident, which he would not otherwise have faced. Most car insurance insurance policies exclude these liabilities.

Exclusion 3

"This policy does not insure consequential loss other than that which may arise under Liability to Third Parties" The car insurance policy only covers the loss of or damage to the customer's car and its accessories as well as the driver's liability to 3rd parties. Other losses, which the customer may suffer, which are not made good by repairing or replacing the insured property, are not covered.

Own Damage Exclusions

In the explanation of own damage for car insurance customers with third party, fire and theft and comprehensive cover the following exclusions appear. The section begins: "This section of your policy does not provide cover for"

1... wear and tear or depreciation... This is a normal process, through which cars lose value during ageing and use. Car insurance is not intended to cover losses that are inevitable.

2... mechanical or electrical, electronic or computer fault or breakdown... As with wear and tear, cars are naturally subject to breakdown. The cost of providing cover against these losses would add substantially to car insurance premiums, thus breakdown cover is a specialised cover sold separately.

In the event of an accident caused by a sudden mechanical breakdown, such as a brake failure, the car insurance policy will cover any 3rd party liability. Comprehensive car insurance cover also pays for any resulting own accident damage. Rectification of any pre-existing faults will however be excluded by this clause.

3...cleaning, modification, repairing, restoring or by any gradually operating causes... Car insurance is intended to cover a car against the risk associated with its normal use on the road. When a car is in pieces undergoing modification, restoration or repair, it is subject to very different risks from those encountered on the road.

Cars are subject to various forms of gradual deterioration. The most common of these is rust.

4...damage to tyres ... Tyres are exposed to road hazards as a matter of course. Car insurance does not cover damage to tyres caused by punctures, cuts or bursts.

5...cost resulting from loss of use ... When your car is out of action, you may be forced to hire a car. A car insurance policy does not cover this additional expense. Please refer to the section on courtesy cars (link to 6.5), and if you have Motor Legal Protection (MLP) (link to 5.8)., replacement cars are available on credit hire terms under your MLP policy

6...betterment ... that part of the cost of repair or replacement which improves the insured property beyond its condition immediately before the loss or damage occurred. There are situations in which the process of repairing a damaged car leaves it in a better condition than it was before the damage occurred. The car insurance company may ask the customer to pay for that improvement. If betterment is applicable we will discuss this with the customer before the repairer will start work on the customer's car.

7... incidents occurring outside the United Kingdom where the trip extends beyond 60 days duration or outside the EU unless extended cover was arranged... Our car insurance policy will cover customers travelling to any country in the EU, or covered by EU directives. They will not have cover if they are away for more than 60 continuous days at any one time. We do not provide cover for countries outside the EU.

8... reduction in the value of the car following repair ... A car, which has been extensively damaged in an accident, and is subsequently repaired, will not fetch the same price in the market as a car, which has never been crashed. Car insurance does not insure this reduction in the value of the car.

9... "any loss arising in connection with any fraud or deception" The car insurance policy is set up based on a mutual trust between the customer and us. A claim will be repudiated if a loss arises in connection with any fraud or deception.

10..."loss of or damage to the car which arises as a result of any agreement or transaction involving the car" A claim will be repudiated if an agreement has been made for another party to steal or damage your vehicle, or if you allow a purchaser to take possession without having made payment.

11... "loss or damage resulting from your car being taken without your permission by a member of your family or anyone who normally lives with you" A claim will be repudiated if your car is stolen or taken without your consent by a member of your family or anyone who normally lives with you.

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