Hello im hoping someone can advise me on what position im in;

I bought a car 6 months ago which i pay for on finance and im the registered keeper, the car was bought for the purpose of my Mother-in-Law and wife to use with my mother in law being the main driver and my wife as named, i am not on any insurance documents related to this car im just the registered owner. Unfortunately a few weeks ago someone crashed into my wife writing the car off, they admitted liability for the accident and we thought everything was progressing nicely with the claim.

We then recieve a letter from the insurance company asking why im the owner and this should have been stated when taking out the insurance, firstly they did not ask my mother-in-law who owned the car when taking out the policy and none of thier paperwork seems to state a registered owner even though the are saying they would have asked this.

Does anyone know where we stand in this situation as i have found conflicting views on the internet, i also have GAP cover on the car in my name, would that cover me if the insurance company decide down to what is an honest mistake means that they wont pay out?

Don't worry this is clearly not a 'material issue' with regard to the accident. You don't say which Insurance Company is asking you this. If it is the third party (the other persons Insurance Company) the only reason they may need to clarify this point is because they need to know who to negotiate with, with regard to the value of the car. They cannot refuse to pay out under these circumstances

If it is 'your' Insurance Company then they may be clarifying it for future use. They are not paying out so they won't be interested too much in the ownership details with regard to this non fault accident. It is not too unusual for someone to insure a related / family members car. Just answer the question truthfully and factually and you won't have any problem.

Some Insurers are difficult when paying money out, but they have to have a very good reason (non disclsure of drunk driving / disqualification etc) before they can avoid it. Was your wife injured and is she making a claim? - if yes the Solicitor acting for her will give you free advice regarding this.

insurers are legally bound to know who is the registered owner of a potential but very small chance of a death trap car they could be insuring.

it IS a material issue to most ,in all terms and conditions any facts that the insurer doesnt ask intially still have to be disclosed if the customer thinks it could be material or not.

Thanks for the quick replies, i have already purchased a new car for my mother in law and wife to use as the insurance company said it could take a while to sort the claim out but when we took out the insurance on the new car i purchased again they did not ask who owned it nor have the new documents ask or state who is the registered owner! I am sending them a letter explaining this and explaining that this is an honest mistake, i just hope they see it that way.

The insurance company is CIS (Co-operative insurance) and their legal team is delaing with a claim for my wifes injuries and loss of earnings while off work.

Simply write to the Insurance Company and provide the details - do not refer to it as a 'mistake' - it is not a mistake if they have asked you. An Insurance Company is not permitted to invalidate a claim for an issue such as this.

I worked in Claims and Underwriting for a well known Motor Insurer for 20 years. When an issue of non disclosure arose we asked Did we ask the question at the proposal stage - did they lie?. Even if there was a lie, would we have insured them anyway on the real details? I f yes, the client had to pay the extra premium if any. If no, we may have invalidated the claim for damage to the policyholders car but we would have been liable for any damage or injury to the third party. This is not an option for an Insurer it is the Law - UK and European Directives apply.

This is not the situation for you - it is a non fault accident. The other side have no right to ask you these questions with a view to invalidating a claim only for clarification of who to make the offer / pay the cheque. Tell your Insurance Company about the ownership as it has been brought to your attention. Any 'member of the public' has clear protections with regard to Insurance Proposals - if the Ins Company do not ask the question they do not have an automatic right to the answer. There are many cases (Legal and under the Ins Ombudsman) that rule that a member of the public cannot have the knowledge of an Insurance Underwriter and will not know what is material, important or bound to be disclosed. If they ask the question you have to answer it truthfully to the best of your knowledge - if not, you cannot be held responsible for any omissions.

It is not a problem to purchase or own a car for your mother, sister, wife, brother etc it is only a problem if you are trying to conceal its real use. e.g you own it and you are 17 and you insure it in your dads name and say he is the main driver when you are, otherwise if you own it and your wife and mother use it no problem!!!!

Hello thanks again for the advice and we are now getting nearer a resolution as now my insurance have made me an offer even though after 6 weeks the other party were denying liability!!! my next question is as follows;

I bought the car for £5900 and paid £1400 deposit off that total which after a few months of paying for the car left us with a settlement figure of around £4000. My insurance comoany have offered my £3500 as thats its current market value, this wont be a problem as i have Total loss GAP cover which should make up the rest of my money to the origional invoice price. What im unsure in doing is that back when this first started i contacted the GAP comany and they said refuse the first offer and tell us what it was and we will tell you what you should expect (for obvious reason!!!). Normlly i would have done this but seeing as there was the funny with the log book id ont want to try my luck with the insurance company. Does anyone know if i accept the first offer from the insurance company will this cause problems wth the GAP people paying the rest?? (any hidden terms that they can invoke)

Hope someone can put me in the right direction!!

Thanks

Lee