Car insurance for semi-pro musicians

[PaulWarning]

funnily enough http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5188153/West-Yorkshire-police-seize-car-no-commuter-insurance.html

[jazzmanb]

Generally we all do the same thing,get insured as cheap as possible,travel/health/pet/home/car etc and hope we don't need it.For 90% of the time the gamble pays off.Like the commuting bit on your policy or the bit where you cant carry pillion on a motorbike etc.Its risk assessment,you could spend a fortune on all the above and cover yourself 100% and not claim and its money down the drain.

I've a company car so i'm always "working"

[BigRedX]

1 minute ago, jazzmanb said:

Generally we all do the same thing,get insured as cheap as possible,travel/health/pet/home/car etc and hope we don't need it.For 90% of the time the gamble pays off.

Bu if your are betting on the fact you'll never need to make a claim, you are probably better off not paying out for insurance at all (unless it is a legal requirement), because paying for crap insurance is definitely a waste of money.

[Monkey Steve]

1 minute ago, jazzmanb said:

Generally we all do the same thing,get insured as cheap as possible,travel/health/pet/home/car etc and hope we don't need it.For 90% of the time the gamble pays off.Like the commuting bit on your policy or the bit where you cant carry pillion on a motorbike etc.Its risk assessment,you could spend a fortune on all the above and cover yourself 100% and not claim and its money down the drain.

I've a company car so i'm always "working"

but check that "working" for your main job also covers "working" when you get paid for a gig.  I picked this up from a thread where someone was complaining that a mate had been caught by the police driving a load of gear in a plumber's van, which the coppers pointed out was insured for business purposes but only where that business is plumbing.

The message seems to be that you need to tell your insurer exactly what you're going to use your car for, seeing what extra they will charge you for it, and if it's a lot of money, talk to a different insurer (or threaten to talk to a different insurer and see if your current one finds that they can do it for a lot cheaper after all)

[PaulWarning]

2 minutes ago, jazzmanb said:

Generally we all do the same thing,get insured as cheap as possible,travel/health/pet/home/car etc and hope we don't need it.For 90% of the time the gamble pays off.Like the commuting bit on your policy or the bit where you cant carry pillion on a motorbike etc.Its risk assessment,you could spend a fortune on all the above and cover yourself 100% and not claim and its money down the drain.

I've a company car so i'm always "working"

yep, and in this day and age with very few Police patrol cars on the road they rely heavily on number plate recognition cameras, fortunately they can't tell if you're coming back from a gig after having had a couple of pints

[jazzmanb]

5 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Bu if your are betting on the fact you'll never need to make a claim, you are probably better off not paying out for insurance at all (unless it is a legal requirement), because paying for crap insurance is definitely a waste of money.

Not if you go 12 months without needing it,like i say you play the odds game,the premiums i've paid in 30 plus years of bikes and cars is 50fold what i've claimed

[jazzmanb]

6 minutes ago, Monkey Steve said:

but check that "working" for your main job also covers "working" when you get paid for a gig.  I picked this up from a thread where someone was complaining that a mate had been caught by the police driving a load of gear in a plumber's van, which the coppers pointed out was insured for business purposes but only where that business is plumbing.

The message seems to be that you need to tell your insurer exactly what you're going to use your car for, seeing what extra they will charge you for it, and if it's a lot of money, talk to a different insurer (or threaten to talk to a different insurer and see if your current one finds that they can do it for a lot cheaper after all)

Probably is an issue for any driver if the unfortunate happens,even if i was insuring privately i would probably wing it and chance my luck

[leftybassman392]

It's possible to see both sides of the argument here.

On the one hand it does look like over-zealous policing (especially when you see it flagged up as a tabloid banner); but on the other hand the law is the law, and driving while not properly insured is against the law.

You can't have it both ways: you either bite the bullet and stump up or else accept the consequences on those (hopefully very rare) occasions when you get caught. Yes it's a stacked deck, but what else is new? At the risk of sounding harsh, I find it hard to have sympathy for people who run the numbers, get caught and then chirp about it.

As a by-the-by, does police training not include teaching officers how to do speling?

Edited December 18, 2017 by leftybassman392

[Mickeyboro]

Thank you to all those who have contributed to a thread that's ranged widely and thought-provokingly.

Been on this forum 10 years and it never ceases to amaze me.

Have a good Christmas one and all.

Mickey