Health & Safety Department

Own car insurance

Guidance on the insurance implication of using your own car when travelling on University business.

Do you drive your own car on University business?

If you do you need to be aware of the implications that this has on your motor vehicle insurance and the onus placed upon you to ensure that your car is properly maintained.

Research

Research has found that ONE out of every 10 employees in small and medium-sized businesses is uninsured for driving their own car for work and a total of six out of 10 employees say they drive their own cars for work purposes, but more than 15% do not tell their insurance companies. If those drivers have an accident on a work-related journey, they will not be covered.

The results come from a survey of 500 firms carried out by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, in conjunction with the Federation of Small Businesses. It also revealed that many employees do not maintain their own cars, or even know how to. One in five employees admitted only checking the oil and tyre pressures when the car was serviced and 7% said they did not know if their car was checked at all.

The findings show that many firms are not carrying out simple insurance and maintenance checks on staff cars.

Implications

If there is an accident during a work trip and employees, or their vehicles are at fault, the company could face massive fines, negative publicity and even prosecution for corporate manslaughter, the survey says. The driver could also face criminal prosecution for not having the correct insurance cover.

The results also show that while two-thirds of employees said their employers never asked them to carry out safety checks, only a third of businesses admitted as much. A total of 38% of employers said they always asked employees to carry out vehicle safety checks but only 10% of drivers said that this actually happened.

Brice Adamson, UK and Ireland managing director at Enterprise, said: 'Many SMEs could be putting themselves at risk because they don’t know enough about the cars their employees are using for business trips.' Drivers, meanwhile, must have the correct insurance cover if they are driving their own cars for work. 'Companies have a legal responsibility to keep their employees safe, which is that much harder when the latter are driving personal cars over which their employer has little or no control.'

Whilst the research quoted referred to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) the message to be taken from the research applies equally to those in large enterprises such as this University:

  • to stay within the law and ensure that your insurance company will pay out in the event of an accident whilst you are on University business
  • make sure that your vehicle policy includes 'use for business purposes'
  • make sure your car is properly serviced at the appropriate intervals and that everyday maintenance issues e.g. tyres, lights, etc are checked regularly

Whilst the University has no direct control over maintenance issues when staff use their own car the University’s expectation is that the owner will comply with the requirements of the Road Traffic Act at all times and that includes maintaining the vehicle in a roadworthy condition. Indeed the mileage allowance payable to car users includes a portion to cover maintenance, insurance and wear and tear, as well as fuel costs.

Related Links

Staff expenses guidance on Finance website