Five million workers at risk by using own car for business

Employers urged to do more than just sign off expenses

Date: 29/10/2007 08:00:00

Five million workers are at risk of invalidating their insurance by using their own cars for company business - without being properly insured according to new research by leading insurance comparison site, Gocompare.com. Each month these workers drive on average 188 business miles or 2,256 miles a year - the equivalent of driving from London to Cairo.

Typically, private car policies provide cover for motorists driving to work or the station car park but, drivers will need to extend their insurance to include business use if they drive to company sites other than their usual place of work. If their car is not insured for business mileage their insurer may refuse to pick-up the bill for any claims incurred while they were at work.

Gocompare.com's survey revealed that the top five business journeys made in a private car were:

• Travelling to a training course (31 per cent)
• Going to the bank (25 per cent)
• Driving to another office (24 per cent)
• Travelling to meet clients or suppliers (23 per cent)
• Attending company away days (15 per cent)

Hayley Parsons, Gocompare.com's managing director explained, “Less favourable tax treatment has seen a considerable number employees opting out of company car schemes. Many of these workers now use their own vehicles for informal or ad-hoc company business, for example, attending an off-site meeting or a training course, or carrying out the daily banking. But, our research revealed that five million workers haven't extended their insurance to cover business travel – so could be driving uninsured.”

“Our survey also revealed that nearly two thirds of workers claim mileage allowance from their employer but only 28 per cent of employers had talked to them about insuring their vehicle for business use. Organisations shouldn't assume that workers with private car insurance are automatically covered for driving their vehicle while at work. Employers are legally responsible for ensuring that, irrespective of its owner, vehicles used on company business are safe to use - this includes being fully insured for business usage.”

Hayley concluded, “Extending your motor insurance cover to include business use can be relatively inexpensive, and some insurers do not even charge an additional fee for this cover. If workers use their own cars while on company business, no matter how infrequently, we would urge them to check their policy to make sure they are properly insured. And, employers should talk to workers about the necessity of having the correct level of cover before they undertake any private car business journeys.”

Ends

Further information:
Lynsey Walden at Gocompare.com on 01633 654 055
Gordon or Liz at Maw Communications on 01603 505 845

Notes to editors:
The research for Gocompare.com was carried out online by Tickbox.net August 2007 amongst a nationally representative sample of 1,733 UK adults.

Key findings from the Gocompare.com Business Use Survey

• Five million workers use their own cars for work purposes but are not insured to do so.
• On average 188 business miles are covered by “uninsured” business use drivers each month.
• Business journeys undertaken by respondents in the last 12 months: travelling to a training course (31 per cent), driving to the bank (25 per cent), driving to another office (24 per cent), travelling to meet clients or suppliers (23 per cent), attending company away days (15 per cent), to pick up clients or employees (14 per cent), to help out with deliveries (10 per cent) and travel to a sales pitch 5 per cent).
• Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of workers claim mileage allowance when they use their own car for work purposes.
• 72 per cent of employers had not talked to employees about insuring their vehicle for business use.

Gocompare.com launched in November 06, the brainchild of Hayley Parsons the co-founder of Confused.com. The first of the so-called “Comparison 2.0” websites with a far greater focus on product comparison as well as price, while cutting edge technology makes the customer experience slick, quick and easy. Unlike some other aggregator services Gocompare.com always provides a guaranteed quote, rather than just an estimate.

Gocompare.com comparisons are based on comparing the range of cover (using a five star rating process) and not just cost.

Gocompare.com is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.