RK and prime insurance Options

[bobthesod]

Is there anything illegal of person A being on the V5 as the RK Even though they do not have a driving licence, and person B, who is the main driver, arranging the insurance naming them and person C as being covered for driving?

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[Slapdash]

No.

[andy_foster]

There is no specific law that I am aware of against doing that. However, that does not mean that you would not be breaking some law if used for some undisclosed nefarious purpose.

[Incandescent]

As said, no. A taxi firm could have 10 taxis with the V5s all having the name and address of the owner of the firm who cannot drive.

[The Rookie]

An insurer may ask about why that is the case to make sure that the person insuring the car has a legitimate interest in it, but no.

Apart from the latest one I’ve been RK of my wife’s previous cars (just for convenience) and she was the person with the insurance policy in her name, no issues.

This post has been edited by The Rookie: Wed, 31 Mar 2021 - 10:31

[notmeatloaf]

Insurers may take an interest if there is a possibility of "fronting" - say, the RK is an 18 year old but the main driver is his 70 year old grandmother who lives 200 miles away.

However, assuming the insurance application is genuine then there is no issue. Almost all lease vehicles have a different RK to the insured driver.

[TMC Towcester]

As above - if openly declared to the insurer/underwriter. I suspect some/many may be very suspicious of the motives and decline cover. If not declared it may void cover but that's a different law.

It begs the question -why would anyone want to do that (legally!)

[roythebus]

The registered keeper can be any body. Companies can have thousands of vehicles registered to them as the "registered keeper". Who is responsible for the corporate body? Do they all have driving licences?

Maybe some insurers may question the circumstances but there's nothing illegal in it.

[notmeatloaf]

From memory the legislation is ridiculously circular, defining the RK as "the RK recorded on the V5C". Although lots of police websites seem to make up their own rules, I think almost any contactable person, company or organisation can be a RK.

My Dad used to work for a tech company. They all had very nice company cars registered to the limited company, and one of the perks was the company would swallow S172 convictions rather than name them. This was early 2000s, possibly police hound companies doing the same a bit more now.

Having just Googled them the company ended up collapsing a decade later with several £m of debt, not entirely surprisingly.

[Slapdash]

As above - if openly declared to the insurer/underwriter. I suspect some/many may be very suspicious of the motives and decline cover. If not declared it may void cover but that's a different law.

It begs the question -why would anyone want to do that (legally!)

I suspect something around 40% ln all private vehicle "purchasers" do it.

Buy shiny new thing on PCP. They tend to be the owner.

Then insure for themselves and spouse. That pretty much fits OPs scenario. And is monumentally common.

[The Rookie]

Buy shiny new thing on PCP. They tend to be the owner.

They may be the owner, they aren't usually the registered keeper, of circa 10 PCP deals in the family, only one did the finance company insist on being the RK.

[typefish]

Insurers may take an interest if there is a possibility of "fronting" - say, the RK is an 18 year old but the main driver is his 70 year old grandmother who lives 200 miles away.

However, assuming the insurance application is genuine then there is no issue. Almost all lease vehicles have a different RK to the insured driver.

Don't forget that sometimes insurance companies require "reverse fronting"

For example, due to my age, when I was on my dad's kit car insurance I had to be the policy holder, even though he was the main driver, and vehicle owner, and the person on the V5C, and the person who paid the insurance, etc

This post has been edited by typefish: Thu, 1 Apr 2021 - 12:15

[Slapdash]

Buy shiny new thing on PCP. They tend to be the owner.

They may be the owner, they aren't usually the registered keeper, of circa 10 PCP deals in the family, only one did the finance company insist on being the RK.

When only approx 1 in 10 insisted on being the RK does imply that in the other cases you asked to be the RK or it simply happened that way ?

Anecdotally quite a few folk on here find out they are not the RK of "their vehicle" so it does seem fairly common.