Brokers, how many of your motor clients have reached out to you this week, amid the snow madness, asking whether their insurance coverage is valid?
While policies differ across insureds and there will be case-to-case considerations, essentially the answer to that question should be a ‘yes’ – as one insurer strongly clarified following speculation related to the red weather warning.
Particularly in Scotland, where residents were faced with the warning for the first time, rumours reportedly spread about motor insurance being invalid under such circumstances. Now motorists are being advised not to believe what they hear through the grapevine.
“It’s total nonsense to say you would not be covered during a red weather warning,” a spokesperson for the AA told Scottish Daily Record. “If you were caught up in the red warning on the road, are you supposed to pull over and freeze? If you were to do something reckless, like drive at speed on treacherous roads, and that led to an accident that would be taken into account.
“However, to say that people on the road currently in the red warning should somehow pull over and not drive, is silly.”
Similarly, a Metro report stressed that comprehensive car insurance provides coverage under such weather conditions – that while travelling generally isn’t advisable, driving with the warnings in place shouldn’t invalidate cover. It pointed out that the same motor insurance rules apply.
As in any case though, it’s best to check through the proper channels – through providers and brokers – and not rely on hearsay. And always be on the safe side.
“This spell of weather is the coldest that parts of the UK have seen since at least 2013, with extremely low temperatures and disruptive snowfall in many parts throughout the rest of the week,” said Met Office chief forecaster Andy Page.
