Coronavirus car insurance and driving FAQs

The outbreak of COVID-19 probably won’t affect your annual car insurance policy. However, if you need to use someone else’s car, need to use your personal car for business, or someone needs to use your car while you are self-isolating, then our temporary car insurance policies can help you.

Your annual policy may insure you to drive other cars, but this will likely only be the most basic of insurance. With our cover, you get a comprehensive policy that can give you peace of mind that if an accident happens, you are in the best position possible.

All our staff are continuing to work remotely, and the business is still fully operational. If you plan to take out a policy, nothing has changed, it can still be done online in as little as 15 minutes.

And, if you are looking to take out a policy on the go and have all your policy details in the palm of your hand, the new Dayinsure app can help you.

If you have any questions, our customer services team are available from 9 am – 5 pm every day by email: support@dayinsure.com or phone: 0333 005 0944 from 9 am – 5 pm Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; and 9 am – 4 pm on Fridays and Sundays. On Saturday and Sunday, our phone lines are closed for lunch from 12.30 pm to 1.30 pm.

If you plan to volunteer your time and drive for a voluntary organisation or charity, a normal motoring policy should cover you to do this, but you need to check with your annual insurance company.

If they don’t cover you for volunteering, then a normal temporary car insurance policy with Dayinsure will do so.

If your annual policy covers you for commuting, you will be covered to drive to work instead of taking public transport. If it doesn’t, we can offer temporary business insurance that can start in as little as 15 minutes.

All cars that are not listed as SORN (officially off the road) must be insured, so you will likely not be able to pause your annual insurance if you are self-isolating. However, you can get in touch with your annual provider if you will not be driving for a while to see how they might be able to support you.

If you break down while on the road, you will likely not see any difference in service from your breakdown cover provider. Most of the major breakdown companies have ensured all their mechanics only come to work if feeling fit and well, they will all be briefed on the latest hygiene advice and equipped with cleaning products, gloves and hand gels.

If you have temp cover with us and wonder what will happen if you break down during the Coronavirus pandemic, please check the RAC’s website for their latest information.

Whether you will be able to move forward with a driving lesson, theory test and/or practical driving test depends on where you live in the UK.

• England – From 2^nd of December, driving lessons, theory and practical driving tests are taking place as normal.
• Scotland – Driving lessons, theory and practical driving tests are taking place in local COVID protection levels 0 to 3. In level 4, lessons and tests are not taking place and any resident of a level 4 zone is not permitted to travel to another zone to take a test.
• Wales – Driving lessons, theory and practical driving tests are taking place as normal.

In all of these areas, you should not take a lesson or a test if you are self-isolating and you should wear a face-covering unless you are unable to. If that is the case then you should inform your driving instructor and/or test centre, which may mean you need to take your test at an alternative centre.

If you find out that you need to self-isolate after booking your test, you will be able to rearrange for free. You should NOT go to the test centre if you are self-isolating.

If your driving lessons have been cancelled but you’d like to get some more practice in with a friend or family member, our temporary learner driver insurance means you can practice in a private car. This can even be used to cover your practical examination if needed.

You can discover more about the current government rules on driving tests here.

The best thing we can all do at this time is to practise social distancing as much as possible. If you need to refuel, most supermarket filling stations have self-service pumps that allow you to fuel up and pay without needing to go inside. These are a great option for limiting human contact.

Equally, for those with an electric car using a public pump, you can usually pay by app, which is preferable.

We suggest you keep a pair of gloves in the car for refuelling, or use any gloves available on the forecourt.

As England goes back into a tiered system, whether you want to travel for work or on a UK staycation, you may wonder about travelling between tiers. If you are currently living in a tier 1 or tier 2 area, you can move between tier 1 or 2 zones for business or pleasure but should ensure to stick to your household group or social bubble.

For tier 3 areas, you should only travel in or out if essential, such as for work or education, and should not move around for holidays.

The tier you are in should have no effect on your insurance quote.