Hi Joss, I understand how it may seem. The individual that I am enquiring for is the main carer and is the only individual that lives with the disabled parent. I believe they only work 2/3 miles from home and would use the car to and from work. They would also be returning home at lunch times to provide care etc. I believe they only need business insurance for one off trips between council offices however the employer will not issue them with a permit unless they have Business included. They wouldn’t even be covering more than 5/10 miles a day. So I believe it may still be in the benefit of the claimant as the individual appears to be the only person in the household earning. They also wouldn’t be using the vehicle for excessive mileage. I may be wrong, hence why I enquired here.
In this exact example, if we take what is written to be 100% accurate and gospel, the following would generally apply:
- The car is always provided for the benefit of the disabled personal primarily.
- However, it is feasible for the car to be used to support the household that the disabled person lives in. For example, if this driver financially supports the disabled person, work might be considered a benefit indirectly. This only applies if the driver actually lives with the disabled person and this can be evidenced.
- But, any personal usage (incl. work journeys) by the driver need to be kept to a reasonable minimum and must always be proportionate to the amount of direct benefit the disabled person enjoys themselves.
- Taking into account the above, commuting would be permitted, but business cover would not, unless the driver was a legal guardian, spouse, etc.
- This condition is set by RSA Motability; you can speak with them, but on the basis of what you described, they would likely declined the business cover and that is at their discretion. You do not have route of appeal against this.
At the end of the day, we have to respect who the Scheme is setup to support. It doesn’t work for everybody and it isn’t the only way to get around or lease a vehicle. The last thing anybody needs is being caught driving uninsured and/or have an accident, whereby the insurance claim is repudiated/rejected (especially when a repudiated claim will get you kicked off of the Scheme).