PCP & Car Insurance/Ownership Issue! Here's an answer for those not sure...

[GeneralPurpose]

I'm due to change my car to a new Skoda model in a couple of days time. I'm buying it using a PCP deal. And very good it is too (that's both the car and the PCP)! It's my first PCP deal and at 0% APR with other benefits also, it's a great introduction. However, I confess to being less than fully informed about one particular aspect of one of these types of deals. This relates to ownership of the car during the time the deal is running. So anyway, all was well until yesterday when I went online to my insurance company website to change my car details over in readiness for the new car. It's an online only site with no phone numbers except for a claims line. I inputted the new car details and then my insurance site asked..."who owns the vehicle?". There were several options. Technically and actually, VW Financial Services own the car until the last payment is made, we all know that. But the options shown on the website were not very clear and I felt unsure. Do I put myself down as the owner? Or is it one of the other options? It was confusing (you'd have to see the options to realise my dilema!). So I emailed customer services with a question about which option I should use. They emailed me back to say I should use the "Private Lease" option with a PCP. This didn't seem quite right to me so I emailed them again to query this as a PCP is not a lease. This time I got a slightly different response telling me if it's a lease car they only need to know I'm the registered keeper for them to cover me! This didn't seem right either as I had already twice pointed out that it was a PCP deal (which is hire purchase) and NOT a lease deal of any kind. So I emailed them again pointing out yet again it was not a lease of any kind and not a company vehicle. And in fact it was a hire purchase deal called a PCP. This time I got the right answer. They instructed me to input that I was the owner. Apparently, they misunderstood the PCP thing and thought it was a private lease. So anyway, it all went though ok. Apparently, if you are buying the car using hire purchase you are classed as the legal owner for insurance purposes, even though the full title to the vehicle doesn't pass to you until fully paid for. This was also confirmed by my dealer who I also had asked this ownership question. 

 

The reason for posting this is that I searched online, and this site for a definitive answer. And found none. Just lots of opinions. But my insurers made it quite clear (eventually). There is always the chance some insurers may do things differently I'm guessing (individuals must check for themselves), but probably not. Hope this helps someone. 

[ChrisKnottIns]

...Apparently, if you are buying the car using hire purchase you are classed as the legal owner for insurance purposes, even though the full title to the vehicle doesn't pass to you until fully paid for. This was also confirmed by my dealer who I also had asked this ownership question.

That's correct, yes.