In 1930's the British Government introduced motor insurance through a Law that required everyone who used a car on the road to have insurance providing a minimum of third party personal injury cover.

Since then the Road Traffic Acts have been updated and changed many times but the word "user" remains the all-important operative word.

The original 1930 Laws used the word "user" of a vehicle to describe their subject but the word "user" contains a vital distinction as the user doesn't have to be its' driver. Under UK case Law (Elliot versus Grey -1960), your policy insures the 'user' rather than the 'driver'.

Soon after you've arranged your insurance, you should receive your Cover Note. This is a temporary document and normally confirms your insurance cover for 30 days. Within those 30 days you should then receive your full policy and the supporting documentation. You must keep these documents in a safe place as you may be required to produce them to the Police.

Your policy will show the name of the insurance company, who is insured to drive, what uses the car can be put to, what level of cover you have (e.g. Comprehensive or Third Party), the starting and expiry date and other details such as the premium cost.