Do you need to have insurance for a lawnmower or mobility scooter?

Do you have a sit-on lawnmower, or use a mobility scooter to support you get to and from the shops?

If so, then you might properly be in line for a nasty shock.

Golf buggies, sit-on lawnmowers and mobility scooters can all be employed without insurance coverage beneath existing UK laws.

Lawnmowers, for example, only need cover if they are driven in public places, although mobility scooters can be driven on roads without insurance.

But a selection by a Brussels court signifies that anyone wanting to use these so-referred to as ‘niche’ automobiles may possibly now want auto insurance to do so – all due to the fact of a European Union (EU) Directive from 1972.

Sounds crazy does not it? But it could still finish up becoming the law.

What’s going on?

Below UK law, niche motorised cars such as mobility scooters and sit-on lawnmowers do not demand the same level of insurance coverage as automobiles and vans.

Now, even though, it would appear that the EU wants all vehicles of this sort to have at least third-celebration auto insurance coverage, in keeping with an EU directive that dates from April 24, 1972.

The directive in question is about “insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles” and states that ‘vehicle’ implies “any motor automobile intended for travel on land and propelled by mechanical energy, but not operating on rails”.

Why is this taking place now?

You might well be asking yourself why a directive that has been in location for 43 years is suddenly getting dredged up and brought to bear on British gardeners and golfers.

The reason is a 2014 court case brought by Damijan Vnuk, a farm worker from Slovenia who injured himself falling off a ladder that was hit by a tractor.

Motor insurers refused to cover his claim because the incident took place on private house and involved a vehicle being utilised as an “agricultural machine”.

Even so, the European Court of Justice ruled in September that Vnuk’s accident need to have been covered by compulsory car insurance.

And that signifies that any moving automobile employed in the EU need to now have motor insurance, regardless of whether it is becoming utilized on public and private land.

This is at odds with current British laws that only need such vehicles to be insured only if they are on a “road or other public place”.

What this means for you if…

You have a mobility scooter

The government strongly advises mobility scooter drivers to take out insurance coverage to cover accident or theft.

Nevertheless, they do not have to be insured by law.

And while the last Government looked set to make insurance for mobility scooters a legal requirement, it is now unclear when this will happen.

Mobility scooter users with no insurance coverage are nevertheless legal for the moment as a outcome.

Taking out cover now could save you from a costly claim should you be involved in an accident, even though. You can get third party insurance with breakdown cover for about £90 a year.

You have a sit-on lawnmower

Sit-on lawnmowers – and other similar cars such as quad bikes – already need to have insurance if they are to be driven on public roads.

Cover of this sort charges around £100 a year, and may soon turn into a legal requirement for all lawnmower owners.

Other possibilities available in the meantime contain public liability insurance coverage for specialist gardeners, and house contents private liability cover for property owners with motorised lawnmowers.

You have a golf buggy

At the moment, only golf buggies used on public roads require auto insurance coverage.

Nevertheless, if the EU gets its way, these utilised solely on golf courses will also require to be covered with third party insurance.

The difficulty if that happens is that handful of insurers offer cover for buggies that are taken off the golf course.

Even though you can get insurance that involves personal liability insurance coverage for about £25 a year, even specialist policies do not cover you for journeys on public roads.

Image: 

 Quingo Plus Mobility Scooter,E10 by Sludge G is licensed below CC BY-SA 

Do you need to have insurance for a lawnmower or mobility scooter?