Vehicle insurance and regulations

University of Reading Certificate of Motor Insurance

Driving for work policy

 For full details of the University Driving for Work Policy please click here .

Please note

• Driving your own vehicle on the business of the University is not covered under the University Motor Insurance
• You should check with your own insurance provider that you have cover for business use
• The University provides comprehensive motor insurance for its own and hired in vehicles.  

  This operates in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man and extends to include the compulsory motor insurance requirements of any member country of the European Union, Andorra, Croatia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

The rules around claiming expenses for driving your own car on the business of the University of Reading can be found in Chapter 4 of the University Expenses and Hospitality Policy (PDF-596KB)

Vehicle hire insurance

Under our new insurance arrangements for motor insurance, hired, leased, borrowed or lent vehicles are covered at no extra charge.

Driver regulations

Anyone with a valid UK driving licence may drive University vehicles or hired in vehicles on university business as allowed by their licence within the conditions of UK law.

The only exception to this rule is the driving of Minibuses on University business.  For the University's rules governing the driving of minibuses please refer to the section below on Minibus Regulations.

In the event you hold a drivers licence which was issued abroad you can visit the DVLA website where you can check if you are eligible to drive in the UK https://www.gov.uk/driving-nongb-licence.. 

Minibus regulations

If you hire and/or drive a minibus on behalf of the University please refer to the University Driving for Work Policy CoP52 here .

Please note

If you hire a minibus on the business of the University, you must display a "Section 19 Minibus Permit" (also known as a "Small Bus Permit"). Email permits@otc.gov.uk for guidance on how to obtain and apply for a permit. The insurance office do not fund the cost of the permit, this will be the responsibility of the individual department.   Further guidance can be found by visiting the FCDO website here.

The Health and Safety Committee requires all drivers of all minibuses to have a category D1 driving licence, and not to rely on a legal exemption for drivers of smaller minibuses which could be driven on a car licence. The existence of the exemption was causing confusion, which could lead people to drive who were not legally entitled to do so. It was reported that all Schools likely to be impacted by this change had been consulted informally and most had already accepted that their drivers should have D1 licence and associated training.