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sandymcwilliams
By sandymcwilliams | AA Member | 2 Posts | 15 February 2013 at 1:26pm

Hi, my husband sat his full licence in September 2012. He recently had a minor accident causing $2500.00 worth of damage. When we went to fill out the insurance claim, we noticed his licence had expired in November 2012. That's two months after he renewed his licence. At no time did the lady at AA point out that it was about to expire nor did he receive a notice from NZTA to tell him it was time to renew his licence. When I phoned NZTA to enquire, I was transferred to a manager. She told me that once a reminder letter was in the mail system, it was out of their hands. The reason that his licence didn't roll over for another ten years was because he had a full motor bike licence. We have since learned that licences are automatically renewed from October 2012 when you change your licence class. Is this just a case of, we should have checked the expiry date as soon as the licence was issued or does NZTA have an obligation to inform people when their licence is due to expire? We heard that 10000 letters telling people that their licence was up for renewal weren't sent out. Please advise us if this is just bad luck or was there a duty of some sort here? Your Sincerely, Sandy McWilliams.

ABayliss
By ABayliss | AA Expert | 2169 Posts | 18 February 2013 at 9:50am

Like your passport, WoF and many other official documents, it is the individual's responsibility to ensure their license is current. This subject has attracted a fair amount of publicity in the media recently, outlining the huge number of people who are likely to be driving with expired licenses, and advising people to check the expiry date of their license.
Your husband's circumstances are quite unusual, although I'm sure there are others out there in similar situations.
Unfortunately, despte the circumstances, it is still an individual's responsibility.

sandymcwilliams
By sandymcwilliams | AA Member | 2 Posts | 18 February 2013 at 10:48am

Thank's jack. It just seems so unfair that he got his licence and then almost straight away it expired. The AA shop assistant should have made that clear. Now we are faced with an uninsured accident. Thanks AA and NZTA!

ABayliss
By ABayliss | AA Expert | 2169 Posts | 19 February 2013 at 12:01pm

If you'd like to provide a little more detail to our Motoring Advice team, we may be able to provide an opinion on the insurance matter. While in the the strictest terms of your husband's insurance policy, cover may not be immediately extended, sometimes it can be reviewed in matters of extenuating circumstances.
If you would like to contact us at aatech@aa.co.nz we may be able provide an opinion and some advice.