Cover note

When you take out or change a policy, the full schedule and wording can take a little time to issue, but you usually need proof of cover immediately — to drive away from a dealership, to satisfy a bank, or simply to be insured from day one. A cover note bridges that gap, confirming in writing that cover is in force from the agreed inception date and on what basic terms.

It is genuine cover, not a placeholder, so a claim during the cover-note period is valid — but it is provisional and time-limited, and it gives way to the full schedule once issued. Read the full schedule when it arrives and check it matches what you arranged, because that document, not the cover note, governs a later claim.

If you are ever asked for proof of insurance before your documents arrive — a common moment at vehicle handover — the cover note is what you provide. Keep it until the schedule replaces it, and confirm the inception date on it leaves no gap with any outgoing policy.