If you’re thinking of letting a friend or family member borrow your car, what happens if they have an accident? Will your insurance cover it? Don’t be so sure.
In this post we’ll explore the steps you’ll need to take before you lend your car to someone else, to ensure you’ll have cover no matter what happens.
Temporary insurance is often the best option if you want to let someone else drive your car. At Anthony Jones, we can help you get temporary car insurance to give you full cover for as little as an hour, or as long as 28 days. Get more information about temporary car insurance.
Will My Car Insurance Cover Me If Someone Else Has An Accident While Driving My Car?
Probably not. In fact, if you try and make a claim on your car insurance for an accident involving a different driver, it could even void your policy. Your insurer might think you’re trying to commit insurance fraud.
Car insurance premiums are largely calculated based on your personal circumstances as a driver. Insurers will consider your driving history, including any history of accidents and claims on your record. They’ll also consider the type of driving you do – whether it’s just the occasional trip to the shops, or a long daily commute – and your annual mileage.
All of this is to understand your personal risk profile. The premiums you pay will depend on how risky a driver your insurers consider you to be.
So, your insurers are covering you to drive your specific car. They are not covering other people to drive your car.
What If My Friend or Family Member is Insured to Drive Other Cars?
It used to be common for comprehensive car insurance policies to include cover for driving other cars (DOC). But DOC cover is comparatively rare these days, so don’t assume your friend or family member has it. Make sure you check before you hand over the keys.
Also bear in mind that DOC on your policy will insure you to drive other cars. It will not insure other drivers to drive your car.
If the Driver has DOC Cover, Will It Cover Them?
Yet even if your friend or family member does have DOC insurance, it may not provide all the cover you need. Usually, DOC just gives you third party cover for driving other cars. And third party cover is very limited. You may only be covered for fault damage to other vehicles, for the injuries of anyone in those vehicles, and for property to damage.
For an example of where this could cause you problems, consider the following situation: Let’s say your friend borrows your car, and crashes into a wall. You think you’ll be OK, because they have DOC cover. They can just make a claim on their policy to pay for the damages. However, in this case, the accident will be considered their fault. Plus, no other cars were involved. As such, third party insurance will not provide any cover for this instance. This means that you might be liable to pay for all damages.
On top of all this, third party insurance will not cover any damage to your own car. So you will likely face a hefty repair bill of your own, in addition to the third party expenses.
How Should I Insure Someone to Drive My Car?
There are a couple of options when it comes to insuring someone to drive your car. You can either add them as a named driver on your policy, or you can take out a temporary insurance policy.
Next, we take a look at the pros and cons of these options.
Adding Someone As a Named Driver To Your Insurance
If you add someone as a named driver to your insurance policy, then they’ll be able to drive your car whenever they need to. What’s more, they’ll get the same level of cover as you get. So, if you have comprehensive cover, so will they.
However, there a few limitations to the named driver arrangement:
- You’ll have to contact your insurer, and it will affect the price of your policy.
- You must remain the “main” driver of your car. If your friend or family member drives the car more than you, it’s a form of insurance fraud known as “fronting”, which will void your policy.
- If your friend or family member only needs to use your car for a short period of time, then adding them as a named driver could be more trouble than it’s worth.
Temporary Car Insurance – The Most Convenient and Cost-Effective Solution
So, what happens if someone is driving your car, and they have an accident? As we’ve seen, unless they have sufficient insurance in place, it could lead to a lot of trouble.
If you want to lend your car to someone, ask them to take out a temporary car insurance policy first. This will give them comprehensive cover to drive your car. And if they have an accident, they can make a claim on their own temporary policy, which means that your own no-claims discount will not be affected.
At Anthony Jones, we can help you get temporary car insurance to give you full cover for as little as an hour, or as long as 28 days. You only pay for the cover you need, which makes temporary insurance a lot more cost-effective than adding a named driver to your policy.
Head here for more information on temporary car insurance policies.
