[Closed] Driving other vehicles on insurance

Most fully comprehensive policies have DOC (driving other cars) cover on them - usually only 3rd Party cover, and the other vehicle has to have its own insurance policy in place. We're with Aviva and it's included on our policy.

I think it's only supposed to be an occasional thing though, so if it's regular then getting added as named drivers on your parents' policies might well be the better option.

If you're driving your parents vehicles that regularly you're probably best being a named driver on your parents policy or using your own vehicle.

Driving other vehicles on your own policy is usually only 3rd party cover so any damage you cause to your parents vehicle wouldn't be covered.

Driving other vehicle cover is becoming rarer as it got abused and as customers are price focused is an area of cover that is removed to make policy pricing competitive.

It's pretty easy to reduce your excess to whatever value you want. The price difference between having £0 excess and £250 excess was less than £15 (for me)

Most fully comprehensive policies have DOC (driving other cars) cover on them – usually only 3rd Party cover, and the other vehicle has to have its own insurance policy in place. We’re with Aviva and it’s included on our policy.

I'm with Admiral fully comp and then dont do this, had actually been driving my wifes car assuming it did cover me till I spotted it at a recent renewal, I am now a named drive on her policy, her policy covers her though to drive my car. Think the Admiral position may be due to clashing with their multi-car policy stuff.

We also have this problem now we have gone from two cars to one. The policy is under my name so I can drive other cars 3rd party but the misses, who is only a named driver on my policy can no longer easily borrow a car. She is not happy!

Named driver on their policy.

I had a policy with Adrian Flux a couple of years ago and remember paying a few extra quid a year to be able to drive other vehicles fully comp as long as the car was worth no more than £20K. Might be worth looking into something like that.

Main issue – we drive our parents vehicles. Both my, and wife’s, parents are getting older and we frequently use their cars to help them out (hospital appointments etc).

How often?
You could use a provider such as dayinsure to just insure yourselves on whichever car you need for as long as you need it be it 1 day or longer.
(it's the same as learner insurance - it's an add-on policy)

Unless you're high risk, it's often very little cost to be added as a named driver, I've even known it to push the cost of the policy down.

Yeah named driver on their insurance, I’m on MIL, parents and daughter’s cars. Works out cheaper, you’re covered full comp just so much easier.

If you’re driving your parents vehicles that regularly you’re probably best being a named driver on your parents policy or using your own vehicle.

This. As they get older it keeps costs down - BiL and I are both named drivers on my dads car. It save him a couple of hundred a year and we can just drive it when needed.

Our old Yaris at one point was insured for 8(!) people to drive. Living rurally meant that a few of the outdoor centre staff didn't have cars and it was easy to lend our second car (the Yaris) to them. It did not cost much (if anything) on the policy for us, and TBF it was leant out perhaps once a month.

Yeah named driver on their insurance,

Won't this only work up to a point? If the parents aren't driving much then they might no longer be the main driver.

If you’re driving your parents vehicles that regularly you’re probably best being a named driver on your parents policy or using your own vehicle.

This. As they get older it keeps costs down – BiL and I are both named drivers on my dads car. It save him a couple of hundred a year and we can just drive it when needed.

Exactly this. I hardly ever drive my (77yo) Mum's car but the last time we shopped around for insurance for her it was about a hundred quid cheaper a year on the comparison sites to add me to the policy. I would have been happy using the 3rd party cover on my insurance for the very rare times I drove it but much easier to be on her policy especially if it makes it cheaper for her.

If the parents aren’t driving much then they might no longer be the main driver.

It's not essential that the policy holder is the main driver. Just be honest with the insurer and tell them who drives. If the main driver is lower risk it may reduce the premium.

Insurance is just weird. We were cheaper me insuring the car with wife as named than other way round but her on own was cheaper than me on own.

T

It’s not essential that the policy holder is the main driver. Just be honest with the insurer and tell them who drives. If the main driver is lower risk it may reduce the premium.

I was thinking of the other end of the generational scale; folk having their kids as a Named Driver for a car the kids are driving most of the time. Is that not an offence (though I guess not if you tell the insurers)?

The most important thing is your parents have to insure their cars. You cannot drive an otherwise uninsured car on an extension to your own policy that allows you to drive other cars.

Then it is only occasional use and some policies specify things like 'only in an emergency' and as others have said it is usually third party only cover.

It used to be a very common extension but has become much less so over the years. Agree with the 'be a named driver' suggestion if it is a regular thing.

I was thinking of the other end of the generational scale; folk having their kids as a Named Driver for a car the kids are driving most of the time. Is that not an offence (though I guess not if you tell the insurers)?

In the case of 'fronting' for kids, the offence (fraud) is not telling the insurer that the kid is the main driver. It could work the other way if a middle aged low risk policyholder failed to declare a higher risk elderly relative as the main user, but that's an unlikely situation. For many years I was declared as the main user on the car my wife was policyholder on, and vice versa (we had both changed jobs and effectively swapped our commuting requirements since we first insured them). Always tell the insurer the facts as you know them, and if they are unreasonable, find a different insurer.

3rd party extension is for unusual emergency type use of others cars and as the name suggests only covers you 3rd party.

Make yourself a named driver if you are using the car routinely.

Thats brill, thanks folks, appreciate the guidance - will now navigate elderly parents and their insurance brokers 😳😂

You cannot drive an otherwise uninsured car on an extension to your own policy that allows you to drive other cars

Er, technically you can but from experience I’d suggest you don’t. I got stopped whilst driving my wife’s car in February for driving without insurance - the copper said the car was pinging roadside cameras and so they picked me up. She’d apparently forgotten to reinsure it - not cross with her as has been working front line on COVID wards for the last year so she’s had other things to think about.
I was sent a summons for a £300 fine and 6 points. However, the offence on the summons was ‘driving without third party insurance’. I have third party insurance on my own car policy and confirmed by my insurance company so I challenged it and they, after a bit of backwards and forward and having to get a solicitor involved, dropped the charge. Cost me £800 to sort. A lot less aggro and cheaper to be a named driver. Her insurance is now on an automatic re-insure!