Insurance; driving other cars

Fey!

There seems to be a lot of "my policy lets me drive other cars" stuff flying around here at the moment. However, anyone relying on this needs to be aware of something:

It varies from insurer to insurer!

Some insurance companies say that you must be over 25 with a full license to avail of this, the same as insuring someone through "open drive" on your own car. Some policies don't allow you to drive other cars at all. Others limit you to an engine size and value less than your own. I've heard of some companies giving fully comp cover on other cars and some only giving third party. From what I can figure out, all insist that the other car is NOT registered in the policyholders name.

In short, double check with your insurance company to ensure that you are covered on a particular car you wish to drive, rather than taking the risk of landing yourself in trouble.

If you wish to, list your insurer, age and license, and what your policy allows.

I'm with FBD, 30, Full, other cars 3rd party

smash

I'm with Quinn, 26, other cars 3rd party but only if the car is not in my name and has an engine smaller or less powerfull than my own.

fasty

I'm with Quinn too, 27 with a full license and likewise my policy says I can drive other cars with 3rd party cover but I wasn't aware that it's restricted to smaller, less powerful cars. Where abouts in the small print is this?

drdre

Im with hibernian,22 and can drive any other car 3rd party. I have asked the 5-6 times and they have told me im covered third party for any car even ferrari.I dont care about same print as different people working for hibernian have told me the same answer that i can drive any car 3rd party.

bazz26

It definately varies from policy to policy so the rule of thumb here is to assume nothing and to read the small print of your policy first.

smash

fasty wrote:

I'm with Quinn too, 27 with a full license and likewise my policy says I can drive other cars with 3rd party cover but I wasn't aware that it's restricted to smaller, less powerful cars. Where abouts in the small print is this?

they told me over the phone when I asked about the conditions of driving other cars.

drdre

steve06 wrote:

they told me over the phone when I asked about the conditions of driving other cars.

That might be with your insurer but next time you should get a quote from hibernian

ninty9er

Fey! wrote:

I've heard of some companies giving fully comp cover on other cars and some only giving third party.

AFAIK no company can use your policy to comprehensively cover someone else's car as the owner's insurer will have the vehicle itself insured against damage.

fasty

steve06 wrote:

they told me over the phone when I asked about the conditions of driving other cars.

I'd better get them to clarify it for me, I'm driving a 1L Polo and have driven a Mazda RX8 and Audi A4 belonging to friends since passing my test with the impression that I was covered! Very foolish of me in hindsight.

galwaytt

ninty9er wrote:

AFAIK no company can use your policy to comprehensively cover someone else's car as the owner's insurer will have the vehicle itself insured against damage.

Yes, driving other vehicles cover is TPO, but the other vehicle is not necessarily insured. If the owner of the other veh only has TPO himself, then it's not covered for anything..........

Another thing to check - some policies state that you can only drive the other car so long as it is insured by it's owner. This is to stop you insuring a Micra 1.0, and buying a Gti and putting it in your Granny's name........who obviously won't have a policy....

jhegarty

fasty wrote:

I'd better get them to clarify it for me, I'm driving a 1L Polo and have driven a Mazda RX8 and Audi A4 belonging to friends since passing my test with the impression that I was covered! Very foolish of me in hindsight.

I am not with Quinn any more , but I do know when I was (two years ago) there was no such condition in the terms and conditions/insurance cert....and thats what matters , that's your contract with them....

fasty

Just checked the terms on the Quinn Direct site...

http://www.quinn-direct.ie/documents/policydocs/motor_policy_roi.pdf

Driving other cars

If your certificate of insurance says so, we will also cover you, the
policyholder, for your liability to other people while you are driving
any other privately owned motor car which you do not own or
have not hired under a hire-purchase or lease agreement, as long
as:

1 the vehicle is not owned by your employer or hired to them
under a hire-purchase or lease agreement;
2 you currently hold a full European Union (EU) licence;
3 the use of the vehicle is covered on the certificate of
insurance;
4 cover is not provided by any other insurance;
5 you have the owner’s permission to drive the vehicle;
6 the vehicle is in a roadworthy condition; and
7 you still have your vehicle and it has not been damaged
beyond cost-effective repair.

Fey!

bazz26 wrote:

It definately varies from policy to policy so the rule of thumb here is to assume nothing and to read the small print of your policy first.

That's exactly the point of this thread; to get people to check. Policies can vary within companies.

quarryman

i was wondering this myself recently. Rang quinn to confirm.

as mentioned above i think; I am able to drive any other car and i will be covered 3rd party as long as the other car is NCT'd and taxed.

Incidently i got some penalty points recently and enquired as to their affect. I have 5, apparently they have no effect. As long as they are for speeding or no seatbelt etc they should not affect my premium. cool!

Tipsy Mac

Yeah with all insurers I have been with other cars are driven 3rd party only, stands to reason as they don't care if your driving a 500k Maybach or a €200 1989 Micra, they won't be contributing 1 cent to the cost of damage to the car you are driving. I think the other car has to be road legal though with insurance/tax and NCT already.

smash

fasty wrote:

Just checked the terms on the Quinn Direct site...

http://www.quinn-direct.ie/documents/policydocs/motor_policy_roi.pdf

That's interesting, it's not what I was told over the phone. And Dre, I can't go with Hibernian, they wont quote me for a 3ltr.

BoozyBabe

steve06 wrote:

I'm with Quinn, 26, other cars 3rd party but only if the car is not in my name and has an engine smaller or less powerfull than my own.

I'm with quinn, 27 & when I asked them over the phone, I was told ANY car provided IT was insured & NOT in my name.

They never mentioned engine size.

quarryman

BoozyBabe wrote:

I'm with quinn, 27 & when I asked them over the phone, I was told ANY car provided IT was insured & NOT in my name.

They never mentioned engine size.

Are you sure about that? I was told by Quinn yesterday that the car did not need to be insured, merely taxed and NCT'd.

Tony Danza

steve06 wrote:

they told me over the phone when I asked about the conditions of driving other cars.

I've read through every word in my policy, and it doesn't say anything about the car having to be under a certain engine size. I trust what I read in print a lot more than what they tell you over the phone, when I got my policy first I was told I could only drive other cars if I got comprehensive, I only got 3rd party and it states on the policy I'm allowed to drive other cars, rang them back and somebody told me that I was covered to drive other cars. Not that I'd be bother if I wasn't covered, very rarely actually drive somebody else's car anyway so don't really need it.

daedalus2097

My Quinn policy says I can drive any other car too, without mentioning engine size or output. It does have to be a private car and be insured however. I wonder did they change their policy at some stage, so some people's certs say different to others?

Blue850

Be careful of this clause. I'm with AXA and have 3rd party cover on any taxed and NCT'd car not reg'd in my name OR my spouse/partners name. I had to get my wife to name me on her policy:rolleyes: