can i drive an uninsured car not owned by myself using my policy?

Question

i have a policy which allows me third party insurance cover to drive a car ,not owned by myself ......my daughter has a car kept off road for the time being as she doesnt have the money to insure it...my question is can i drive it ,using my insurance cover.......i read somewhere the problem is ...when i get out of the car it is no longer insured.so therefor i cant drive it ,but if i drive it and end my journey off road then is it covered

what difference does it make if the car is or is not insured by the owner.....its a contract between my insurance company and myself.........as in if i crashed it would be my problem ....not the owners

Answer 1

Insurance is one thing you can't afford to mess up. I think that the car has to be all ready insured by the owner for your own third party insurance to be valid. also M.O.T. required to be up to date. Can you not put the car on your insurance policy temporarily as this would cover you. But to get the right information on the legal side of things, I would contact your insurance company as they all have different clauses put into their policies and it is a minefield to work them out.

Answer 2

You must have the owners permission to drive the car. If you have fully comprehensive insurance, provided the car has an MOT and Tax it is legal for you to drive it under your insurance for a specific purpose. EG to take it to a garage.

If you have any doubts about small print ring your insurance company/broker and clarify if there are any restrictions.

As for the car being off road, I think this is because the owner has no insurance, if you leave the car you take your insurance with you and the responsibility reverts to the owner who is uninsured. Again your broker will clarify this, as if you have the owners permission to use you may be covered until you return it.

Best answer may be to help your daughter by adding her to your insurance policy until she can afford to get her own insurance.

Answer 3

All the insurance policies i have ever had have all stated in the small print of the contract that i can drive other cars and it covers me for 3rd party only but the other car has to have insurance on it by the legal owner for the cover to be valid.So either phone your insurers or read all the contract.You will probably find that you will not be covered unless the car has insurance on it.

Answer 4

Without knowing the specific language of your policy or what state you're in, I'll go out on a limb and say that, generally, you're partially covered.

If you have Comprehensive and/or Collision coverage on your policy, that does NOT apply to the uninsured vehicle. Those two coverages typically only apply to the vehicle declared on your policy's Declaration Page.

Your Liability coverage WILL apply in her car. That coverage usually states that it covers you in any vehicle you drive. There are not usually clauses stating the other car has to be insured.

If you drive her car, you will be covered for damage you do to someone else's car or person. Her car will not be covered. Her car will also not be covered when it is parked. If parked on the street, she could be subject to citation.

The big hindrance will be with your insurer if/when they find out her car inuninsured. If she lives in your household, they will have a big problem with an uninsured car in the household. They may non-renew, at their option. If she doesn't live in your household, they may not take kindly to you having regular access to an uninsured vehicle.

Typically, when you borrow someone's car, their insurance is primary and your is secondary. That means that should an accident occur, the owner's insurance pays first. If they exhaust their limits, only then is your coverage liable for anything. If the owner has no insurance, yours becomes primary. That's not what the coverage was intended for. If your insurer finds out, the may specifically exclude her car from your policy, raise your rates, or non-renew your policy.

Answer 5

If you have full comprehensive insurance, then in theory you should be covered for any car. In most cases third party whether with or without fire and theft will only allow you to drive the car you yourself own, though there is nothing stopping you from adding another car to the policy.

Answer 6

You can not insure an already insured vehicle, DUAL insurance is not allowed. If your insurance policy gives you a third party extention to drive other cars that is exactly what it is the car must follow the usual criteria not belong to you, MOT'd and taxed

Answer 7

It has to be insured by the registered keeper before your insurance could cover it on third party terms.
Also, if your daughter's car is off the road and not taxed or insured it should be declared SORN.

Answer 8

Since companies have different ideas of coverage, you should call your agent. I really doubt that you will be covered driving a vehicle that does not have any insurance by the owner though.

Answer 9

Third party insurance is the lowest legal cover to drive on the road. Its there to cover others driver's costs in an accident and not yours. If it says your covered third party then go ahead.

Answer 10

You need to read your policy documents carefully. Usually these days the holder of a comprehensive policy will be covered to drive another car "not owned by him/her", with third party cover only, and - this is important - "in an emergency". This latter clause is now inserted in most policies.