Cover for vehicles not owned by the insured

Snafu

Hi, this is my first post on what looks like a great site; I hope someone here will be able to set my mind at rest.

My partner will be changing her car insurance provider thanks to confused.com. As the car's getting on a bit now, she'll also be changing her cover from fully comp to TPFT.

As part of her current fully comp cover, she's insured (third party only, I think) to drive vehicles not owned by her. This is useful as she occasionally drives my father's car.

And so to my question... Is this 'third party only' cover to drive any car as long as it's not owned by the insured a feature of all insurance policies, or just fully comp ones, or even just her current policy?

I want to be sure that by changing her cover, we won't lose the cover for driving my father's car, or indeed anyone elses, on an occasional basis.

Thanks in advance.

adonis

Hi snafu welcome to the forum, i think you will find that driving other peoples cars is only allowed when you are fully comp.
However some companies are restricting this, it might be easier to be added to your fathers policy.
Dont forget with tpf&t cover your windscreen and other windows are not usually covered if they get broken.

iceicebaby

Driving other cars extension is normally offered on Comp policies only. However she should check the T&C of her policy to find out

vikingaero

Yep as the others have said driving other cars is available only with comprehensive cover.

If your other half drives her fathers car regularly then it would be better for her to become a named driver under his Policy as the cover she receives is only Third Party cover.

Also most insurers insist that the other car being driven under this extension must also have valid insurance (whether 3rd Party or Compo) in force.

_Glycerine_

Virtually all fully comp policies cover driving other cars, some underwriters do it with third party fire and theft, best checking the terms and conditions though.

driving other cars only applies if other car is insured by someone else, and you have the owners permission of course.

roddydogs

Snafu wrote: »

Hi, this is my first post on what looks like a great site; I hope someone here will be able to set my mind at rest.

My partner will be changing her car insurance provider thanks to confused.com. As the car's getting on a bit now, she'll also be changing her cover from fully comp to TPFT.

As part of her current fully comp cover, she's insured (third party only, I think) to drive vehicles not owned by her. This is useful as she occasionally drives my father's car.

And so to my question... Is this 'third party only' cover to drive any car as long as it's not owned by the insured a feature of all insurance policies, or just fully comp ones, or even just her current policy?

I want to be sure that by changing her cover, we won't lose the cover for driving my father's car, or indeed anyone elses, on an occasional basis.

Thanks in advance.

Can i assume that you know that you will only be covered for the minumum legal requirement, the car itself will not be covered ie damage to the car that cannot be claimed off another driver:rotfl:

lemontart

as others have stated you must have fully comprehensive cover in order to get the cover for driving someone elses car as yes that is only for third party damages and not full cover.

It is always advisable to be added to owners policy but she will only get same cover as the policy owner ie if he has third party only then that is all she will be covered for so best to ask.

jem16

_Glycerine_ wrote: »

Virtually all fully comp policies cover driving other cars, .

I'm finding more and more insurance companies are not providing this cover any more, especially with younger drivers.

poppy_f1

i have fully comp and was advised by my insurance co that i could drive another car tpft as long as it wasnt owned by me and it was an *emergency* when i asked what did they mean by that they basically said as long as it wasnt a regular occurence
i previously was a named driver on my parents insurance but only drove their car twice in a year so we went with the cover under my own policy

vikingaero

Poppy,

Was the insurer Direct Line? This company seems to trot out the emergency phrase quite often.

Snafu

Very many thanks to everyone for the posts, they've been a big help in deciding what to do.

We'll be moving to TPFT cover due to the age of the car. As suggested by a couple of posters above, it seems best to add my partner as a named driver on my father's insurance so than she can retain her occasional use of his car.

Thanks again.