Insuring on Parents' Car

richx_uk

Hi,

I have done some research but cant find a definitive answer. I would like to be insured on my parents' car. I'll probably only need to use the vehicle once every few months.

Options I have found are insuring on their insurance for around £100 a year or short term insurance, which on one website came to £33 for one day?!

Any tips would be much appreciated.

Many thanks,

Rich

Aretnap

Short term insurance tends to be expensive compared to an annual policy. It's a niche product so there aren't as many providers as there are for annual policies, and the overheads are greater when compared to the number of policies sold.

If you're really only going to need it on the odd day then sort term insurance might be the way to go, but if it's likely to be more than two or three times a year then it's worth being added to their policy as a named driver. Just be aware that if you have an accident while driving on their policy it will be their NCD which is affected, so be prepared to have that conversation with them.

It's also worth looking into whether it would be cheaper for them to add you to their policy just for the days you'll be driving it rather than for the whole year - it will likely depend on whether their insurer charges an admin fee for making changes, and how big that fee is (as they'll have to pay it every time they add you).

Alternatively if you have a policy of your own it may come with driving other card cover (the certificate will say if it does) which would allow you to drive their car under your own policy. However unless you have a very high end policy it will be thrid party cover only - so if you have an accident you'll be having a very awkward conversation with your parents about who pays for the repairs. Personally I wouldn't do it unless it was a car that I could easliy afford to replace myself (or it was an emergency).