It turns out that you just bought a car, but nevertheless, it is your partner who is going to take out the insurance. Can be done? Can different people be takers and owners? The answer is yes, but to limit the nuances of the statement, we must distinguish between each of the legal figures that car insurance takes into account, that is, policyholder, owner, and driver.

• Policyholder: is basically the person, natural or legal, who signs the contract with the insurer and therefore assumes its obligations, such as the payment of the agreed premium. It could be summed up that he is the insurance payer.
• Owner: is the owner of the insured vehicle, appears on its registration certificate, and if the car does not have compulsory insurance, it will be sanctioned.
• The driver is the person or persons declared in the insurance by the policyholder as drivers of the vehicle and who is in their custody in the event of an accident.

Thus, the most common scenario is that the person who buys the car, that is, the owner, is the one who takes out insurance in which he appears as policyholder and driver. However, although the obligation to have insurance is non-owner insurance, it may be another person who acts as the policyholder and pays the premium.

In the same way, it is also allowed that the policyholder himself does not appear in the policy as a regular driver, and therefore, be the driver to whom the coverage responds despite not being the one who pays the insurance.

When is the owner obliged to also be the policyholder?

The only obligation that the owner has to be able to circulate is to insure his car, but this is not linked to the fact that he is also the policyholder. However, and always taking into account that each insurer has different conditions, the compulsory circumstance where the owner and policyholder must be the same person, could occur in cases where the owner of the car is a young person, under 25 years of age. . The resolution for these cases, in addition to depending on each company, also takes into account whether or not you have a driver’s license.

If the person who owns the vehicle is under 25 years of age and does not have a driver’s license, the insurer may require a document specifying that they are not going to drive the car.

If you do have a driver’s license, the insurer may require that this person also appears as the policyholder and main driver.

This measure is applied due to the importance of the driver when establishing the price of car insurance, since the cost may vary depending on the years of driving license, the premium being higher when experience behind the wheel it is still short and therefore, the risk for the insurer is greater. But we insist, this rule may or may not apply depending on each company.

Can I drive a car without insurance?

Compare how the policies of different companies act if you drive a third-party vehicle

A vehicle can be driven by more than one driver. Either because it is shared among family members or it is occasionally lent. But can I drive a car without insurance? If you meet certain requirements, yes. But there are nuances: how it covers you and in what cases may depend on the chosen company.

Therefore, having your own insurance or including yourself in the policy as a second driver may be the best option. You can go directly to our car insurance comparator and see which insurance is best for you when you share a car.

Compare 30 insurers in 3 minutes and get the insurance that covers everything

Can I drive a car without insurance?

As we said, there are many occasions when a driver wonders if he can take someone else’s car or lend his own. We are always referring to a third party that is not included in the car policy. Unfortunately, the answer is not simple but will depend on each situation and specific case. For example, it is conditioned by the type of policy that we have contracted, its characteristics, etc. But it also depends on the characteristics of the driver to whom you are going to lend the car. Or if he has a claim and acts as a claimant or guilty party.

The simplest answer to whether I can drive a car without being insured would be that anyone who meets certain age requirements and years of the license will be covered a priori in the event of an accident, although these variables will depend on each company. In other words, an insured car cannot be driven only by the people who appear on the policy, nor will anyone who gets behind the wheel be covered if it is not reflected in the insurance.

In addition, you must know that if you have a mishap with the insured car, a person not declared as the main, secondary, occasional, or authorized driver, or who does not have the minimum age and license; will be exposed to the insurance company washing its hands. Now, this is not definitive either. The key lies in the details of each event. So who can drive someone else’s car without fear of what might happen?

Does the insurance cover me if I drive another owner’s car?

As we said, the answer to this question is not unequivocal, since it depends on several factors. As has been stated, not only those who appear in the policy are covered, but not everyone who drives a third-party vehicle is covered by the insurance either.

It should be noted that, obviously, in the policy, the figure of the driver is the most relevant. Different legal figures may appear in the insurance contract that does not have to correspond to the same individual: the policyholder, the owner of the car, and the aforementioned driver or drivers. If it is several, they can include main and occasional.

That said and basically,  those who will be protected by the policy of a particular vehicle will be those people of whom the company is aware. Here enter both the main driver and the occasional or second driver. These can be defined as those that use the vehicle more or less frequently and that, therefore, are the ones that on paper are more or less exposed to suffering any type of accident.

Thus, the importance of including people who are going to drive the car regularly is evident in the insurance. And it should not be lost sight of, even if the people who drive it have many years of driving experience.

Experience and age, are key to driving a car without insurance

The policy is also responsible for those drivers who meet certain requirements based on age and years of license. The most important thing to know in this regard is that each company sets these variables differently. Certain insurers include drivers over 25 years of age outside the risk group, so they understand that, although they are not declared in the policy, they are covered.

However, there are others that raise the age a year or two more, even requiring a minimum of 28 years of age. It is also possible that, together with the minimum age, a certain age of card is required through the conditions of the policy, which usually ranges between two and five years for each company.

What happens if I leave my children in the car but they are not covered by the insurance?

Directly related to age is the issue of sharing a car with children. It is a very common cause, but do we know in which cases they would be covered if they suffer an accident? Can a novice driver drive any car? If I am the son and I take my father’s car, can I drive it if I am not insured? This is a situation that which a priori is not so simple and in which special attention must be paid.

Normally, children who have just obtained their license use any of the vehicles available in the family. But for the insurer to respond in the event of a mishap, they must be declared in the policy,  either as the main or occasional driver. In other words, they should be included in the policy.

One of the other options will be chosen depending on the use made of the car, but it must be noted that when including one of them may affect the insurance premium since the risk that the company must assume will increase the more it is used. the car which leads to an increased chance of having an accident.

Younger drivers, and more so in the case of novices, are a group that companies consider to be high risk. To such an extent that some insurers refuse to cover them, or that they raise the final price of the policy quite a bit.

What happens if an uncovered driver suffers an accident?

As has been clarified, a car can be driven by more than one driver beyond those included in the insurance, but in these cases, the insurer will weigh a series of variables to decide whether to cover the event or not. It is necessary to know that when in doubt, it is most likely that you will choose not to indemnify.

You can also lean towards resolving the issue using the fairness rule. Through this principle, compensation is reduced taking into account the current price of the premium and the price that the policyholder would have had to pay for the risk to which he or she has been exposed. Ultimately, the company can also execute the so-called right of repetition, claiming the compensation it has already given.

In short, before getting behind the wheel of someone else’s car, it is advisable to pay attention to the general and particular conditions of the contract and to know which people would be covered in the event of an accident by the insurance.

How to find insurance that covers other drivers

To find insurance that covers other drivers, we recommend using our car insurance comparator. You just have to click on the compare button that appears to your right and fill out a short form. It is important that you do it right (if you want, we will call you to advise you during the process)  so that we can get your personalized results grid right. There you can check prices and coverage in the main insurers in the market. And also see details like the ones that concern us in our article. 

You just have to enter the comparator and follow these steps :

• Indicates the car brand, the number of doors, the cylinder capacity, and the type of fuel. So you can choose the specific model from the list offered.
• Answer if it is new, if you already had it, if it is second-hand, etc.
• Indicate when you bought it and when it was first registered.
• Select your answers to tell us who owns it, where you park the car, what use you are going to give it, and how many kilometers you will travel a year, approximately.
• Tell us how many cars there are in the family unit and tell us more about yourself: date of birth, date of obtaining the license, gender, marital status, and profession. Also, your postal code, to determine the risk of the area.
• Tell us more about yourself as an insured: what company have you been with, how long, have you filed any claims, etc. Your accident history is essential to calculate the risk.
• Specifies whether there will be other drivers.
• Tell us when you want your insurance to start and provide us with your e-mail so that we can send you the results instantly