Short term car insurance – How to insure friends or family on your car

Over the Christmas period many of us have loved ones to stay – and some of those may be flying in from overseas. It is a great idea, if you can, to lend them your car so they can get around independently while they are here. But how do you go about getting them insured?

We have the answer with short term car insurance for visitors to the UK!

Often your first step when you want to insure someone on your vehicle is to contact your own insurer but you may be disappointed with the answer they give. The large majority of insurers will not allow a non-UK resident to be added to your policy – even on a short term basis.

How to insure a driver who holds a driving licence from the UK, EU/EEA, Switzerland, the US, Canada, South Africa, Australia or New Zealand

We work with insurers who can offer short term car insurance policies for overseas residents who hold driving licences from these countries. Each company has its own criteria – either for drivers, licences, or the vehicle itself – so by entering your information in our search engine we can tailor your options to those companies which may be able to assist you for your circumstance.

The short term car insurance policies provided are totally separate from your own standard car insurance. If your visitor had an accident whilst driving your car, any claim on the short term policy would not affect your no claims bonus. We would recommend getting quotes from as many insurers as you can. They use different methods to price their policies so, not only will you be able to compare deals but you can also compare what kind of cover they are offering.

These policies are sadly not an option for licences from all countries. If your visitor’s country is not covered we would suggest they consider car hire. As long as they have a valid driving licence and a payment card accepted by a car hire company then car hire can be the solution. You can get lucky and find some great deals too!

Although we see an increase in demand for short term car insurance over the festive season, there are many other reasons why you may want to insure someone else on your car, perhaps they just need to borrow it for a day to move some furniture? Short term insurance is easy to set up and a flexible way to let someone else drive your vehicle. Making sure they, your car and your no claims bonus are fully protected will make the decision to say yes to their request a whole lot easier!