Who should you add as an occasional driver?
You don’t need to add someone as an occasional driver unless they start driving your car regularly. For example, if your friend borrows your car once to pick up her child from school and doesn’t need to do it again for a few months, that’s considered “incidental” use. In that case, she doesn’t need to be added to your policy.
However, if this same friend needs to borrow your car every Tuesday and Thursday to pick up her child, that’s “regular” use. In this situation, she would be considered a secondary driver and should be added to your insurance policy. You can add several people to your insurance as occasional drivers, including:
- People who don’t drive the car daily
- Family members
- Friends, neighbours, or roommates
- Your children
- Your spouse or partner
When do I need to add occasional drivers to my policy?
If your children drive your vehicle regularly, they must be added to your insurance policy. However, in Ontario, you don’t need to add young drivers until they have their G2 licence.
You can let your friends borrow your car occasionally without adding them to your policy, as long as they’re licenced drivers. But if they start driving your car regularly, you’ll need to include them on your insurance as soon as they start using your car regularly.
When you add an occasional driver to your insurance, you can rest assured that if they get into an accident while driving, your policy will cover the damages. However, if they’re not on your policy, there’s a risk that your claim could be denied, leaving you, the car owner, responsible for any damages.
Nevertheless, anyone who isn’t listed on your policy can still drive your car with your permission, and your insurance will cover the vehicle no matter who’s behind the wheel.
Examples of occasional drivers
You may need to add someone as an occasional driver if they are:
- Your spouse, who sometimes drives your vehicle
- Your child who just got their licence
- Your college or university student who wants to use your car during their summer break at home
- Your friend, roommate, or neighbour who borrows your car occasionally to run errands
- A family member who is visiting from out of town for an extended stay and wants to borrow your vehicle during their visit
How do I insure an occasional driver on my policy?
Now that we’ve covered why it’s important to add occasional drivers to your insurance policy let’s talk about how to get them listed on your policy so you can feel confident that any accidents or mishaps will be properly covered:
Contact your insurance provider or broker
Reach out to your insurance company to let them know you need to add an occasional driver to your policy. Be ready to share details about the occasional driver, including their name, age, driving history, and their relationship with you.
Ask questions
Ask your insurer about the coverage provided for your occasional driver. Be sure to ask questions like what the costs involved in adding them to your policy are and how this will affect your monthly premiums.
Shop around if needed
If the quote you get isn’t ideal, consider shopping around. This is where having an insurance broker can really help you out, as they can do the insurance shopping for you by comparing several quotes to find you the best one for your needs.
Fill out the paperwork
Once you decide whether to stick with your current insurer or switch to a new one, complete any required paperwork to finalize the process.
Inform your occasional driver of their coverage
After your occasional driver is insured, let them know they’ve been added to your policy and make sure they know where to find important documents, like their pink slip.
When should I not add an occasional driver to my policy?
As the primary driver, anyone you add to your occasional driver insurance policy should be someone you trust and know to be a responsible driver. If you know a driver has had several accidents or violations (tickets) in the past, it’s best not to add them to your occasional driver coverage. Remember, adding an occasional driver to your policy can increase your insurance premiums, and adding someone with a bad driving record can increase them significantly more. Also, if you add someone with a poor driving record and don’t inform your insurance company, they might deny any claims if there’s an accident involving that person.
What happens if the occasional driver gets into an accident?
If you add a person to your car insurance policy and give him or her permission to drive your vehicle occasionally, he or she will be covered by your insurance company if he or she is involved in a vehicle collision. The person must have a valid driver’s licence and not have been engaging in illegal activity when the accident occurred.
Your collision coverage will cover the cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle if the occasional driver was involved in an at-fault collision with another vehicle. Your liability coverage will cover the costs related to any third-party injuries or property damage.
And remember, if the collision is caused by the person who occasionally drives your vehicle, your insurance company could raise your rates. However, if you have accident forgiveness coverage, this can help prevent your rates from increasing.
What if they don’t have occasional driver insurance coverage?
If someone borrowed your car and they are not listed as an occasional driver, your insurance company will still cover the damages if the driver meets the following qualifications:
- The driver must have a Canadian driver’s licence
- You must have given the person permission to drive your vehicle
- The driver must follow the rules of your policy
- The person must not have been driving recklessly or in an impaired or distracted state
- The person must not have been driving your vehicle regularly
What if the occasional driver gets a ticket?
Tickets follow people, not cars. If someone other than you gets a speeding ticket while driving your car, all the repercussions will fall on them.
However, you should still exercise care when choosing who to lend your vehicle to. In Ontario, police can impound your vehicle if you are driving too fast. This means your car would be towed and put in an impound lot. If your friend refuses to reimburse you for these costs, you’ll be on the hook if you want your car back.
