How can I get insured to drive any car in any country without owning a car?

Question

I have a UK driving licence and travel outside Europe often, including to the US and Australia. I do not, however, own a car.

How can I get insured to drive other people's cars in other countries, including countries outside Europe?

I am not talking about cars I may hire, which may come with insurance, but friends cars I am given permission to drive in the US or Australia (for example).

Third party cover is adequate, though policies providing greater coverage (e.g. liability to the car owner) would be considered.

Answer 1

At least here in Australia, all (?) car insurance policies permit other people to occasionally drive the car and still be covered by insurance, so you don't need to do anything. The main caveats are:

• Driving without a valid license would invalidate the insurance. Not an issue for you, a UK license is fine in Australia if you're only visiting.
• Drivers have to be explicitly listed if they are "regular" drivers of the car. I'm sure there's tons of litigation trying to nail down what that means, but if you're a tourist in town for few weeks, I very much doubt this would be an issue.

Of course, this also means you're at the mercy of your friend's insurance when it comes to policy payouts, medical coverage etc. Unlikely to be a problem in Australia, where as a UK citizen you get reciprocal free Medicare coverage anyway, but you'd want to double check this in the US.

Answer 2

This is going to depend on the country, your age and (probably) how long you've had your license. But based on mentioning the US and Australia, here are two random websites I pulled up:

USA (AllState Insurance)

Contrary to popular belief, car insurance typically follows the car — not the driver.

So, the car would be insured. However, you would likely need to have authorization in order that the insurance company doesn't come at you.

Australia (Savvy - who I've never heard of)

In Australia you can usually let anyone drive your car as long as they have a valid driving licence, even if they aren’t listed on your car insurance policy. However, if the person regularly drives your car and is not listed on your insurance policy, you risk potential coverage issues in the event of an accident.

So in theory you should be formally listed on the policy to be fully protected.

Answer 3

In Germany, the insurance also follows the car.

Some insurances allow for additional drivers within reason, but others are limited to family, having a license for X years, being Y years of age or similar restrictions.

Your personal insurance idea is possible however, to insure drivers that would be uninsured by the cars "main" policy.

It is usually easier to ask the insurer to add you to the plan temporarily as they often do for little to no charge

Answer 4

I can speak for Poland.

Poland

Third party liability insurance is assigned to a given vehicle, not a specific driver. This means that if we lend the car to another person and he or she causes a collision or road accident, the losses incurred by the injured party will be covered by the insurance company under our policy.

source

I lived in UK for a while and it was shocking to me that insurance was attached to the driver and not the car.

Answer 5

If your goal is to protect yourself from financial liabilities (instead of legal responsibility, i.e., to avoid getting charged with driving without insurance), you may also be able to get a supplementary insurance for yourself.

It may be known as third-party driver insurance, non-owner car insurance, etc. It is generally not a substitute of the legal insurance required for the vehicles.

Depending on your country, some insurance companies may offer you coverage as the driver of a vehicle of a third party, subject to certain conditions which vary by each policy and may include among others:

• you maintain your main residence in the country of the insurance company;
• the value of the driven vehicle does not exceed certain threshold;
• you do not drive more than certain days out of a certain period (e.g. more than 30 days within 6 months)
• the weight of the vehicle is under a certain threshold, or other conditions on the type of vehicles;
• the vehicle is owned by a private individual and lent on a non-commercial basis;
• any mandatory or other insurance must be used first;
• certain high-risk jurisdictions may be excluded;
• and almost universally, you hold a valid, recognized driving licence within the jurisdiction where you are driving.

It may or may not be included, or available as an option, from your auto insurance or civil liability insurance. Again, like all insurances, you should carefully read the terms and conditions, notably the limitations and exclusions of the coverage.

Answer 6

The friend's car would have to have insurance to cover this - it could be arranged with a phone call - but there is no way you can have this pre-arranged as a 'global cover-all'. There is simply no international legislation in place to allow it.

Potentially inside a single jurisdiction such as the EU, though I've never seen any specific cover designed for that [even when my home country, the UK, was part of the EU.]

Answer 7

In Germany, my standard liability insurance covers damages I would cause by using others peoples cars (even though that is also covered by the car insurance of the specific car). You could look into liability insurances, but this is probably very specific and limitations for other countries might apply.