Add-on Third-party Liability Policy for Borrowed Car?

[nooIns3]

I'm borrowing my brother's car for a few months - my car went kaput. I'd like to make sure I'm covered in case I hit somebody and cause damage or injury.

We're weighing whether to add me to his policy as a secondary driver, or: can a third-party add-on insurance just be purchased for/by me - and would the rate be comparable?

 

[BlockO]

It can be done both ways. option A is probably better 7 or 8 times out of 10, if not more.

in terms of simplicity, the first option of adding yourself as a driver to your brother's policy is the better choice. it's much faster to do it that way. your brother's agent can quote "add driver", and make it a done deal with a 5 min phone call.


and more often than not, that option is usually lower on rates too (this is especially true if you cancelled your insurance policy after your car went "kaput", and more than a few days have passed). but there are too many other factors to say this for sure.

I would try that option first. .... if the price is reasonable, go with it.

only consider taking out your own policy if the above price is off the hook. because option B will probably involve going through underwriting (hoop jumping).

 

[altonroot]

I agree with the point suggested by BlockO. Here, one more thing I want to add is that Fronting is no longer considered as a cost-cutting factor in auto-insurance premium. Please make sure that adding your name as a driver will work for you.

 

[djs]

I agree with the point suggested by BlockO. Here, one more thing I want to add is that Fronting is no longer considered as a cost-cutting factor in auto-insurance premium. Please make sure that adding your name as a driver will work for you.

Can you explain 'Fronting'? I don't know that I've ever heard that term before.

Dan

 

[BlockO]

Fronting is no longer considered as a cost-cutting factor in auto-insurance premium. Please make sure that adding your name as a driver will work for you.

Things work a little differently here in the states than they do in the UK.

Fronting is not an issue here because companies in the U.S. rate multiple drivers equally.

It's fine to do here as long as a company's underwriting is ok with it.

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Can you explain 'Fronting'? I don't know that I've ever heard that term before.

Dan

Fronting is a UK term. When multiple drivers are listed on a policy in the UK, the rating emphasizes the main driver assigned to a vehicle over other drivers.

thus in the UK, there's more of a savings incentive to fib about who is driving what vehicle. they call this practice fronting.

as a result, UK has passed laws making fronting illegal.

 

[altonroot]

as a result, UK has passed laws making fronting illegal.

Thanks for the info.
Normally Fronting is used to cut-down the cost of young drivers car insurance by their parents. But now it is considered as insurance fraud. I have read that one has to face the legal fight if he/she applies Fronting and insurer may reject the claim in case of Fronting.
I strived to find the laws or regulations passed by UK Government but failed. Can you please provide me the info if you have?
I want to read what exactly mentioned in the law.

 

[KenP]

Depending how thorough the company will be, they won't necessarily just add you on without asking a few questions beyond your license number.

At GEICO, we had to be particularly diligent in situations like these. Living at different addresses, with varying usage rates, while the garaging of the vehicle gets questionable, all the while the ownership discrepancy on the title... they'd give this a big fat no-go. Easy to think "what the hell? what's the big deal with driving my brother's car?" but if you dig into a little, you can understand the underwriting and rating difficulties in a situation like this


Good news is while you work out how to approach this, your brother's policy includes permissive use (I say with confidence knowing ISO auto forms and how commoditized auto insurance has become). If you're driving the vehicle and he gave you permission, the coverage still applies. He'll take the whippings on premiums increasing if you go and get into an at-fault accident, but you'll be covered.

 

[VolAgent]

Good news is while you work out how to approach this, your brother's policy includes permissive use (I say with confidence knowing ISO auto forms and how commoditized auto insurance has become). If you're driving the vehicle and he gave you permission, the coverage still applies. He'll take the whippings on premiums increasing if you go and get into an at-fault accident, but you'll be covered.

Not so fast...

Many companies are cracking down on permissive use. Particularly in situations like this. In Tennessee Allstate is excluding collision coverage for any driver that was unlisted and should have been on the policy (family member in the same household, guest for 90 days or more).

Since we are talking several months, he definitely should be listed on the policy to be safe.

 

[KenP]

Not so fast...

Many companies are cracking down on permissive use. Particularly in situations like this. In Tennessee Allstate is excluding collision coverage for any driver that was unlisted and should have been on the policy (family member in the same household, guest for 90 days or more).

Since we are talking several months, he definitely should be listed on the policy to be safe.

Ahh, I was under the assumption they didn't live together, but that's not a fair assumption to make.

If they are in the same household, then absolutely get added on to his policy ASAP; not to mention sharing a household should make it pretty clear-cut to do so.

 

[VolAgent]

Ahh, I was under the assumption they didn't live together, but that's not a fair assumption to make.

If they are in the same household, then absolutely get added on to his policy ASAP; not to mention sharing a household should make it pretty clear-cut to do so.

I assumed they don't live together as well. Lending his car out for months without adding him to the policy? Just asking for trouble at claim time.