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Am I insured to drive other cars?

Whether or not you are covered to drive any other cars (other than the car for which you hold an insurance policy) will depend on the terms and conditions of the policies held by you and the other vehicle's owner.

It’s a legal requirement to have a minimum of third party car insurance in place before you drive, so it’s important to understand the cover you have in place before getting behind the wheel of someone else’s car. You could even be subject to six penalty points on your licence or up to £300 fine if you’re caught driving without insurance.

Some car insurance providers will include cover for you to drive other vehicles under your personal car insurance policy. This is usually called ‘driving other cars’ (DOC) cover.


What is ‘driving other cars’ (DOC) cover?

‘Driving other cars’ is a cover provided by some insurers on a comprehensive car insurance policy to enable drivers to use someone else’s car temporarily.

However, this cover is becoming increasingly less common, and if it is included there are usually specific terms and conditions that the policy holder must comply with, for example:

  • Usually DOC cover will only apply in an emergency, rather than just day-to-day use of someone else’s car
  • There is also sometimes an age limit, meaning that cover won’t apply to drivers under the age of 25
  • It’s also important to remember that if you are allowed to drive other cars under your insurance policy, this will usually be on a third party only basis


If you do have appropriate cover to drive other vehicles under your comprehensive car insurance policy, you should take particular care to check and ensure that you comply with the specific policy terms and conditions.

If you don’t have cover in place to drive other cars on your own car insurance policy, you will either need to arrange to be added as a named driver to the car owners’ policy, or take out a temporary car insurance policy.


How do I get temporary car insurance on someone else’s car?

There are a number of reasons you might need to drive someone else’s car. For example, if you’re a student heading home for the holidays, you may want to borrow a friend or parent’s car so you can get from A to B while you’re there. Or you might be moving house and need to borrow a friend’s vehicle to transfer your belongings.

If you need to get covered on someone else’s car, one option is to get added as a named driver on the car owners’ insurance policy. However, depending on how long you require cover for and their insurer’s administration fees, this can sometimes work out to be an expensive option.

Alternatively, you could have a look into taking out your own temporary car insurance policy.

Here at Endsleigh, we offer a few types of related car insurance through our partners:

Find out more about temporary student driver insurance.

Find out more about pay as you go insurance.

Find out more about temporary driver insurance for non-students. This cover allows you to protect your vehicle, or insure yourself on someone else’s, from one hour to 30 days.

Last updated: January 2023.