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In a nutshell, taking out any driver car insurance allows anyone with a licence to operate your vehicle, as long as you’ve given your consent. However, you may struggle to find cheap car insurance with this level of flexibility, as any driver insurance is one of the most expensive policies around.
This comprehensive guide explains how any driver insurance works, who it best suits and cheaper alternatives you can consider.
Any driver car insurance is a type of policy that allows anyone to drive the insured vehicle, provided you’ve given them your permission. Yet it can be very difficult to find any driver insurance that isn’t specifically designed for business vehicles, or people who require carers.
While any driver insurance could be handy if you have friends or family members visiting who need a car to get around, there are easier solutions than taking out this kind of specialised policy.
However, there are times when any driver car insurance might be an option worth considering:
Although any driver car insurance is designed to cover multiple drivers, some insurers might exclude certain people from their policies. This is especially the case for young drivers, as they are considered a higher risk by insurers.
Younger drivers are statistically more likely to cause more expensive accidents than older drivers, so they tend to pay more for their insurance. As a result, many insurers will ask that drivers are over the age of 21 or 25 before they can be added to an any driver car insurance policy.
Some of the benefits of buying any driver car insurance include the following:
There are also some downsides to consider if you want to take out any driver car insurance. These include the following:
Any driver insurance tends to be more expensive than other forms of car insurance, as your provider won’t know who is driving the car at any one time.
When you take out a policy, your insurance premium is based on risk and looks at factors such as your age, driving history and experience. Because any driver insurance covers anyone wanting to drive the car, whether that’s a newly qualified 18-year-old driver or a 40-year-old with a healthy no-claims bonus, all risk groups need to be covered, and insurance premiums will be higher as a result.
However, to understand exact costs, it’s best to get a quote for any driver car insurance and see how it compares to other options. There’s a whole host of factors that can affect how much you pay for car insurance, including the type of car you’re driving and whether it has any modifications, as well as whether you want to include optional extras on your policy, such as breakdown cover.
While you still might find it a challenge to bring the cost down, you can try the following options to reduce the price of your any driver insurance:
If you’re considering applying for any driver car insurance, it’s worth exploring other options first, as these will most likely be cheaper.
If cover is only needed for a short period, for example, if you have a friend visiting for the weekend or a child returning from university for the holidays, temporary car insurance could provide a good solution. Policies usually last from one hour up to around 30 days.
Temporary car insurance can often be arranged quickly over the phone, online or through a smartphone app, and premiums can work out cheaper, as cover is only provided for the time required. Policies need to be paid for by the person that needs it. And, as it’s separate from your annual car insurance policy, your no-claims bonus won’t be affected if the driver has an accident. Most temporary car insurance policies are fully comprehensive, but you might also be able to buy third party or third party fire and theft cover.
If you want a small number of people to be able to drive your car, you can usually add up to four named drivers to your car insurance policy. By doing so, they can use your car from time to time. The critical rule is that they must drive your car less often than you, the main driver. If you add someone as a named driver when they actually use the car more than you do, this is known as “fronting;” it’s insurance fraud and illegal. If you get caught, your policy could be invalidated.
Adding named drivers can be useful if you want to include your partner or child who has recently learned to drive. You’ll need to provide relevant details for all named drivers, including their age and driving history. Your premium will then be adjusted accordingly. Just be aware that while it might be a cheaper option for your child, it’s likely to be more expensive for you.
Any car insurance works differently to any driver insurance because it means you, as the policyholder, can drive any car. In other words, you’d be able to get behind the wheel of a friend or family member’s car if you needed to. Alternatively, any driver car insurance allows other people to drive your car (with your permission). It’s important to understand these differences to be sure you don’t end up buying the wrong type of cover and finding out you can’t make a claim.
Some insurance providers will ask that you’re 21 or 25 years old before you can take out an any driver insurance policy. This isn’t a blanket rule, as driving schools use this type of cover to insure 17-year-old learners. But if you’re applying for any driver insurance as an individual young driver, remember that these policies are costly, and you’ll probably be better off looking at other options such as named driver insurance or temporary car insurance.
Potentially, but it’s unlikely. A few fully comprehensive car insurance policies might include driving other cars (DOC) cover, but it’s not as common as it once was. You should check your policy documents carefully to find out whether DOC cover is included.
If you’re lucky enough to have DOC cover, this means you can drive another car without being a named driver on the policy or having to buy temporary cover. But the car must have an existing insurance policy in place, and you’ll still need permission to drive it. You should also only drive someone else’s car in an emergency. Because of this, you can’t use DOC cover as a replacement for standard car insurance for any other car you own, as each vehicle must have its own insurance policy. DOC cover is usually only available on a third-party basis, if you’re involved in a car accident, you’re covered for damage to the other person’s car but not your own.
