STOP! 8 things you might do and not be covered by your car insurance

You may think you’re fully covered, but could there be a few instances where you accidentally overlook the need for insurance?

Here are 8 surprisingly common scenarios that you might find yourself risking your cover in:

1. Insurance for test driving a car

Most dealerships are well prepared for test drives and will have special insurance in place, but things are a little more complicated when buying privately. 

It is possible to cover the test drive of a privately-owned vehicle through the buyer or seller’s insurance. As a buyer you could check if your policy includes a DOC or Driving Other Cars clause, these usually only offer third-party protection. However, some temporary insurance products offer fully comprehensive cover. 

A seller may have extended their policy to temporarily cover any driver, so always check with them before taking your potential new car for a spin.

2. Using someone else’s car for a business trip

Insurance providers often ask if you wish to cover a vehicle for business or personal use. 

Specialised business insurance protects drivers beyond personal use and covers the extra miles clocked up by driving clients to meetings or regularly visiting different offices. 

Borrowing somebody else’s car for a business trip can prove complicated from an insurance perspective, since a personal policy with a DOC clause will not cover accidents that occur outside of personal use. 

You should get temporary car insurance that covers both the time period you’ll be driving the vehicle and the business reasons you plan on using it for.

These could include:

• Driving to business meetings
• Making runs for office supplies
• Driving to an event, training or conference
• Driving to an off-site day, or even your work Christmas do (make sure you stay off the mulled wine!)

3. Insurance for driving a friend or family member’s car

Planning a road trip where you expect to cover some off-road terrain? Learning to drive in your parent's car? Maybe you’re setting off on a holiday pulling a caravan along the way? Perhaps you need space for three or four passengers on a day out? In every case there’s probably a car out there better suited to the job. 

If you’re lucky enough to know someone willing to hand over the keys to their 4x4 or people carrier, it would be a shame to turn down the offer because you’re not insured.

You could either go to the trouble of getting yourself added to their policy - or grab temporary cover for the duration of your trip.