TRAX123

Hi, my dad is coming for two weeks in August and has an international driving license. Anyone any ideas on how much it would cost to put him on the insurance for my car?
thanks

Trax

el_richo

How much did your car insurance company tell you it would be?

jericho

Your insurance allows anyone to drive your car with your permission- you dont need to get him named on your policy.

TRAX123

thanks Jericho, I didnt know that.

Trax

Aviator

Provided they meet any experience or medical requirements required by the policy and licensing. An international license as I recall was a piece of paper issued by the RAC as an endorsement of the license issued by DVLA. Not required in Canada, UK license is sufficient.

jericho

That's actually a bit misleading. As long as they are "qualified" to drive, they're fine. You can be qualified to drive without having a license- in the event of a claim, they'd make the driver sit a driving test to make sure he/she is qualified.

Aviator

How?

jericho

You can have your license suspended, for instance. Or you can allow it to lapse.... it doesnt mean you're not qualified to drive.

Aviator

A suspended license means you are not qualified to drive as does a lapsed license, the qualification has lapsed or been suspended. It also means you are not licensed to drive and therefore would not be covered by insurance.

Under both of the circumstances you cite they would not be fine to drive as you previously suggested. Driving with a lapsed or suspended license is illegal.

jericho

A suspended license probably wasnt a good example. However, as mentioned, if there's any doubt as to the drivers ability to drive, a judge would make them take a test. You're correct though that driving without a license is illegal... however I'm talking about insurance and how it would apply in the event of an accident.
People do lot's of things illegal in a car- speeding, DUI's etc. Insurance still pays out, people are still compensated. If you smash your car up while drunk, they wont pay for damage to your car, but they'll compensate any injured third parties.

Anyways, we're kinda getting off topic. Providing the OP's dad is licensed in the UK, the OP's insurance would cover him in Canada.

el_richo

Still, if your licence is suspended or lapsed, it's illegal for you to be driving the insurance would be invalid.

The OPs dad won't have any worries but instead of asking an internet forum for coverage advice, they should really be contacting their insurance company for clarification.

jericho

No it wouldnt.

el_richo

Really? So if i had no licence, in this context, and crashed my car, would an insurance company still cover me even though i was driving illegally?

I wasn't aware of that.

jericho

The policy says that no insured shall drive the vehicle unless authorized by law or qualified to do so.
If you sit a driving test to drive HGV's and pass, you're qualified to drive HGV's. You may or may not have a license to drive HGV's, but the policy doesnt ask that you have a license, it states you must be qualified (or authorized by law eg/ license). Having a license and being qualified are intertwined, but they're not the same thing.

As I've mentioned already, people do lots of things in cars that are illegal- speeding, using cell phones, etc. Claims still get paid (albeit with likely adjustments for contributory negligence in some cases). All liability claims would still be paid though (insurer would likely pursue you if you injured someone DUI).

I dont make the rules- this is just the way it is. As mentioned previously, when it comes to unlicensed drivers, a judge would make them sit a test to see if they are qualified or not.

el_richo

Interesting. I really wasn't aware of that loophole.