If you regularly lend your car to a friend or family member, you might worry about accidents and coverage. Since insurance covers the vehicle and not the driver, you will have nothing to worry about under normal circumstances, but things can be different if another person drives your car regularly.
This is where a named driver add-on which means adding a driver to car insurance becomes necessary. If you want to know how to add someone to your car insurance policy or whether or not you need to do it at all, read this article from Lookinsure mag, where we are going to tell you all you need to know about the matter.
Frequently Answered Questions
1. How can I add a secondary driver to my car insurance?
Adding a secondary driver to your car insurance is quite a simple procedure and can be done by contacting your insurance company and providing them with the information of your new driver, including their driver history which will be used to determine the cost of your premium based on the new driver’s risk level.
2. Can my wife drive my car in the UAE?
Anyone with verbal or written permission from the owner can use their car and be covered in case of accidents. However, if someone else besides you uses your vehicle regularly, it is better to officially add them to your policy to prevent issues with filing claims in the future.
3. Can I transfer car insurance to another person in the UAE?
You can transfer Car insurance in the UAE depending on your insurance company’s policies. For more information contact your insurance provider.
4. Can anyone drive an insured car in Dubai?
Anyone with permission from the owner can drive a car and be covered by insurance in the event of an accident. However regular use of someone else’s car might bring about complications in claim processing.
5. Can I drive a friend’s car in the UAE with an international license?
NO, visitors and tourists with an international driving license are only allowed to drive rentals in the UAE. However, first-degree relatives are allowed to drive your car.
What Is Additional Driver Insurance?
In car insurance, the additional driver is an add-on that can be useful in cases where a vehicle is regularly used by more than one person. This allows the owner to add the name of their spouse, child, or friend with whom they share the car to their policy.
Fronting
The reason this is necessary in such cases is to avoid fronting which is a form of insurance fraud in which a low-risk driver acts as the policyholder for a less experienced high-risk driver to get a lower premium price. To prevent these cases, insurance companies are more vigilant with claims involving another driver.
Do I Need to Add Another Driver to My Insurance?
Adding a driver to car insurance is only necessary if you have a family member or friend borrowing your car often, in which case it is better to spend some more money on the named driver add-on to avoid possible complications in case of an accident.
Steps to Add a Driver to Your Car Insurance
Adding a new driver to your insurance policy is a quite simple procedure and can be managed in 4 easy steps:
Step 1: Contact Insurance Company
The first thing you will have to do is contact your insurance provider whether online, via phone, or in person by visiting their closest branch.
Step 2: Provide the New Driver’s Information
After letting them know the purpose of your visit they will naturally want to have access to the information of your additional driver. This information which includes their driving history is pivotal in determining their risk level which in turn affects the cost of your premium.
Step 3: Specify Their Role
When adding a driver to car insurance you will need to specify who will be the primary and the secondary driver. This is again relevant in gauging the risk level and determining the premium cost.
It is also important for both drivers to stick to their roles since any breach of the contract can be cause for denial of a claim, so make sure the person who will use the car more frequently is listed as the main (primary) driver.
Step 4: Make Payment
After the premium price is determined by your insurance agent based on the information you have provided, you will have to make payment after which the new driver will be officially added to your policy document.
How Much to Add a Driver to Insurance?
The cost of adding a driver to car insurance in the UAE may vary between AED 300 to AED 1000 depending on some decisive factors such as the following:
- New Driver’s Age: younger drivers with little driving experience and senior citizens usually tend to increase the cost of the premiums.
- Driver’s Record: if the new driver has a clean driving history that conveys their low level of risk, it will decrease the price.
- Car Value: the more valuable the car is, the more expensive it will be to insure it. Adding a new driver to your policy can be also pricier when you drive a luxury car.
Additional Driver Insurance Premium
An additional driver can either have a positive effect on your premium or a negative one. If they are a low-risk driver with a clean driving record the price of your premium can be lowered and if not, you might have to pay a heftier price.
It is important to keep your insurance provider updated in this regard and let them know if, for example, you need to change the role of your added driver or take them off your policy entirely to avoid complications down the road.
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Conclusion
As you probably know, the cost of your premium depends on your risk level as a driver, and some people try to take advantage of this by insuring a car that is going to be used by a high-risk driver, such as a teenager who has just received their driving license, under a low-risk driver’s name to get a better deal.
To stop this, insurance companies are quite careful when dealing with claims in which another person has been driving the insured person’s vehicle, even though the insurance policy covers the car itself and not the person. So, if you have someone who regularly uses your car besides yourself, it is important to consider adding them to your policy to avoid possible complications in the future.
