Are you covered by your insurance if you lend your car to someone?

Verified 23 February 2022 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

If you lend your car to a third party, you will be covered by your insurance if the loan is provided for and authorized by your contract. The loan of the vehicle to a third party may be prohibited by the contract or authorized only under certain conditions. In the event of an accident while lending your vehicle to a person who is not authorized by your contract, the intervention of the insurance will be limited. In addition, the frankness which will be applied to you may be increased.

You have the right to lend your car, but on condition that the occasional driver has a driving license and uses the vehicle under the conditions laid down in the insurance contract.

The loan must therefore be authorized by the insurance contract for the person concerned.

Example :

If your contract authorizes the loan of the car to your relatives who live with you (spouse and children), you cannot lend the car to a friend.

In addition, the occasional driver is covered under the conditions laid down in the contract.

The insurance contract may limit the guarantees and increase the frankness in cases where the occasional driver commits an accident for which he is held responsible.

Please note

in the case of roadside checks, the occasional driver must, like any driver, present his valid driving license, the vehicle papers and the insurance certificate, even if the vehicle is not his own.

Lending a vehicle to a third party engages your responsibility.

Before lending your vehicle to a third party, you must first check whether your insurance contract authorizes the loan. You can also ask your insurer about this.

If the casual driver is not covered by your contract, you can ask your insurer to add it to your contract by establishing a agreeable. The insurer may ask you for financial consideration.

Several situations of steering wheel loan the following are possible under insurance companies' contracts:

  • Unrestricted car loan: no surcharge frankness will not be applied to you in the event of a disaster
  • Car loan with surcharge: your deductible will be higher in case of a loss
  • Loan of vehicle to a third party, except to novice drivers defined in the general terms of the contract
  • Prohibition on lending a vehicle to a third party, except ascendants, descendants, family members
  • Total ban on lending the vehicle

Warning  

if you lend your vehicle to someone on a continuous basis, you must report it to your insurer.

Insurance coverage in the event of an accident varies depending on whether your car caused the accident or not.

Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement

Your vehicle did not cause the accident

If a vehicle other than yours is the cause of the accident, its insurance will take care of the repairs.

Your vehicle caused the accident

The civil liability guarantee, which is obligatory, will take care of the damage caused.

However, in most cases, it will not cover the damage to your vehicle and the damage to the driver to whom you lent your vehicle.

In addition, insurance will often apply an increase in the frankness.

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