What about the insurance when lending a car?
Lending out a car is not something you do lightly. That is because a damage can have major consequences for your wallet. A damage caused by someone else can cost you tens of thousands of euros. Be aware that the person borrowing your car does not know it well, so there is a greater chance of damage.
When insuring a car, you have to state who the regular driver is. This does not mean that others are not allowed to drive the car. Lending out your car does involve risks, and not just for your car insurance.
Lending out a car: how is your car insured?
Before you lend out your car, you should think about the risks. How the car is insured plays a major role in this. The biggest risks are when your car is insured WA or WA limited casco. If the borrower causes a collision, you will not be reimbursed for your own loss with these types of insurance. You will therefore have to pay for this yourself. You can try to recover the damages from the person who lent you the car, but how difficult will it be to recover damages of hundreds or even thousands of euros? For that matter, the person who did the damage must have done it on purpose in order for you to recover the damage. So in practice this will be difficult.
Losing claim-free years by lending your car
The accumulated claim-free years are linked to the insured car. If damage is caused with the car, it is at the expense of the accrued years. This also applies if someone else was the driver of the car during the accident. The damage caused during the loan of the car can also increase the premium of your car insurance.
Is your car insured if you lend it out?
When you take out car insurance, you give the registration number of your car. This is because you take out car insurance on the number plate of a car, not on a person. Even if you lend your car to a family member or friend, he or she is insured, provided they drive the car with your permission and have a valid driving licence. Do they cause damage while driving your car? Then the question is whether the damage is reimbursed by the insurer. This depends on the coverage of your car insurance. So always take this into account before you lend out your car.
There are several ways in which a damage can cost you money
The damage to your car can be a problem. First of all, any damage caused by your car will cost you years of insurance. Over several years, this can also be a cost of many hundreds of euros. You may also have to deal with an excess. This is a part of the damage that the insurer does not pay out. In addition, a supplementary excess may also be payable if the driver of the car falls under the young driver category.
Don't lend out your car
Lending your neighbour a drilling machine is not a risky business. Lending out a car is an entirely different story. Apart from the insurance issues, you also have to take into account that you are responsible for the behaviour of the driver of your car. For example, you are liable for fines, even if you were not the driver yourself. You are also exposed to these risks when you rent out your car through different rental websites. Read all about the risks of renting out your car.
You can make good agreements about lending beforehand, but the question is whether it makes sense. Can you agree that the borrower will pay for the repair costs in the event of an accident? Are the agreements actually enforceable if the costs run into thousands of euros? Often not!
In short, beware of lending out your car. In the event of damage, there may be a financial problem.
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