Who Can Drive My Car Under My Insurance in Ontario

Most of us understand the liberty of driving wherever we please comes with a great deal of responsibility. For the driver, there is the responsibility of ensuring that they are being safe and that their actions do not cause harm to other drivers on the road, their passengers, or even pedestrians who may be within proximity of the road. Unfortunately, accidents do happen. Because of the risk of accidents and the costs that can be incurred because of these accidents, Ontario drivers are required by provincial law to carry auto insurance.

Maybe you live in a household of two or more adults who have a license and do not own a vehicle or that simply choose to use yours on occasion for whatever reason. Are they allowed to operate your vehicle under your insurance in Ontario? In this blog, we answer this question and more.

The 3 Types of Drivers

In regard to “insurance terminology,” there are three types of drivers that may drive your vehicle. The first and foremost driver is the regular driver. If you are reading this article, odds are that you are the regular driver of your car. The regular driver is the person who drives your car the most. If you have a spouse who does not own their own car and has a license, they may also be a regular driver of your car. Or if you have any adult, licensed children who live at home and do not have their own car may be regular drivers too.

Then, there is an occasional driver. This person may drive your vehicle once a week. They may drive your car to visit a relative every Tuesday evening or to take you to an appointment that happens every Friday where you are unable to drive home afterward. They do not drive your car “regularly” but do so frequently enough to be deemed an occasional driver.

A rare driver, the last type of driver, is someone who may be your sober driver if you went out to a bar one evening and were unable to safely drive home. They could also be a neighbour who had a family emergency and needed to borrow your car to drive down to pick up a friend an hour-trip down south.

Which driver needs to be added to your insurance policy?

Regular drivers and occasional drivers should be added to your policy. Occasional drivers should be listed on your policy and will have coverage if there is an accident, collision, or vandalism attempt. If they are not listed as a driver and there is an accident, your insurance company may deny your claim.

If there are adults who live in your home with you and are fully licensed, they should be added to your policy to avoid risking a claim being denied in the event they should borrow your car and need coverage if there is an accident. This is true even if they have their own car because the insurance follows your vehicle and not you.

If need be, you may even exclude a driver from your policy to prevent them from driving your vehicle. This will legally bar them from operating your vehicle no matter the conditions, unless you request for this exclusion to be taken down.

Insuring a child driver on your auto policy

If you have a child who is old enough to drive and is licensed, it may not yet be in their budget to purchase their own car insurance. In many cases, parents will put their children on their policy to reduce the expenses for that child. Keep in mind that doing this will increase your premiums as your child’s risk level is higher than yours. When your child gets a little older, has more stable finances, and may be considered less of a risk factor, it may be time to move them off your insurance and have them purchase their own policy.

If your child – or anyone else who has a license – is insured on your auto policy, you are directly subjecting yourself to the liabilities and possibly uncertain responsibilities that come with other drivers.

Full stop: any accident will follow your vehicle and directly impact your insurance.

If anyone who is driving your vehicle gets into an accident, or if someone who is borrowing your vehicle parks your vehicle and it is stolen or vandalized, this will then impact your insurance policy. You will want to ensure that the person who is driving your car/borrowing your vehicle is named as either an occasional or regular driver on your insurance policy. In some instances, a rare driver may have coverage for the accident as the situation for the driving was deemed “rare.”

However, instances such as speeding tickets, traffic violations, or other infringements of road law will follow the driver. This means that if someone is driving your car and receives a ticket, this will impact their insurance premiums and not yours. Likewise, any tickets you receive will impact yours.

Looking to make changes to your auto policy? Call your Excalibur Insurance Broker today at 1-888-298-7343.