Can I drive someone else's car on my own insurance?

There is no general right to drive another person's car on your own policy. "Driving other cars" (DOC) cover is an extra that some comprehensive policies carry, and it is becoming less common. The only reliable answer is the one printed on your own policy schedule — look for it there before you get in.

What DOC cover actually gives you

• Third party cover only. Where DOC applies, it normally covers injury to other people and damage to their property — not damage to the car you have borrowed. If you write off your friend's car, nothing on your policy pays to repair it.
• Not a car in your own household. The vehicle must not be owned by you or by a member of your household. DOC is for occasional use of someone else's car, not a way to cover a second family vehicle.
• Never assume it carried over. A benefit you had last year may not have survived your renewal, so check the schedule each time. Your insurer must also give you an Insurance Product Information Document summarising cover and key exclusions before you buy — but read the full policy too.

If DOC is not there, arrange temporary insurance for the specific vehicle. Cover normally starts as soon as the policy is agreed, but it can take 24 to 48 hours to appear on the Motor Insurance Database, so keep your documentation with you.

Why guessing is expensive

Driving without insurance under section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 is a strict liability offence: the prosecution does not have to show you knew you were uninsured, only that no valid policy covered you in that vehicle. The fixed penalty is £300 and 6 penalty points — an IN10 endorsement — and at court the fine is unlimited, with 6 to 8 points or disqualification. The IN10 stays on your licence for 4 years from the date of the offence, and specialist convicted driver cover in that period often costs two to three times the normal premium.

Police can seize the car at the roadside under section 165A. Getting it back means proving insurance and paying a £160 release fee plus £20 a day storage after the first 24 hours, and an uncollected vehicle can be sold or destroyed after 14 days. The risk runs both ways: the owner who lets you drive uninsured commits the same offence by causing or permitting the use. And if you cause an accident while uninsured, the Motor Insurers' Bureau compensates the victims and then recovers the full amount from you — there is no cap.