Provisional Car Insurance

[patti50]

If I hold a provisional licence it is legal to be the only driver of a car and be insured on it. And if this is legal my friend or relative taking me out for lessons does not need to be insured on this car if they are over 21 and have held a full drivers licence for over 3 years?

[New Judge]

Correct. Your supervising driver does not need insurance.

[bhg481]

When you are a learner driver accompanied by a qualified driver, the qualified driver is technically in charge of the car. Thus he needs to be insured, not drunk etc.

[bhg481]

I would expect NJ to be better informed than me.

[SirOracle]

Just confirming that NJ is correct.

[SirOracle]

An addendum.......I would think that it is difficult,if not impossible,for you to obtain insurance as a learner driver.

[paul1763]

you can get insurance for a provisional license holder at most companies i would think, dependent on age, there are some companies that deal mainly with young drivers at a very high price.my friend is teaching his step-son at the moment.he has insurance in his own name but has been told that when he passes his test his premium will go up as there won't be a qualified driver with him at all times.

[patti50]

just to confirm, can I get insurance myself on a car or do I need to be put on as a second driver with someone else?

[THECORBYLOON]

From the Gocompare.com site, "The learner must either be insured as a named driver on your vehicle's policy or, if they're learning in their own car, they must be insured as the main driver, and the supervisor must be insured as a named driver."

[bhg481]

There seems to be some disagreement as to whethr the supervisor needs to be insured but, with most policies it's actually cheaper to have a named driver as well as the main driver, so I would do that. As thecorbyloon says, you MUST say you are the main driver if that's the case.

[hc4361]

The supervising driver must be insured.

[patti50]

Thanks very much everyone for your help

[THECORBYLOON]

There appears to be a bit of confusion as some sites say the supervisor needs insurance and some say no. If it were me, I'd prefer not to be stuck miles from home if the learner were not safe to drive so I would get the correct insurance even if the learner had to pay for it.

[bhg481]

Incidentally, don't assume that Third Party F&T will be cheaper than Fully Comp. It doesn't always work out that way and note that TPF&T doesn't cover the windscreen.

[hc4361]

The supervising passenger must be sat in the front passenger and be prepared to take control of the car at any time.
The supervising passenger is equally liable for any faults and must not use a handheld phone, be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, must wear spectacles if required for driving. If the learner driver commits an offence the supervising passenger can get the same penalty as the learner.

[EDDIE51]

The supervising driver DOES NOT ! need to be insured unless he/she going to actually drive rather than just supervise. It could be a good idea for the supervisor to be insured in case the learner has a problem but it is not legally necessary just to supervise .I have supervised 5 learners in my time

[hc4361]

You've been very lucky, Eddie

Insurance

It's illegal to supervise a learner driver without fully informing the vehicle's insurance company, ensuring that they know the learner has a provisional licence and that car insurance cover is in place.

The learner must either be insured as a named driver on your vehicle's policy or, if they're learning in their own car, they must be insured as the main driver, and the supervisor must be insured as a named driver.

http://www.gocompare.com/car-insurance/teaching-a-learner-to-drive/

The supervisor must be insured to drive the learner driver’s car, and vice versa if the learner driver is driving the supervisor’s car. - See more at: http://www.4youngdrivers.co.uk/information/rules-for-supervising-learner-drivers.htm#sthash.NSP2UDyp.dpuf

[Arrods]

Unless the supervisor is going to drive the vehicle, I also believe insurance for the supervisor is not a legal requirement.

[bhg481]

I wonder what would happen if, for argument's sake, the learner driver started to drift across the road into another car and the supervisor grabbed the steering wheel and caused a different accident.

[EDDIE51]

hc4361 Your 2nd link is very poorly worded , the key is '' IF the supervisor is going to drive the learners car'' IF is the important word. The supervisor can sit in the seat and give instruction and guidance without being insured as long as they do not actually drive. Yes I fully agree it is sensible and logical to be insured but it is not legally necessary as long as you just instruct and guide but NOT drive.

[Arrods]

Bhg481 - I think the courts would say that the proximate cause of the accident was the learner driver drifting across the lane who would then be liable and covered under his/her insurance. Bear in mind that even a pedestrian can, in theory, cause a multi-million pound accident but there is no legal requirement to cover that liability.