Understanding Additional Drivers: Named Driver Experience and Your No Claims Bonus

Adding specific people  to drive your car can make owning a car more flexible and let households reduce the need for everyone to have a car.

Introduction

Having a car can be handy at times. Like when you need to transport some bulky furniture, or if you’re dropping your 4 mates to the airport. But sometimes it’s just a bit of a pain when you have to deal with parking, maintenance and fuel.

If you add additional drivers on your motor policy, your household can enjoy the benefits of a car without everyone having to own their own vehicle. Whether it is your partner, child or a close friend, the flexibility that can be enjoyed from these insurance options makes them worth considering.

Before you rush to add someone to your policy, let’s take a look at the fine print that can apply to additional drivers.

Named Drivers

A “Named Driver” is a specific person that you inform your insurer you would like to be covered by your policy. The cover will be extended to this individual when driving your car. Adding a named driver can be done easily by reaching out to your insurer.

When adding a named driver, there will be an additional cost from your insurer that will be added to your premium. The risk profile of the person you add to your policy will be considered by your insurer when calculating the premium. Younger, inexperienced drivers may increase your premium as well as adding someone who has a history of claims.

Drivers can also be temporarily added to your policy if only required for a short period of time.

Benefits for Named Drivers

Adding a named driver to your policy can work to their benefit if they are a young or new driver. Being added as a named driver will generally be cheaper than a young driver taking out a separate policy on another vehicle.

Furthermore, insurers will usually take into account the time that a young or new driver has spent as a named driver on another person’s policy and count this as Named Driver Experience for the named driver when they want to take out their own policy.

Impact on No Claims Bonus

A No Claims Bonus is a great discount that people with a history of not claiming on their policy get from their insurer to reward their good driving and reduce their premium. Maintaining your No Claims Bonus is worthwhile, as with most insurers, the longer your period without claims, the greater the discount will be.

The cover that you have on your car will be the same cover that additional drivers have. If you have comprehensive, additional drivers will have  comprehensive when driving your car. That means if an additional driver claims your policy, this will impact your No Claims Bonus.

Conclusion

Adding Named Drivers can be very helpful, especially when considering the benefits for new drivers through Named Driver Experience.

However, others driving on your policy is a responsibility to take and should be considered carefully before allowing someone to drive on your policy.

Need More Assistance?

If you have further questions, you can contact Insurance Ireland’s Information Services team:

Email: feedback@insuranceireland.eu
Tel: (01) 676 1820