Are you asking yourself: can other people drive my rental car? The simple answer is no. Only you are legally allowed to drive that vehicle, unless you add a named driver to your policy.
You’ve taken out the contract with the hire company, not another person. That means if someone else gets behind the wheel, it’s illegal. They are not insured to drive the car.
If you get into an accident and they are not a named driver on the policy, any hire insurance is completely invalid. You’ll be responsible for all the damages. You’ll have to pay for both the hire car and potentially for the damage done to the other road user’s vehicle, depending on their insurance coverage.
Letting someone else drive your rental car illegal. Plus, your trusted hire company will probably add you to their “no hire” list too. It’s just not worth it.
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Adding named drivers
Luckily for you, hire companies allow their customers to add a named driver to car hire. Once added to the contract with a hire company, each driver will be completely covered by the insurance. The are legally able to drive the car.
This is great if you’re going to do lots of miles and want to split the driving time. It’s really easy to do too. Just let your hire company know at the time of booking that you want to have more than one driver named on the contract. As long as they’ve got their driving licence and ID, you’ll be good to go.
This can also be a really handy way of renting a car for someone else. It’s common for a family member or a friend to want to book a car for someone else to drive. While you’d be the main driver as you made the booking, adding them as an additional driver will allow them to legally use the car.
The costs
As with anything, there’s a charge to add a named driver to car hire policy. That cost covers their insurance should things go wrong on the road and is usually part of the daily fee. Ours is very small and makes sure you and your additional driver are safe for the duration of the hire.
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