Getting Insured on Someone Else's Car in Spain

So you are planning a lovely trip down to the coast but your new flatmate, friend or significant other isn’t prepared to do all the driving. Just one scenario when you might have to know exactly what you need to do when getting insured on someone else’s car in Spain.

Learning More about Getting Insured on Someone Else's Car

It’s important to know that you can use your foreign driving licence for the first six months if you are from outside the European Union (EU) area, or for up to two years if you’re from the EU or EEA area (European Economic Area).

After that you need to change your licence to the Spanish equivalent. To do this you’ll need to contact the Provincial Traffic Headquarters. Bear in mind - if you get caught driving after that time with a licence from another country, you may face a heavy fine.

Check out the Provincial Traffic Headquarters.

Driving someone else’s car in the UK requires you to be named on the insurance document, or at least have your own insurance policy for your own car to be able to drive another person’s. However, in Spain it is the car which is insured and not the driver as such. Read below for more details:

Various individuals with legal standing that do not necessarily correspond to the same person may appear in the insurance contract: policyholder, car owner, and the aforementioned driver or drivers. In the event of several, they may include both primary and secondary drivers. (Being added as a secondary driver provides us with full coverage when driving someone else's car)." With Caser Expat Insurance, drivers aged between 25 and 28 are only authorised to drive the car if their name, NIE and date of birth are stipulated in the policy. Any drivers over the age of 28, however, do not need to be declared.

It is highly recommended that you have this in a written form. That document would be for the benefit of the driver should they be stopped by the police, and not for the insurance company.

An example of a form like this can be downloaded through the link below. This is not an official form so you could draw up your own, ensuring all the necessary details are included and you have a valid form of photographic ID. It is also recommended to attach a copy of the owner/policy holder’s ID to the document.

Here is an authorization form for someone to drive your car from website 332.es. This is a very interesting website set up to give information about driving in Spain. Click here to find out more.

Now I did mention that you needed to be over 25 to take advantage of this insurance arrangement, but what do you do if you are not? Spanish kids just usually get insured on their parents’ insurance until they reach their mid-twenties.

Spanish insurance companies are well known for being cautious and getting insured at all might be difficult, including as a named driver whose name has been given to the insurance company and added officially to the policy, and been subject to paying a premium.

Getting insured will of course depend on your driving history, the type of car, size of the engine, etc. In my investigations while writing this piece I couldn’t find a single insurer who would offer a short-term additional driver for a weekend / month or what have you. All drivers under 26 had to be added on the annual policy.

If you do need to get insured, and you are under 26, of if you have any questions why not go with Caser Expat Insurance. Call them on 910 551 656. They can give you a competitive quote and explain everything that you need to know to make sure you are safe and legal when driving a car in Spain. Or you can get a quote now by clicking here. 

All the best on your adventures!