Insurance for borrowed cars: who pays if there's an accident?

1. Am I insured if I drive someone else’s car?

Damages to third parties are insured by mandatory car liability insurance. However, damage caused to the borrowed car is not always covered.

If you drive someone else’s car without the proper insurance, you risk high costs in the event of damage.

Here are some options to protect you from financial trouble:

1. Do you only occasionally drive someone else’s car? Then driving other cars insurance (DOC), which is also known as non-owner car insurance, is worthwhile as an add-on to your personal liability insurance. This covers the costs of any damage you cause to the car you’ve borrowed.

2. Do you regularly borrow someone else’s car? Talk to the owner about registering as the “most common driver” or as a second driver on their existing car insurance policy. Also check the scope of the cover. You may need to adjust your policy.

2. Damage caused to a borrowed car: who pays?

Whether you scratch the paintwork when manoeuvring or miss a water hydrant in the blind spot: an accident involving a borrowed car can cause headaches. Who pays for the damage? Here are the different scenarios.

Damage to the borrowed car

If the owner of the vehicle has full casco insurance, damage to borrowed cars is usually covered.

If you were driving at the time of the accident, you may have to pay the deductible and any bonus loss. Without fully comprehensive insurance, you pay for all the damage out of your own pocket.

Do you only use the car occasionally and have non-owner car insurance? Then your insurance covers the damage. The same applies to the deductible and any bonus loss.

Important: non-owner car insurance only covers damage if the vehicle owner does not live in the same household as the policyholder.

Damage to third-party vehicles

Imagine you cause a rear-end collision and damage another car. The motor vehicle liability insurance of the borrowed car covers damage to the other vehicle. It doesn't matter who was driving the car at the time of the accident.

3. Renting a car: which insurance do I need?

Full casco insurance is common when renting a car in Switzerland. Nevertheless, you should still check your insurance cover beforehand. Full casco insurance without a deductible is often worthwhile, so that there are no costs in the event of a claim.

For car sharing platforms such as Mobility, insurance is usually included in the booking fees. This includes fully comprehensive insurance and liability insurance.

Which insurance covers car rental abroad?

Take special care when renting a car abroad. This is because full casco insurance is not always included. What’s more, the legal standards sometimes differ greatly from those in Switzerland.

4. What about insurance when driving a borrowed car abroad?

Are you travelling abroad with a borrowed car?

If the car is registered in Switzerland, the same framework conditions usually apply as when driving borrowed vehicles in Switzerland. However, as a precaution, check that all insurance policies are valid for travel abroad.

In addition, it may be useful to carry proof that you are authorized to use the car from the owner. Although it is not mandatory in most European countries, it does help prevent misunderstandings.