Occasional Driver

What is an occasional driver?

First and foremost, car insurance policies have two types of assignments for listed drivers: primary and occasional.

A primary driver, or principal operator, is the person who drives the insured vehicle the majority of the time. An occasional driver (or secondary driver) is anyone else listed on the same policy who may drive the insured vehicle sometimes, but not more than the primary driver.

Before we proceed, there are a couple of things to clarify about primary and occasional drivers. The primary driver is usually the registered car owner, but not always — primary drivers are determined by how often they drive the car, not the ownership. So, if someone drives the car more than the owner, the policy should designate that someone as the primary driver and the car owner as an occasional driver.

Every car insurance policy has a primary driver. But not every policy has occasional drivers. You likely won’t need to list anyone else if you’re the only one driving your vehicle — for example, if you live alone and keep the keys strictly to yourself. Occasional drivers enter the picture only when other, non-primary drivers have access to the vehicle.

When does an occasional driver need to be listed?

Anyone who frequently gets behind the wheel of your vehicle can and should be listed on your policy. In fact, most insurers have rules that require listing certain people no matter what — like those who live in your household.

This is a common requirement in most Canadian provinces. The policyholder must designate all licensed drivers in their household as occasional drivers, regardless of how often they drive the car.

But, occasional drivers aren’t just people living under the same roof; they can also include distant relatives, neighbours, or any non-household drivers who borrow the car regularly.

For example, a friend who borrows your car once a week to haul landscaping supplies for their yard renovations would likely fit the profile of an occasional driver. But, if they’re only doing so once or twice a year, most insurers wouldn’t require they be listed on the policy.

Non-regular (or one-off) borrowers are sometimes called ‘incidental drivers,’ but that’s simply a reference term — it’s not an official designation you’ll see in most insurance policies.

As the policyholder, you’re expected to disclose all the regular drivers of your car to the insurer. While the insurer can’t realistically verify everyone who might possibly have access to your keys, they do expect that you’ll adhere to the terms of your policy. If you’re caught letting an undisclosed driver use your car regularly, for instance, there can be consequences for both your current and future insurance arrangements.

Furthermore, there’s a limit in each province for how often someone can drive your car before they need to be officially listed. But to give a ballpark idea, you likely need to list an occasional driver if they’re driving your car more than a handful of times a year.

The only way out of listing an occasional driver is to designate them as an excluded driver. Just know that this strictly prohibits them from operating your car, and there will be no coverage for any damage or injury they may cause if they get behind the wheel.

Insurance considerations

Driver assignments

We’ve covered how occasional driver roles work when there’s just one car on the policy — but what if there are multiple vehicles and drivers?

There are three possible scenarios:

1. The number of cars and drivers is equal
2. The number of cars exceeds the number of drivers
3. The number of drivers exceeds the number of cars

Don’t worry too much about how assignments break down in every scenario; you can leave that to the insurer. But here’s what you need to know:

• Primary drivers are usually assigned first, as each car requires a designated primary driver. It’s possible for one driver to be primary on more than one car.
• If a household member isn’t the primary driver of a car, they should be listed as an occasional driver. Anyone who regularly borrows the car is an occasional driver, too.
• Some insurance providers (like Square One) will consider, at most, one occasional driver per vehicle for rating purposes. So, just because someone is listed on the policy doesn’t necessarily mean they will impact the price.

Keep in mind that every situation is different. Insurers each have their own practices regarding primary and occasional drivers, so make sure you speak with your provider if you’re unsure.

Premiums

Naturally, with an occasional driver added to a policy, there’s going to be more risk associated with the car being insured. In most cases, the premium will increase to compensate for this added risk.

To calculate these premiums, the insurer will consider the occasional driver’s age, driving experience, insurance history, driving record, and several other factors. If one of the occasional drivers is a newly licensed teen, for example, there’s a good chance the premium would increase. Similarly, it would cost more to insure someone if they have a less-than-stellar driving record with numerous speeding tickets. On the other hand, if the occasional driver has a safer record than the primary driver, the premium change could be quite minor.

Normally, the primary driver’s risk profile will factor into the rate more heavily than the occasional driver’s. There’s usually no limit of occasional drivers on a policy, but some provinces put a cap on how many of them are factored into the pricing. For instance, in British Columbia, 75% of the premium is based on the primary driver’s risk profile, and the remaining 25% is based on the secondary driver with the highest risk.¹

That said, insurers can’t properly rate your policy unless you list all the regular drivers truthfully.

Once that’s taken care of, make sure every driver understands their role. An occasional driver should never exceed the primary driver’s usage of any car they’re listed under without the insurer being notified. If you misrepresent who primarily drives the car, that would be considered breaking the law. This is known as fronting — a type of insurance fraud.

As with all insurance arrangements, honesty is the best policy. So, be upfront with your insurer about other drivers to avoid escalating things unnecessarily.

Coverage

Coverage will extend to anyone listed on the policy, including occasional drivers. As such, claims made by an occasional driver will be handled by the insurer, just as they would for the primary driver.

Suppose an occasional driver gets into an accident while driving a car. If they’re found liable for damage or injury to someone else, the policy’s third-party liability coverage would respond to protect them. If the reverse happened and they were injured in the crash instead, they’d be able to access accident benefits through the policy, too.

Optional coverages — like collision and comprehensive coverage — would apply, but only if they already exist on the policy. So, in the at-fault collision scenario, the repairs would only be covered if the policy carried collision coverage, regardless of whether a primary or occasional driver was involved.

The corresponding deductible would also need to be paid, regardless of who reports the claim.

Unsurprisingly, coverage won’t apply if the occasional driver is caught violating the policy’s terms. If they’re caught doing something illegal, like driving while impaired, the insurer has the right to deny the claim.

As with all at-fault cases, if an occasional driver is found liable, the insurer might raise the policy’s rate at the next renewal date.

Sources

1. ICBC. “Driver factor.” icbc.com, www.icbc.com/insurance/costs/drivers-experience-crash-history/driver-factor. Accessed 12 Nov. 2024.

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