Had a similar run-in myself, actually. Lent my trusty old sedan to my cousin for a couple weeks while his car was in the shop. Thought it was all good—"occasional driver," right? Turns out my policy defined "occasional" as something like a few days max. Insurance companies sure love their fine print...ended up having to pay extra for a temporary rider. Lesson learned: always read the boring stuff first, or it'll cost you later.
Makes me wonder, does anyone know if the definition of "occasional driver" varies much between different insurers? When I added my daughter to my policy a few years back, they were pretty relaxed about it, but now I'm thinking maybe I just got lucky. Has anyone else noticed if insurance companies have tightened up their definitions recently? Seems like they're always tweaking things behind the scenes...
From what I've seen, insurers have always been a bit fuzzy on the whole "occasional driver" thing. Had a claim once where the guy swore his nephew only drove "occasionally"... turns out "occasionally" meant every weekend road trip. Definitions definitely vary, but insurers tightening up? Nah, they've always been picky—just depends who you get on the phone that day.
Had a similar situation myself a couple years back. Lent my car to a buddy who said he just needed it "now and then," turned out he was using it every other day for errands. When he got into a fender bender, insurance grilled me hard on how often he drove. Lesson learned: always clarify upfront exactly what "occasional" means—insurers aren't getting stricter, they're just finally catching onto how vague people can be with definitions...
Had something similar happen, and yeah, insurers are definitely cracking down on vague terms. Learned early on to be super clear on who drives my car and how often. Now I just list anyone who might regularly borrow it—even if it's just a few times a month—to avoid any surprises. Curious though, did your premiums jump much after they found out about your friend driving frequently? Mine went up a bit, but luckily nothing too crazy...
