I work for a company as a carer. One of my clients now has a car via the mobility scheme and has put me on the insurance as a named driver. However, the company I work for has said I can’t drive it or be a passenger in it. What insurance is needed to sort this please?

Answered by Barry Price

Thanks for your question. You may think it is pretty straight forward and in the eyes of the Motability scheme it is.

According to Motability up to three named drivers are included as part of a car lease; these can be the person whose car it is, friends, family or carers.

Two named drivers can be nominated when applying and a third can be added during the lease period. Sounds simple enough doesn’t it.

However, the issue generally tends to be around organisations as for you to drive the car you would still be at work so there are things like risk assessments to consider, This is the same even if you were going to be a regular passenger.

Your employer has a duty of care towards you, and this is much more difficult if they can not control the situation effectively.

Other considerations to note are speeding, parking tickets, scratches and damage.

Believe me when I tell you I have had some of the most heated debates with Motability car owners and families who also drive the vehicles around responsibilities and issue ownership / blame.

Remember when the car is returned it must be in premium condition or costs will be incurred and this can create major ill feeling at times. Staff have been accused of damage and requests made to the company to pay for repair.

Smoking in the car if your client smokes as you are still at work. Cleaning costs, Mileage records, Petrol and Fuel costs, maintenance checks that would be required and who is responsible for ensuring these are carried out to ensure your safety.

All of these and more would have to be added to support plans and risk assessments many of which would be out of your companies’ control. Your company will have to keep these additional records to demonstrate they are keeping you safe.

So, you will see it is not simply a case of sorting the insurance out and off you go as that part is fairly straight forward. It’s the host of practical management issues that arise as a result.

Maybe sit down with your manager to discuss this further as I feel it may just be a case of clarifying your companies’ policies and the practicalities further to explain why the answer is No.

You can also get further information here: https://www.motability.co.uk/your-lease/named-drivers/