The Driving of Other Commercial Vehicles extension is an extension on Commercial Motor insurance which covers the policyholder for their liability towards third parties for any injury or damage they cause whilst driving another commercial vehicle which is not owned by, registered, hired, or leased to them or their employer.
This extension for commercial vehicles is much more difficult to police than private motor policies due to the varying vehicle weights of commercial vehicles and the fact that a large number of Commercial Motor policies are in a company name, so insurers can be unsure which driver (if any) to give this extension to.
It is a common misconception among clients that you need to have Comprehensive cover for the Driving of Other Commercial Vehicles extension to operate; the majority of insurers will also give the Driving of Other Commercial Vehicles on Third Party, Fire and Theft Policies.
Most insurers will allow the Driving of Other Commercial Vehicles as standard, but certain insurers may exclude this extension for drivers with convictions, lack of driving experience, provisional licence holders or drivers under the age of 25.
Another issue to keep in mind is that insurers may apply territorial limitations to where the Driving of Other Commercial Vehicles extension applies. Clients would need to be made aware that no cover will be in force outside of these territorial limits. This should be covered in insurers policy booklets but regardless of the territorial limits, Driving of Other Commercial Vehicles should never be used to cover the driving of a non-Irish registered vehicle outside of Ireland (for example driving a UK registered commercial vehicle in the UK).
Driving of Other Commercial Vehicles is for emergency purposes only and cannot be used simultaneously with the insured’s own vehicle. If a client used a vehicle under this extension that is not insured elsewhere, then there would be no cover in place whilst the vehicle is parked or unattended; cover only applies once they are actually behind the wheel.
If the policyholder’s occupation is connected to the motor trade, which would require them to regularly drive another vehicle, then Driving of Other Commercial Vehicles extension may not be allowed by the insurer.
The commercial vehicle being used under this extension does not need to be insured elsewhere, but must otherwise be roadworthy, so vehicle would need to be taxed and have a valid DOE if required.
Ornella Underwriting Driving of Other Commercial Vehicles Benefits and Covers
- Ornella offer Driving of Other Commercial Vehicles for all policies
- For policies in a company name, we give the Driving of Other Commercial Vehicles extension to the designated main driver on the policy
- Unique to Ornella, our 5 Star Flexi-Van policy gives a Comprehensive Driving of Other Commercial Vehicles extension to the policyholder as standard.
- For Driving of Other Commercial Vehicles extension to apply, vehicle must not be owned by the insured or their employer, or hired or leased to either of them
- Driving of Other Commercial Vehicles applies only to the proposer (or main driver in a company name), it never extends to give this benefit to a named driver on a policy
- This extension will only apply where the vehicle is being driven with the consent of the owner
- Driving of Other Commercial Vehicles with Ornella will exclude vehicles above a carrying capacity of 2,540kg
If we can assist in any way, please contact the Personal Lines team at Ornella. We will be happy to provide support or answer any queries you may have regarding the Driving of Other Commercial Vehicles extension, or any other queries that you have on Commercial Vehicle Insurance and our own Flexi-Van product in particular.
Contact Details
Phone: 053 9180300
E-mail: flexivan@ornellaunderwriting.ie