Cars for sitters

I’m from the U.S. and was added to a UK policy this past July. I’m afraid I don’t know what company, though.

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We live in the East Coast and I am dying to go somewhere in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming … and of course we will need a car. I checked with our insurance company (USAA) and any vehicle we drive will be cover under our insurance. For HO who make their vehicle available (not many unfortunately) what are the expectations ? For sitters who did use the HO vehicles how did it go? Any tips?

It appears that different countries have different rules for sitters using home owners cars.

  • In France the car is insured, the owner simply registers the sitter supplying drivers licence details etc
  • in England, the driver needs to be insured (in most cases) and sometimes this attracts a cost which can be paid by the sitter or in some cases the owner will do this. In multiple cases, in our experience, the owner has not been able to add extra drivers to the policy at all. Some of those were upset with that and actually changed their policies to companies to that allowed addition of other people. The others agreed thatvthevsitvwas not suitable for us.
  • in Australia, all drivers must be registered on car insurance policies. Some people take out policies that cover them only and the premium reflects this. Some people’s policies are priced based upon their driving experience (and age) so adding a younger sitter might be problematic from a policy and pricing point of view.
  • Turkey, in my experience (this might have changed) has weird laws about who can drive a car based upon whether they are foreigners or Turkish citizens. Foreigners cars are registered/insured to the person and no one else can drive (probably with exception of spouse/children). Turkish citizens cars have been made available for us to use. In a number of situations the foreign home owner had the car registered in the name of their Turkish partner, so having use of the car was no problem.
  • our US/Canadian experience simply required the owner to register us on their policy. We were not aware of any cost for this however the owner might have withheld this from us.

My best advice to having use of an owners car include (1) if owner listing indicates car is available acknowledge that to make sure of conditions/limitations and costs if any (2) if no mention of car in the listing and a car would make things easier, especially in rural areas, bring that into the conversation (3) if you perceive the owner is reluctant ask why and what you can do to make a car available eg…pay for the additional premium to cover yourself and most importantly (4) send a copy of your licences to the owner and inform the owner to tell them you are friends and NOT sitters they have never met.

Hope that helps a bit however does not address your query directly.

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In the US, HOs have a deductible to pay if there is a claim. If the accident occurs when the sitter is driving, should the HO get the deductible in advance of the sit prior to handing over the keys? Since the claim would have been caused by the sitter. If no accident, the money would be returned to the sitter at the end of the sit. Thoughts?

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Sounds reasonable. This is an area that puts the trust in TrustedHousesitters

Several threads are already posted on this - but my experience -
Back in 2019 on 2 UK sits, homeowners were able to add me to their policies for a reasonable cost. In 2022 HOs have either been quoted very high cost or the insurance has changed and they can’t add me at all.
In South Korea in 2020 I was able to drive the car with no issues. The HOs were US teachers so maybe had some special kind of insurance.
In Canada, HOs allowed me to drive with no concerns.
In the US also, no issues for most folks. Understand that if something happens I will pay the deductible on the HOs policy but that doesn’t account for the likely premium increases to follow. In the US I expect the 2 insurance companies would end up negotiating whose policy will pay if the damage is expensive.
I do carry umbrella 3rd party liability on my auto and HO policies in the US.

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While you may be honest about returning the deductible some HOs may are not maybe they forget . If the deductible is high $500 or more how many sitters a-will be willing to pay that amount ?

I’ve thought about this a lot. I don’t think the HO should ask for the money up front, mostly because its unlikely to happen. But, I think it should be discussed as a possibility. Of course, only if the sitter is at fault in an accident.

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I would never apply for such a sit!!

In the UK the vast majority of drivers drive cars with a manual shift. Automatics are less common. To get a full drivers licence you need to learn on a manual shift car then you can drive on either/or but if you learn on an automatic you are not qualified to drive manuals.

Yes, it’s a complex issue. So it is easy to understand why so many homeowners do not permit use of their cars. But the core ethos of THS is intact: exchange pet and house sitting for free lodging. It’s wonderful!

I have USAA as well. Are you sure the coverage isn’t just for your liability etc.? My understanding is that the comprehensive coverage held by the owner is primary.

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Home owners asking for their insurance excess as a deposit before they let a sitter drive their car.
If a home owner does manage to get a sitter insured on their car policy then there is the tricky question about who pays what in the case of an accident.
Hubby and I have just had a discussion about this and he mentioned an escrow account. This is where a deposit, could be for anything, is held in a specific account set up by a solicitor until the event is over and everyone agrees the money can be returned or used for damages incurred. Now, setting it up with a lawyer would be expensive for individuals use but I’m sure THS have a room full of lawyers at their disposal and it wouldn’t cost much to set this facility up for their members use. I am also almost sure that THS could have an agreement with a few insurance brokers about insurance that sitters and home owners could turn to if everything else fails. We have an insurance policy that covers the excess if we damage a hire car anywhere in the world.
I know this doesn’t help actually insuring the car but it does take away some of the uncertainty if there is an accident.

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@Cleeflang I live in Ontario, Canada, where we have mandated ‘no fault’ insurance. I’ll generalize by saying that, regardless of the circumstances, each owner claims on their own insurance. Also, I have one forgiveness claim, so that the first time I file a claim, my premium would not increase.

Let’s use an example of someone using my car who could never be seen as at fault in the collision. However, not only would my deductible have to be paid, but also my one ‘free pass’ would have been used, even though I wasn’t the driver.

I share this example only to highlight that all details need to be reviewed, discussed, and agreed upon before anyone lends or borrows a member’s car. :slightly_smiling_face:

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$49 :scream:. I’ve never used an Uber but I thought that the whole idea was that they are cheaper than regular taxis.
Of course my ignorance in the matter is of no help to you, sorry. Sympathies for your knee problem though & hope it’s better by now.

@Saltrams Uber is usually cheaper, but it depends on demand & availability. If you’re in a high demand area at a busy time period, they have surge pricing which can get really expensive. Otherwise, it can be a lot cheaper. For example, I am in Mexico and took an Uber from Puerto Vallarta to Sayulita yesterday. Over $100 USD for an airport taxi, it was $35 CAD in an Uber.

We recently did a 5 month stint of intensive sitting in UK We flew over from Spain and bought a cheap UK reg car, drove it 5 months in UK and another 3 months on the continent then sold it in Germany for Export. This was so much cheaper than renting a car and less stressful than borrowing HO cars or relying on public transport. After selling again we calculated our monthly cost of ownership including tax/insurance was around £80 pm. Luckily no repairs needed! We will do the same again on our next UK visit.

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I second this arrangement. We bought an old Explorer in US for our two year travels in North America. The biggest thing so far has been tyres.

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Hi. Just curious how do you deal with the worry that you might do damage to the HO’s car?

I think the deductible should be discussed. Who pays in case of damage. Other than that, it is up to each party to go ahead or not.