Usually not. Buildings, contents and public-liability insurance do not automatically insure a vehicle being driven on a public road. A motor trade policy needs an external-risks, road-risk or demonstration section.
Even when that section exists, it may distinguish technician road tests, accompanied demonstrations and unaccompanied customer drives.
Three uses that are often confused
A technician checking a repair, a salesperson accompanying a buyer and a buyer driving alone create different hazards. They may carry different excesses or require separate extensions.
- Post-repair road test
- Customer collection or delivery
- Accompanied demonstration drive
- Unaccompanied demonstration drive
Driver and procedure conditions
Insurers may require a valid licence, minimum age, copy of identity documents, signed test-drive form, route limit and accompaniment. A dealership should train staff and audit the process rather than keeping a blank form in a drawer.
“Any licensed driver” should never be assumed unless the schedule says so.
Fraud is not the same as ordinary theft
If a dealer voluntarily hands over keys to a fraudster, a standard theft definition may not respond. Unaccompanied-drive cover should be checked for voluntary parting, fraudulent documents and failure to return.
A buyer damages a demonstrator while the salesperson is in the passenger seat. Demonstration cover may respond. If the salesperson had stayed at the dealership contrary to an accompaniment condition, the claim could fail.
Questions an insurer will ask
- Who may drive and what minimum age applies?
- Must an employee accompany the customer?
- What licence and identity checks are recorded?
- What is the maximum radius and duration?
- Are high-performance vehicles treated differently?
General information only. RMI requirements, fees and processes can change; confirm current requirements directly with RMI. Insurance cover depends on the insurer’s schedule, wording, limits, excesses and conditions.