Teaching somebody to drive in your own car is a use a private motor policy does not contemplate. The vehicle is being driven by learners, for payment, with dual controls fitted, and every one of those three facts is outside an ordinary policy. Driving instructor insurance is the motor cover written for it, and around it sit the covers any small business needs plus one that is specific to the job.
The motor policy has to permit tuition for hire and reward
Motor insurance is compulsory under Part VI of the Road Traffic Act 1988, and the policy must permit the use being made of the vehicle. Tuition for payment is a distinct use, and a private policy, even a comprehensive one with business use, does not normally cover it. The policy also has to cover the pupil driving, which is not the same as a named driver arrangement.
Dual controls and the modification
A dual control installation is a vehicle modification and has to be declared. It also changes the practical position after an incident, because the instructor has a means of intervening that a passenger does not, and that can be relevant to liability. Insurers ask about the installation, who fitted it and whether the car is used privately as well.
Driving instructor public liability insurance
Driving instructor public liability insurance answers for injury and damage outside the vehicle: a pupil hurt during a lesson away from the car, a member of the public at an event, a school visit. Professional indemnity is less obvious and is asked about by some franchises, because teaching is advice and a pupil who fails a test does not usually have a claim, though a badly run intensive course sold as a guarantee might be a different matter.
Approval, franchises and what they require
An approved driving instructor is registered with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, and the registration is the qualification an insurer assumes. Franchises frequently require particular limits, sometimes name themselves on the certificate, and may specify cover for the pupil driving unaccompanied on test. Reading the franchise agreement before buying the policy avoids buying twice. Have the franchise's requirements to hand when asking for a driving instructor insurance quote.
Questions people ask about driving instructor insurance
Do driving instructors need special insurance?
Yes. Tuition for payment is a use an ordinary private motor policy does not cover, and the policy must also cover pupils driving. Driving instructor motor cover is written for both.
Are dual controls a modification?
Yes, and they must be declared. Insurers ask who fitted them and whether the car is also used privately, because both affect the rating and the cover.
Is the pupil covered on a driving test?
Some policies cover the pupil driving unaccompanied on test and some do not. If your pupils use your car for tests, confirm it explicitly rather than assuming it follows from tuition cover.
Do I need public liability as an instructor?
It answers for injury and damage outside the vehicle, which is a real if modest exposure, and franchises frequently require it at a stated limit alongside the motor cover.
What do I need ready for a driving instructor insurance quote?
Your DVSA registration, details of the dual control installation and who fitted it, whether the car is also used privately, and any franchise requirements on limits, the certificate and pupils on test.