Hi,
my partner and I (living in EU) are visiting Taiwan and she suggested this time we use her taiwanese mother’s car to drive around. I have an international driving licence, but how does car insurance work in Taiwan? are veihcles insured or drivers? Supposing I have an accident on her mother’s car, which insurance will kick in? Do I need my own insurance in Taiwan in order to drive that car?
Many Taiwanese only have mandatory insurance which only covers injuries to people. It is advised to have additional insurance which also covers property damage.
They should inquire with the insurer if 3rd parties driving are covered.
My insurance (Cathay) has an optional item (which I didn’t choose) that would also cover damage if the car wasn’t driven by a designated driver. I think it’s around 2-3k per year in additional premiums.
So it entirely depends on her policy.
You could also look into registering yourself as a designated driver - but not sure if that’s possible without getting an ID number first.
And do note that coverage in Taiwan is generally much less than in Europe. Legal minimum for liability is ridiculously low and won’t even cover the price of a new car in most cases.
Regarding insurance, as @slawa pointed out it’s best to check with the insurance company. For my own vehicle I paid slightly extra in order to insure any lisenced driver to use it however my comprehensive insurance downgrades to basic third party for any driver other than my wife. Personally I would not choose to drive in Taiwan with the most basic insurance!
Unfortunately, most rental cars (booked directly in Taiwan) also only come with the basic insurance with sometimes only limited options to notably increase coverage. So getting a rental car might also not help much - except to keep the car owner out of trouble in case something happens…