Unlisted Driver Protection (ICBC)

Unlisted Driver Protection (UDP) is an optional coverage available through ICBC in British Columbia that can provide some protection when someone who isn't listed on your Autoplan policy drives your vehicle and causes a crash. It exists for the ordinary, occasional situation — lending your car to a friend who doesn't usually drive it — rather than as a substitute for properly listing the people who regularly do.

The important line runs between occasional, non-household drivers and household members. UDP is generally built around the first category. An unlisted driver who lives in your household — a spouse, roommate, or adult child at home — is a materially different situation, since insurers expect household drivers to be disclosed on the policy rather than left off it.

Why it matters to you#

BC households sometimes assume UDP is a general safety net covering anyone who ever drives their car, when it's specifically scoped to occasional, non-household use. Leaving a household member off your policy — intentionally or by oversight — isn't the gap this coverage is designed to close, and it can raise separate questions about whether your policy was accurately disclosed in the first place. If someone in your home drives your car with any regularity, the straightforward fix is adding them to the policy, not relying on UDP to cover the gap.

In practice#

• A friend visiting for the weekend borrows your car and is involved in a crash — the kind of occasional use UDP is built around.
• Your adult child has moved back home and drives your car regularly without being listed — confirm with ICBC or your broker whether that arrangement needs to be disclosed rather than assuming UDP covers it.
• A roommate who occasionally borrows your car sits closer to the household-member line than people expect — don't assume UDP applies just because they aren't a spouse or a relative.
• Cost and exact conditions are ICBC's to set and can change, so check your current Autoplan documents or ask your broker directly rather than relying on a general summary you read somewhere else.

Take the 2-minute Lawsuit Exposure Quiz →