Insurance Prices

Hi everyone,

Thus has probably been talked about before, but does anyone know any insurers who take your US driving experience into account?

 I'm currently paying £118 a month (my policy, no one else on it, £500 excess) for a little 1L micra just to get me to and from work really. Been driving since 16 in US, and got my UK license a few year ago (less than 3 I think, can't remember if it was Aug 2010 or 2011). I've been driving under my wife's policy as a second driver until I got the Micra last Septemeber. I'm 24, 25 in May, and the insurance quotes are ridiculous in my opinion for anything really. In saying that though, we own a 1.6L Nissan Note as well that I purchased new 2 years ago in May. I'm the second driver on that as well , but the insurance for that is only £100 a month and the excess is only £300.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Steve

Wow.  That seems really high.  I'm wondering if it's your age?

I have only had my UK license for 2 years now, but pay less than £750/year on a 5.0 liter V10 with a £250 excess.  I have Admiral and they accepted my No Claims from the US.  I am a female in my 30's but I have a very powerful car and would expect my rate to be much higher.

I have learned to use a comparison website, such as money supermarket and to get quotes from the independent insurers (direct line, etc.).  If I find someone is lower, whenever I call Admiral they are always willing to beat the competitors quote.

Wow.  That seems really high.  I'm wondering if it's your age?

I have only had my UK license for 2 years now, but pay less than £750/year on a 5.0 liter V10 with a £250 excess.  I have Admiral and they accepted my No Claims from the US.  I am a female in my 30's but I have a very powerful car and would expect my rate to be much higher.

I have learned to use a comparison website, such as money supermarket and to get quotes from the independent insurers (direct line, etc.).  If I find someone is lower, whenever I call Admiral they are always willing to beat the competitors quote.

That's what I used, and actually went through LV as they weren't being quoted and cover my Nissan Note. Must be my age...really want a Impreza. What did it require for your no claims from the US? My record isn't the greatest in the States, but have never had a claim there...

Usually the things that make insurance premiums higher are:

- being male (although they aren't supposed to offer cheaper insurance to women anymore)

- being under 25

- being a relatively new UK driver

As you are not quite 25 yet, I would imagine this is one reason why your insurance is quite high, as usually it drops quite a bit when you turn 25. Also because it's only been 1-2 years since you got your licence, that's probably making your insurance higher too. Plus, whether you have any no-claims discount and if you have any named drivers on the car, will affect the price too.

I'm 30, I drive a 2004 1.2L Micra, I've held a UK licence for 12 years and I have 3 years no claims. My car insurance is £450 a year (I also have my parents on the insurance as named drivers, which lowers the premium too).

However, I got a DUI in 2007 and it bumped my insurance up really high - it's only just come down to a more normal price this insurance year. Before I got the DUI, in 2006/07, I was 24 and driving a 1996 1.0L Micra - my insurance was only £425 per year. Unfortunately, when I got the DUI, it soared to over £1,000 per year.

Usually the things that make insurance premiums higher are:

- being male (although they aren't supposed to offer cheaper insurance to women anymore)

- being under 25

- being a relatively new UK driver

As you are not quite 25 yet, I would imagine this is one reason why your insurance is quite high, as usually it drops quite a bit when you turn 25. Also because it's only been 1-2 years since you got your licence, that's probably making your insurance higher too. Plus, whether you have any no-claims discount and if you have any named drivers on the car, will affect the price too.

I'm 30, I drive a 2004 1.2L Micra, I've held a UK licence for 12 years and I have 3 years no claims. My car insurance is £450 a year (I also have my parents on the insurance as named drivers, which lowers the premium too).

However, I got a DUI in 2007 and it bumped my insurance up really high - it's only just come down to a more normal price this insurance year. Before I got the DUI, in 2006/07, I was 24 and driving a 1996 1.0L Micra - my insurance was only £425 per year. Unfortunately, when I got the DUI, it soared to over £1,000 per year.

Yep. I thought it'd drop once I turned 25, but I wasn't sure. I knew being male also affected it. I know I've only had my license a short period (in the UK) hence why I was wondering if you could transfer your US "no claims" over considering I've been driving there for 5 year prior to moving.

What also doesn't make sense is that my 1.6L 2012 Nissan Note is cheaper to insure than my 1L 2002 Nissan Micra...granted the note policy is in my wife's name with me as a named driver, but it still only comes to £100 a month with an excess of £300, where as the Micra in my name with only me on the policy is £118 per month and a £500 excess. It's funny you mention that about older drivers, when I put other drivers (mother in law etc, all over 50) on my policy the insurance actually went up in price! So that's why I've taken the policy in my own name...this is my first policy so I'll only have 6 month no claims or whatever, but in saying that, I was a named driver for all the previous years in the UK on my wife's policy.

What also doesn't make sense is that my 1.6L 2012 Nissan Note is cheaper to insure than my 1L 2002 Nissan Micra...granted the note policy is in my wife's name with me as a named driver, but it still only comes to £100 a month with an excess of £300, where as the Micra in my name with only me on the policy is £118 per month and a £500 excess.

Your Micra is likely to be more expensive because you are the main driver on the policy - and it's the main driver's information that determines the overall price. Then any added named drivers can either increase it or reduce it, depending on their details and driving history.

You might find that if you add your wife as a named driver on the Micra, the insurance goes down - that's what happened when I added my parents to my policy - but it does depend on her driving history as well.

Also, if your wife was the policy holder on your Micra, the insurance may well be cheaper and vice versa with the Note (but the policy holder has to be the registered owner of the vehicle),.

It's funny you mention that about older drivers, when I put other drivers (mother in law etc, all over 50) on my policy the insurance actually went up in price!

It's not just about age, it also depends on driving history - if they have any points or fines on their licences, or accidents or claims in recent years, that could increase it. My parents have both held their licences for many years and neither have any points on their licences or recent accidents or claims, so they bring my insurance down (and it's handy to have them on the car because I've been working abroad for the last few months and they're running the car for me).

So that's why I've taken the policy in my own name...this is my first policy so I'll only have 6 month no claims or whatever, but in saying that, I was a named driver for all the previous years in the UK on my wife's policy.

It's probably good to have it in your name, to build up a good insurance history for yourself, but the downside is that you may well have to put up with paying a bit more than you'd like at first.

Having said that though, car insurance quotes and prices can change a lot between companies, so it's worth trying different companies and seeing what range of quotes you can get. When I was renewing my policy last year, I found quotes that ranged from £200 all the way up to £800 for the same car and same named drivers!

My husband pays about £200 per year on a 1.6

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Your Micra is likely to be more expensive because you are the main driver on the policy - and it's the main driver's information that determines the overall price. Then any added named drivers can either increase it or reduce it, depending on their details and driving history.

You might find that if you add your wife as a named driver on the Micra, the insurance goes down - that's what happened when I added my parents to my policy - but it does depend on her driving history as well.

Also, if your wife was the policy holder on your Micra, the insurance may well be cheaper and vice versa with the Note (but the policy holder has to be the registered owner of the vehicle),.

It's not just about age, it also depends on driving history - if they have any points or fines on their licences, or accidents or claims in recent years, that could increase it. My parents have both held their licences for many years and neither have any points on their licences or recent accidents or claims, so they bring my insurance down (and it's handy to have them on the car because I've been working abroad for the last few months and they're running the car for me).

It's probably good to have it in your name, to build up a good insurance history for yourself, but the downside is that you may well have to put up with paying a bit more than you'd like at first.

Having said that though, car insurance quotes and prices can change a lot between companies, so it's worth trying different companies and seeing what range of quotes you can get. When I was renewing my policy last year, I found quotes that ranged from £200 all the way up to £800 for the same car and same named drivers!

Yea I knew all that. But even with my wife as main driver it was still more expensive than the £118 that we pay for just me. Extra drivers that I tried adding had no claims or anything, clean records, and we're over 50, again, this made the prices go up (with the car being in my name).

It's not true that the policy holder has to own the car, as my Note policy holder is my wife and I own the car on the V5. LV actually has the option when getting a direct quote from them.

It's not true that the policy holder has to own the car, as my Note policy holder is my wife and I own the car on the V5. LV actually has the option when getting a direct quote from them.

That's interesting because I didn't used to think this was the case and then I thought that they'd changed it a few years ago so that the policy holder also had to be the registered owner.

At least it's been the case when my parents have been sorting out car insurance before - my mum has had to be the policy holder for all the cars my parents have, because the is also the registered owner (including the car my brother drives) because they thought it had to be that way.

Ah, I've just looked it up and according to Direct Line's website:

Can the policyholder and the registered keeper be different?

The policyholder and the registered keeper may be different, but only if the registered keeper is the policyholder's spouse/partner. Otherwise the policyholder and registered keeper must the same person.

Which makes sense, because my mum would have been trying to have one of her children listed as the policy holder, rather than my dad. They had all kinds of issues last year because they were trying to sell my brother's car for him while he was living abroad and his insurance policy was about to run out, but they couldn't take out a new policy in either of their names because neither of them was the registered owner.