Car Insurance

Right before I moved to the UK last year, my husband bought a car. He looked for insurance quotes which would include me as a named driver with a US license. He found that many of the cheaper deals (Admiral, Elephant) would not allow him to add me because of the US license issue. We ended up with (what he feels) is a pretty uncompetitive rate. We have just received our policy renewal, and the rates have gone up an extra 100 pounds.

Before we start calling around for better deals, I'm wondering what kind of issues people have had getting insurance with their US license. If you could tell me what company you use, and what the rates are that would be very helpful!

I'm hoping to take my test sometime in September/October, but unfortunately we have to renew while I still don't have a UK license. That actually brings up another question: when you did pass your UK test, were you insured at standard 'new driver' rates, or was your previous driving record considered?

Thanks in advance!

I'm on DH's policy with Admiral as a named driver with a US license - and have been since I moved over in September.  We just renewed in May as well.  I'd try calling them back and asking to speak to a supervisor - the average agent doesn't seem to be well-versed in US/UK license rules.

For comparison's sake, we're insuring one UK driver with one year's experience and one US driver with 12 years experience in a M-reg Nissan Primera with approximately 94K miles and I believe the annual payment was around £660.  I'm fairly sure the breakdown is around £600 for DH, and £60 for me....

I assumed, from reading about others' experiences on UKY, that I'd be reduced to a "new driver" as far as insurance rates are concerned once I obtain my UK license in August or September.  I mentioned this to my driving instructor, though, and he told me that if they tried to raise the rates, to ask them why exactly my driving record was good enough one day but not the next? 

my advice would be to go to an insurance broker who handles many types of insurance plans.  I went to Towergate.

In my situation I bought a car (t reg astra with 107k miles) and did  not yet have my uk license.

in sitting down with the insurance broker i was able to show him a letter from State Farm in the States that said i had held a policy with them for the last 8 years before moving over and had never had a claim.

It worked and my initial quotes of 1200 GBP went down to 350 for full comprehensive cover.

The best part is that while i've only been in the UK for 10 months, they now consider me to have 8 years no claim bonus.

the only other place that came close to the quote was M&S which would have accepted my letter from State Farm and deal with me not having a UK License yet.  I believe their quote was something like 400GBP for fully comp.

BIGGEST advice is to get a letter from your insurance company in the States.  It was a HUGE help in getting me established over here in terms of insurance and i don't feel like i was ripped off.

You could try some of the specialist insurers such as Adrian Flux, who deal with American vehicles, kit cars, etc.  They might be a little more accommodating for a U.S. license.

As I had a U.K. license first and thus was able to just replace it as soon as I returned to Britain, I've not had to deal with this specific problem so I can't be sure, but it's worth a try.