Insurance after passing UK test

Careful of what broker though, I called American Express, as they are a car insurance broker in the uk, and the best they could find for me was several hundred pounds higher then when I called Quinn Direct directly.  Still going to call around, but it looks like I'll be paying at least 1000 pounds even with my American driving record taken into account...

You're better off finding your local independent broker. The larger ones, particularly large chains, will often charge a commission. The little guys don't.

Hi all

Another aspect is of course with the financial mess which is the UK currently, lots of things are going up in price.

Insurance is one of them, definitley. In contrast to many of you here from the US and perhaps with less or no no claims bonus etc, I'm absolutley fuming! I do have full NCB, no convictions, one non fault accident 4 years ago and all costs recovered, and yet my insurance has gone UP by a whopping £250 or so this year to around £950. I'm not happy about it, called around various places who wanted £1300 or so!

I am with a broker, and when I asked, he did say this year the prices have gone up across the board for insurance. So really, nothing I can do except stump up. With many other items getting more expensive, and of course early 2011 when VAT goes up etc, we'll all see our costs rising fairly significantly in this respect.

The only real way to make a substantial dfference to a car insurance quote, is to compromise and get a smaller sized/engine car.

Not good hey..    Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Hi guys-- just came on here to vent about the same issue and found this thread. I have a perfect/no claims US driving record, but have only had my full UK license for about 18 months (no claims) now. My insurance wants to charge me approx £1000 for coverage on a 2003 Landrover. Whaaat?!

Can anyone recommend a broker who may be able to help out? Thanks for any and all insights!!

Claudia

A landrover may be a difficult car to insure since much of the calculations are based on engine size, but I have sent you a PM with my the name of my broker who was fabulous and is now very well-versed on helping expats.

I received my license just 4 months ago and bought a new 1.33 Toyota Yaris automatic. I had no previous driving experience, although I had the license for three years. Insurance is £ 1400 comprehensive from Zurich Connect with around £500 deduction. I had a cheaper quote from Churchill, but according to online reviews they are cowboys (?!?!) so I opted for Zurich at the end.