Foreign driver insurance coverage

Hi everyone,
I know that I had asked a while back about getting car insurance coverage when arriving in the UK. Of course I don't have my UK liscense yet as I just arrived, and a few places I checked with for insurance online said that I had to at least have my provisional here before getting insurance coverage, though I of course wouldn't have the restrictions of a provisional liscense. Anyway.... I found one that insured me (along with my husband on a full UK liscense) on just my US liscense. It was Academy. They go through Norwich Union (which was one that said I had to have my provisional but I didn't need it when going through them). The phone number that we called was 08004581845.
I hope this helpsl anyone that is baffled about getting UK car insurance with only your US liscense.

Thanks for that - always good to know!!

If you want to save yourself the bother, just go to your nearest insurance broker. They will be able to enter all your info into their system (US license and all) and find you the best deal.

Yeah, I did that on confused.com, and it gave me a list of options, but the first one that I went to was Norwich Union, and they wouldn't do it (at least directly) without me having my provisionals first, and I didn't want to wait a few weeks to start driving. You can really find some good deals on that though because they did give me some really good prices, even with a foreign liscense. The problem wasn't me having a US liscense, because I CAN drive with that, they just wanted you also to have a provisional UK one along with it before they would give you the insurance.

Yeah, I did that on confused.com, and it gave me a list of options, but the first one that I went to was Norwich Union, and they wouldn't do it (at least directly) without me having my provisionals first, and I didn't want to wait a few weeks to start driving. You can really find some good deals on that though because they did give me some really good prices, even with a foreign liscense. The problem wasn't me having a US liscense, because I CAN drive with that, they just wanted you also to have a provisional UK one along with it before they would give you the insurance.

That's interesting because I went also through confused.com and had no problem signing up with Norwich Union just on my US license. I got insurance with them in June and didn't have my UK provisional license until August and I was never asked if I had one when signing up.

Yeah, it doesn't tell you that you need your provisional while you are signing up for it, but if you read the terms and conditions (which I happened to click on to browse) it says that you must have it even if you have your US liscense. I don't think it is one of those things that they make you enter, but I just I am just a stickler for doing every thing correctly. I am sure that I could have signed up through the web site no problem, but I didn't want to get caught out. Call me a goody two shoes.

I only got the initial quote online, but did the rest on the phone. I was unsure about getting the 'no claims' bonus (I had a non-accident related claim with State Farm) and walked through the whole application with the rep on the phone. I did a mini review again when I called to start the policy after I purchased the car. They were well aware of the fact that I only had a US license and didn't have a provisional license yet and neither of the reps asked me about it.

That was good then. We were able to get the no claims discount when we got ours. I just had State Farm type up a letter for me saying that we didn't have any claims (from the date that I first started my insurace with them which was nearly 10 years ago). They gave us a 5 year no claims, and who knows, they may give us more once they get the letter from us with the date on it.

How big of a difference did the no claims thing make in your insurance costs?  I'm getting ready to sell my car and was thinking about using the insurance to fix my windshield thinking it might make it easier to sell, but if I can get a good discount for not having used insurance, I think I'd rather do that and let the next person fix the windshield. 

I may be moving to the UK soon, and I'm curious how much auto insurance costs over there. If I go, I would be sharing a car my sweetie, who is also an American. What can we expect to pay?

How big of a difference did the no claims thing make in your insurance costs?  I'm getting ready to sell my car and was thinking about using the insurance to fix my windshield thinking it might make it easier to sell, but if I can get a good discount for not having used insurance, I think I'd rather do that and let the next person fix the windshield. 

Most insurers don't count claims for glass as one which would affect a no-claims discount, but some do.  Check the insurer's website for the small print, as I think the trend is changing towards counting this as a claim.

I may be moving to the UK soon, and I'm curious how much auto insurance costs over there. If I go, I would be sharing a car my sweetie, who is also an American. What can we expect to pay?

When I got my first insurance on my own when I was about 21, it was about £1800 as I was a young driver, and had no no-claims-discount (even though I'd been driving on my dad's insurance for 2 years).  Now, with 6 years no-claims-discount and aged over-25 it's about £300 annually, even with 3 points on my license.  That's fully comprehensive.  I don't really know how much you'd pay as an American, that's the figures for this UK male.  I'd certainly get a letter from your current insurer in the US detailing how long you've gone without claiming to present to your new insurer here, as the no-claims-discount can be substantial.

What can we expect to pay?

That's something of a "how long is a piece of string?" question.   The rates depend upon type of cover (comprehensive, third party fire & theft, or third party only), the vehicle, where you live, your driving history, and -- to a considerable degree -- the whim of the particular insurer. 

Based on being age 40, U.K. license since 1983, no penalty points, full no-claim discount, living in the lowest risk rural area, third party fire & theft cover on a 1987 Ford Bronco II was £166 for the year at last renewal for me.

It really pays to shop around, especially if you are in some sort of "unusual" situation such as not having a U.K. license or driving something which is uncommon here.   Many insurers were quoting around £300 to £400 for me on the above details, and some as high as £600.