Confronting the car insurance nightmare

Hi All,

I'm heading to the UK next month and I keep hearing horrible things about the price of car insurance...even more disturbing was a post I read about additional difficulty in getting a U.S.-spec left hand drive car insured...So:

1. Has everyone who imported a LHD car had problems with getting it insured, in terms of higher rates etc.? I drive a 1987 Porsche 944S and I'm planning to have it shipped.

2. When I was considering moving to France, I found out that it helps to bring proof of a clean driver's history from your old insurance company (You can get a lower rate). Is that true in the UK too?

3. Any recommendations on specific insurance companies I should consider?

Many thanks,

The Sun King

I can't help you directly but the sites below might get you on your way.   good luck.


http://www.findit.co.uk/cars/american/cars.htm

http://www.americancarsuk.com/

http://www.musclecarimports.fsnet.co.uk/

Hi, SunKing ... welcome (and thanks for the links, roughcut).  I'll see if I can answer from a different angle:  

LisaE (my sweetheart and wife) brought her car with her in '98 - a Mazda Miata, left hand drive.   Let me see if I can recall / give you some specific answers

1. There are far fewer companies who will insure it than would insure a standard car, but we have got insurance AOK.   Perhaps not quite as good a price as we would for a standard car, but FAR less than we would pay - for example - for car insurance in Dublin

2. You'll probably only get an official "no claims bonus" if you can prove no claims in the UK for anumber of years, but there are discressionary / introductory bonuses available.  Bring your proof, it can do no harm and it might save you a lot of money.

3. I think we're with Norwich Union .... but that is through an agent and NOT Norwich Union direct.  Different companies with different policies within the same group.   Our situation is now harder again since Lisa's car is over 10 years old and there are folks who won't take on new policies for cars of over that age.

Most of this from memory - Lisa - please post a follow up if you remember anything different to me  

I don't recall much more. It has been awhile...six years in fact since I brought my baby, my little red sportscar, and since then yes, she has turned 10. That was a big thorn, but the fact that my specific car wasn't listed on a lot of peoples' "lists" caused me to rush around and get other quotes. Oh, they had MX5s and they had Roadsters, which are the SAME EXACT car; they just didn't have "Miata"...and that was what limited me to one insurance company. However, I have had no complaints dealing with Norwich Union, and they never batted an eye about it being American, left-hand drive, or the fact that I was on a US license for the first year. The only stipulation was that I get a UK license after that year.

BUT, you want to talk price? Wellllll...I am in the fortunate postion of qualifying for USAA insurance, which is an Army-based company. Makes getting insurance, and a whole lot of other things, anywhere in the world much easier (for instance, a US-based credit card company that will acutally post the bills to me in the UK). Supposedly, me qualifying for such a great insurance company means I get a fabulous deal, right? Well, they certainly thought so, and put a lot of effort into getting me the best possible quote. No problem with where I lived, no problem with it being an American car, no problem that it was more than 10 years old. The problem? It was almost three times the cost of my British insurance quote! I am currently paying approximately £400 per year. That figures to about $720 US.

I was just telling ZAP about USAA..and that I should look into it..thinking it would be the best deal...appearantly that isnt so  

We just imported our Audi last year.  We had to call around for insurance, but did find a company that would cover us on one of the sites listed above.  We ended up getting cover with AXA through insurance broker http://www.stuartcollins.com/ [nofollow] They were nice folks to work with and they were cheaper than the cover we were offered from other UK companies.  

Regarding the import process....it was not difficult (just need to educated about the procerss), but a little more expensive than we orginally thought.  You will need to have some work done on the car to make it UK road worthy.  We had to change headlights and rear fog light.  The biggest hassle you will have is that you will need to have the car tested to recieve a certificate that will enable you to get a license.  Try to coordinate the test for soon after the car arrived...it is called Single Vehicle Approval.   I am not sure if you will also need an MOT cert (depends on age of car...ours was only 3 years old).  

Send a message if you have more questions we might help with.  Good Luck!