Auto insurance premiums for non-UK license holders.....any examples

I know auto insurance depends on a lot of factors, but I was wondering if any US licenses holders would like to weigh on how much they pay/paid for auto insurance. I plan on getting my UK license but the fact is for at least a few months I will be on my US license, and I have no girlfriend or wife or company to save me, so whatever the bitter pill is I will have to swallow.

I have seen several threads where people complain about "high" premiums, but what exactly is "high"? I paid high premiums for 2 years in the US because I was under 25, and I owned high powered sports car (350Z). So high premiums aren't that scary to me, I would just like to know what to expect.

For example, the highest premium I ever paid for a 12 month period was US$239/month (US$2868/year), at the current exchange rate that works out to about 145 GBP/month (1750 GBP/year).

So what is a "high" premium in the UK.

Hi Chadwyck

It's still too much of a how long is a piece of string question!

What's low to some is medium to others and yet very pricey to others and vice versa!

You can't really pin down what's a 'high premium' and what isn't.

It really depends on your pocket and your perception.

Have you got yourself a shortlist of possible cars you want to consider buying yet? get that, then look into insurance quotes from different companies and brokers - that'd be my suggestion to start the ball rolling.

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

When my (UK) husband added me (non-UK license holder) to the policy a couple of weeks ago, it added £35 a year to the total. But what that total is, I could not say.

I know his premiums were always much lower than mine in Rhode Island, though.

Haha!

Stoatula..  so what about your (US) Husband?!!!

A sailor in every port 

Hi Chadwyck

It's still too much of a how long is a piece of string question!

What's low to some is medium to others and yet very pricey to others and vice versa!

You can't really pin down what's a 'high premium' and what isn't.

It really depends on your pocket and your perception.

Dtm-OK let me ask this question, the 145gbp/month I quoted earlier. If you were paying 145gbp/month premium for a 2004 BMW 320d, how would you feel about that?

I just want a ball park figure, a number, ANY number, just something to work from, I know it won't be 10gbp/per month and I know it wont be 1000gbp/month, so I just want to hear what people are paying to give me an idea of what to expect.

I drive a 15-year-old Nissan Sunny which has 95,000 miles on the clock and is only worth about £250 and I currently pay just under £52 a month for myself, with my brother and parents as additional drivers - so about £610 a year. However, that £610 a year is pretty expensive considering the make and age of the car and my age (over 25) and the reason it's that high is because I don't have a clean licence. If my licence was clean, I would probably only be paying around £300 or so per year.

For me, reasonable car insurance is anything under £500 per year (preferably closer to £300 but I won't get it that cheap for a while yet), expensive is £500-£1,000 and extortionate is over £1,000 per year - however, my family have always bought older, second-hand cars that don't cost all that much to insure... and we also can't afford to pay all that much, so none of us have ever paid more than a few hundred pounds per year for insurance.

Insurance will also depend a lot on your driving history too... as an example, I bought a 1995/96 Nissan Micra in 2006 and it cost £465 a year for myself and my parents (I had a clean licence then, but was the most expensive driver). My parents bought the car from me in 2007 when I moved to the US and the insurance went down to £144 per year for the two of them (they had 5 years no claims and already held another policy with the same company for their other car, so got a discount). A few months later, after my youngest brother passed his driving test, he became the main driver and the insurance went up to about £800 per year for him and my parents (he's now the most expensive driver)... all for the same car.

Thanks for the answer ksand, thats exactly the kind of answer that I was looking for.

Anybody else?

When I moved here in 2003 with my US license, my insurance premium was somewhere between £600 and £700 a year. This year, six years on and with a UK license, I pay well under £300.

Hiya,

I know where you're coming from Chadwyck! with the amount of variation and people's differing perception it's difficult to evaluate the figures you get!

I'll give you some of my figures

I think the £1030 I pay to insure the Harley Davidson Anniversary Edition F150 is quite cheap! The vehicle requires a specialist to insure it, is very rare on UK roads etc. Compared to another 'large sized' performance orientated engined car - say one of the big Supercharged Jaguar XJ-R/XK-R's, the Mercedes AMG's etc all with big 5.0 litre engines and above it's a good deal. The BMW 530d I also have at £680 I think is verging on the pricier side and I'm looking to change insurance companies next time. The Smart cars come in at around £550 which I think is extortionate!!

145 per month for you to insure a 320d 2004 model seems extortionate to me. I'd say definitley shop around for more competitive quotes and definitey give the broker Adrian Flux a call. I of course understand, as a non UK license holder, they'll load up your premium, see if you can discuss with them on how to bring down the costs - say you'll fit a 'Thatcham Approved' immobiliser or alarm, say you'll do limited miles - see if it makes a difference.
Good luck ! and by the way, those 320d cars are excellent - mate had one, even more desirable if you get the coupe version !
Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

145 per month for you to insure a 320d 2004 model seems extortionate to me.

I think he's saying that's the highest premium he's paid in the US - not that he's been quoted 145 pcm in the UK. Is that right, chadwyckp?

definitey give the broker Adrian Flux a call.

A better bet would be to get in touch with a small, independent local broker. You'll get better service and better rates.

When my (UK) husband added me (non-UK license holder) to the policy a couple of weeks ago, it added £35 a year to the total. But what that total is, I could not say.

Ooh could you tell me what insurance company you're with? My (UK) fiance is buying a car today and my (US) mother is staying with us for the summer and he needs to add her onto whatever policy he buys... And he's having problems finding an insurer that will add her on at all!

Ooh could you tell me what insurance company you're with? My (UK) fiance is buying a car today and my (US) mother is staying with us for the summer and he needs to add her onto whatever policy he buys... And he's having problems finding an insurer that will add her on at all!

He's with Churchill. I remember a couple of years ago he added me to a policy for when I came over on visits, and it was much more.

After all that, I still haven't driven in the UK 

thanks! I think he found that Privilege will do it, too, but they're more expensive.

I think he's saying that's the highest premium he's paid in the US - not that he's been quoted 145 pcm in the UK. Is that right, chadwyckp?

Yeah that's right chary, I was using the ceiling of what I have paid in the US, as a guage for the UK.

DtM-If you are paying 1030gbp/year for a 5.4L LHD pickup, even with a UK license, I can't see any way that they'd charge me more than that for a BMW 320d with a US license, so I am thinking worst case scenario they'll charge me about 80 gbp/month, which is pretty manageable IMO.

We'll have to see when I get there though. Thanks for your input guys, I know I ask all these vague financial questions, but I am just trying to get a handle of approximate costs so I can come up with some sort of budget framework.

Thanks all!