On NOT driving in the UK

I'm new to this forum so forgive me if this has already been discussed. I'm an American citizen and also a UK citizen as of 2005. I live in Darlington in the NorthEast, but travel a lot to the USA. I have a house in Pennsylvania and keep my USA PA drivers licence current. I DO NOT drive in England, nor would I want to , even after living here over ten years.
When I go back to the States and rent a car, I get charged an astronomical amount, which ends up costing more than the flight does. All this because I don't have a UK "licence" so cannot rent a car on a UK site. I end up paying the CDW charges, etc which cost more than the actual rental.
My husband and I are now wondering if I can be added to our car insurance here and if that would help. I doubt they'll add me though as I have a "foreign" license. I love going back to PA twice a year , but these car rental costs are killing me. Someone suggested getting an American Express card which has rental coverage???
Any suggestions?
 

Why can't you use a US site?

I'm a bit confused as to how you being added to your UK hubby's car insurance policy will help you hire a car in the US? 

If you have been in the UK for more than 12 months, you cannot drive on your US license at all.  It needs to be changed for a UK one if you ever intend on driving in the UK after your first 12 months here.  From what I understand you can retain your US license as well so it shouldnt be a problem.

Why can't you use a US site?

This would be my suggestion as well.  We always book with US sites when traveling to the US eventhough I have a full UK license.

I have also kept my CA license current (so far), and I have booked on a UK site but used it as my license and avoided all those fees. Are they not accepting your license for some reason? I also have a UK license, but it didn't even occur to me to use it (as I didn't want to deal with the fact that it's pink and "different" looking when I tried to pick up the car).

Ha Ha nevermind! I CAN book on a US site and DO....... but get charged a lot for the insurance I "don't have because I don't drive here". It's a moot point I guess. I wouldn't drive here for anything and think the country is safer that way. Thanks though! I'll keep my US license and continue to pay OTT rates for "insurance" when I go back to visit. 

Oh, and I KNOW I can't drive here on my US license...don't want to. That wasn't the question at all. Having driven in the US for so many years, there is absolutely no way I could forget everything I know, and drive here.
I was questioning the fact that UK rental sites won't let me rent a car and the US ones charge me a fortune. Oh and BTW, when I rent a car from an American site, my Visa card blocks my account because of suspected "fraud", even though I've been here for years and they have this address on file.    *sighs*.
Cheers

Your rental cost wouldn't change if you were insured here, it doesn't work that way afaik. You can opt out of extra insurance usually, and many credit cards have rental car insurance built in. You could also make sure you have rental car coverage in your travel insurance.

I thought if I was insured here, I could opt out of the insurance from the rental companies. I believe I'm covered via my American VISA card but can't seem to get them to give me a straight answer. They tell me to "call someone", who then tells me to "call someone else". Thanks though!

BTW, I used to always rent a car through Holiday Autos but one day in the very small print, I noticed where you had to have a UK licence to rent from them. I'd been doing it for years and getting away with it until then. That'll teach me to read small print.   

I thought if I was insured here, I could opt out of the insurance from the rental companies.

I think you might run into the problem that you don't have a valid licence to drive on in the UK (as you can no longer drive on your US licence in the UK) and so the insurance company may not allow you to be put on your husband's insurance.

The other thing too - even if your husband's insurance would take you on without a UK licence, does his insurance even cover car hire in the US?  Ours doesn't.

If you still have a legitimately legal US residence, you could try taking out a trip-specific policy through this company:

Access America

They partner with the online booking website, Orbitz, so normally if you are booking a rental car through the Orbitz site, you will get the option to purchase this car rental insurance at the time of your booking.  You can download a copy of the policy & you're good to go.  (Most states require that you carry your driver's license as well as proof of insurance in the car with you, so downloading the policy is important, IMO.)  It does work out cheaper than getting the expensive add-on insurance at the car rental counter when you are picking up the car.

I have used it previously when I still could count a legal address in the US, but alas I can no longer do that.

There might be other similar companies too, but I am not aware of them.

Thanks very much for the info !

Just found a site that sells car rental insurance for people who travel to the US also. £118 a year is a lot less than I have to pay for coverage with the rental companies twice a year.


 

correct me if im wrong but when  you rent a car it already carries insurance but you can purchase addiitonal if you want

If you keep a home there, have you considered keeping a car as well? Surely a decent used vehicle would pay for itself in rental fees in a few trips?