UK CAR INSURANCE

Hello!  I have been a long time guest user of this forum and have gotten lots of helpful info!

I moved here in March of last year and have decided to try to get my full UK drivers license.  I received my provisional license last week and have hope to pass my full license by the time US license becomes invalid on March 23 of this year.  I was hoping to buy a cheap car and use these next few months to practice driving while I didn't need another driver with me and take my practical driving test right before my US license becomes invalid.  However, I'm having a problem figuring out which insurance to purchase and find one that is somewhat reasonable. \So far the cheapest I can find on my US license is £2000!! I'm assuming I will have to get insurance on my US license and then just let my insurance company know when I receive my full UK one.  Will my rates likely change once that happens?  Ive seen some places advertise short term provisional license insurance, but they all require you have a licensed driver with you even though its not required on my Provisional license until the end of March.  At this point in time, I don't have anyone who is a qualified driver who can ride with me while I practice driving. 

I have seen some posts on here where people have recommended using brokers.  Are those the comparison sites that come up when I search for car insurance?  Any recommendations on brokers, car insurance companies, or general tips or info would be much appreciated!!

Thanks,
Monica

Hello!  I have been a long time guest user of this forum and have gotten
I have seen some posts on here where people have recommended using brokers.  Are those the comparison sites that come up when I search for car insurance?  Any recommendations on brokers, car insurance companies, or general tips or info would be much appreciated!!

Thanks,
Monica

You probably got the highest quote possible.
I've read the post office have given good quotes.
Go to an insurance brokers office or call because as you mentioned they give much better rates..
Good luck and hold on to your money.

I have seen some posts on here where people have recommended using brokers.  Are those the comparison sites that come up when I search for car insurance?  Any recommendations on brokers, car insurance companies, or general tips or info would be much appreciated!!

No, those aren't brokers. Try doing a search for insurance brokers on www.yell.com for your area. Small independent ones will give you more attention that the big firms. Good luck!

We had good luck contacting the UK version of Geico.  The contacted the US to get our driving history so that helped a lot.  We were able to save 1000GBP over what we were being told by other places.  Just another suggestion along with trying brokers.

Apparently there are a lot of scam brokers right now, so be careful.

http://www.actionfraud.org.uk/motorists-beware-of-fake-car-insurance-brokers-nov11

Well just a little update... I tried so many companies, brokers, on-line comparison places.  Looks like the cheapest place for me to get insurance is with Admiral.  It will be about £800 for my insurance on my provisional, but once I get my full license it goes up to about £1250 a year on just fire and theft and third party.  Some companies would have accepted proof of my no claims, but I have had a problem obtaining that since one of the companies I used for awhile no longer exists.  All I can prove is being accident free but not claims free.  So I'm having to insure myself as 0 years claims free driver.  It seems as if this will be the worst year.  They quoted me £690 with my full license after a full year of claims free.

Another thing that has helped me a bit was putting my father in law on my policy as a named driver.  He has had a license for 30+ years and has never made a claim.  That saved me a few hundred £££.  I informed the insurance company that he would rarely be driving and he didn't live at the same address but they said that was fine. 

Anyway, thanks to those that answered! Your help is greatly appreciated! 

I was just quoted £1600 through a company I'd never heard of with minimal perks, such as no road side assistance, but it was comprehensive. This will be my first car in the UK buy I have had my license for 10 years in the States. I see that someone was able to contact Geico in the States for their previous driving history. Has anyone else had this experience? I use State Farm in the States and didn't know if I would be able to use those records?

How do 17 year olds afford insurance!? These prices are OUTRAGEOUS!

Thanks for any help!

How do 17 year olds afford insurance!? These prices are OUTRAGEOUS!

When I was 17, I was added to my mum's insurance for about £600 extra per year.

When I was 23 (with 5 years of driving experience), my annual insurance was £450 per year.

At 25, my insurance rocketed up to about £1,000 per year... but that is because I got a DUI when I was 24 and that was the end of low insurance premiums for me for the next 5 years (the 5 years will be up in September, so hopefully the premium will go down again soon).

Had I not got a DUI, I would probably only be paying about £350 per year for car insurance now instead of about £900 (I believe that's about what my friends are paying for theirs).

£1600? If I could only be so lucky. I've been driving for 30 years, currently hold a full Swiss licence (converted from my American in 2003) and recently passed my UK test. Insurance quotes for a £500 Corsa run between £4500 and £5800 a year.

£1600 is good.  I paid somewhere in the area of £1900 for mine on my US DL and then it went up £500 once I got my UK DL but I managed to find someone who was slightly cheaper.  I'm sure my premiums will go down once I've got a year of no claims under my belt.

I pay about £575 a year with aviva who took into account my US no claims (hubby is also on policy) with a US license only.  When I got my full UK license I let them know but it didn't change the cost.

If going with a company that you haven;t heard of and if the quote seems really good I would check that they are legitimate as there are a few fraudulent insurance companies.

I just wanted to say that I'm the one with the Geico insurance.  Our problem was that we had full UK licenses for 3 years- when we moved here and bought our car the dealer set us up with insurance that took our 10+ years in the US into account so the price was good.  We then moved back to the states for just a little over 2 years (like 2 years and 3 months or something.  Because we were "out of the system" in the UK for more than 2 years we no one we called would us our previous 3 years in the UK and would at most give us the 2 years we had in the states.  The Gieco company (they papers are actually underwritten by somebody in the UK) was geared towards military people (but civilians are fine too) and actually took our info and did a full search in the US for us and thus gave us our whole history not just the 2 years. 

If you call around some you might get someone to give you more years which will bring your price down.  BTW we had State Farm as well and just had them write a letter about our no claims for us the first time to give to whoever we signed up with.

BTW we had State Farm as well and just had them write a letter about our no claims for us the first time to give to whoever we signed up with.

This is what I did too, but according to my insurance broker (and who knows whether or not to believe him) UK insurance companies have very recently stopped accepting international no claims.  I was able to carry over 10+ years, when I got my UK license last year, but when I last spoke to him he said he tried to do it for another American customer and wasnt able to get any of her US no claims years accepted. 

I just wanted to say that I'm the one with the Geico insurance.  Our problem was that we had full UK licenses for 3 years- when we moved here and bought our car the dealer set us up with insurance that took our 10+ years in the US into account so the price was good.  We then moved back to the states for just a little over 2 years (like 2 years and 3 months or something.  Because we were "out of the system" in the UK for more than 2 years we no one we called would us our previous 3 years in the UK and would at most give us the 2 years we had in the states.  The Gieco company (they papers are actually underwritten by somebody in the UK) was geared towards military people (but civilians are fine too) and actually took our info and did a full search in the US for us and thus gave us our whole history not just the 2 years.

I phoned Geico 6 months ago for a quote (since that is who I used in the States for 12 years) and they told me that they can only quote/insure people who are in the UK temporarily.  They said students, military, or temporary workers only. 

I ended up getting full coverage insurance for a £100 a year on my husband's Admiral policy.

I'm not sure if it was because we sort of fell into this weird hole or not.  We were sort of stuck as we signed up with a place (Tesco I believe) and they said they would only take our 2 years but then after a few weeks called back and said they couldn't do it.  Out of desperation we just started calling around. We were very clear with them that we weren't military or anything.  Both of us are USC so we couldn't get attached to a policy.  We are here on Tier 2 visas.  Again, we checked it all out first.