HELP!! American looking for cheap car insurance for driving in the UK.

Hello.
  I am am American woman.  Age 36, and I'm currently living in the UK on my spousal visa. This past year I have been driving on my American Liscence ( which is not expired by the way ) and was wondering where I can find cheap car insurance. As at the moment,we are paying an OUTRAGOUS amount for me to drive my own vehichle.  They say I need to take another test to get my UK Driving Liscence, which I'm prepared to do so, ( wil this even help my rate? )  Am I still legal to drive on my current US Liscence? As I've read I can legally drive up to 12 months, ONCE a resident. However,  this is where we are quite confused.  When am I a resident? I'm only on a spousel 2 and a half year visa. Will I be a resident when I re-apply for citizenship or? Thankyou. 
--Feeling Confused

You became a resident the day you arrived here on your spousal visa.

So, yes, you will need to take all the UK driving tests in order to continue driving in the UK after 12 months.

Your US licence only allows you to drive in the UK for 12 months, after which you must have passed your UK tests and have a full UK licence in order to continue driving legally. If you continue to drive on the US licence after this you will be driving illegally and your insurance will no longer be valid.

So, if you haven’t got your UK licence by the time the 12 months are up, you will have to stop driving on your US licence and you will be treated like a learner driver until you have passed the tests. That means you can only drive if accompanied at all times by someone who is over 21 and has held a full UK licence for at least 3 years, you must display L plates on the car and you cannot drive on motorways.

I would get the ball rolling on getting your UK licence ASAP as it can take several months to pass the tests and you may well need some lessons so you can learn how to pass the test (it’s very specific and very easy to fail).

I second ksand on getting the ball rolling.  It took me 5 months to get my UK license by accepting first available test date for the written test, and then first available for the practical.

I got a good rate with Admiral.

I had car insurance under my US DL.  I got my UK DL and when I called to let them know I had gotten it, I had expected my rates to go down, instead they went up by £500.  So be prepared for that when you do get your UK DL.

I was told that the reason for it was that I had had 14 years of driving experience on my CA DL but I had 0 years of driving experience on my UK DL.  Which to me was utterly stupid.  They will offer to lower your rates (some do) if you put a box on your car that monitors your driving.  And they might also lower your rates if you take the pass plus for after you get your UK DL.

I would also recommend that you download a theory test and a hazard test app on your phone or iPad and just study, study, study, study.  I would also recommend that you do take some driving lessons.  There are things that were on the driving test that are just illegal out in CA and I had no idea that it was even a thing (I'm looking at you, backing around a corner!).  And chances are there are lot of things that will ding you on the practical that you're not even aware is on the examination.  So spend some money on having someone make sure you can pass a test.  And if possible, make sure that person understands that s/he needs to correct your learned behaviors to pass the test.

I was driving for 14 years and barely passed my driving test on the first go. 

Hi,

Good points above and all aspects you'll need to take into consideration. The point I often make on posts like this (usually in the Transport section!) is that insurance quotes vary from different insurance brokers and underwriters etc. Also the type of car you are insuring makes a big difference as well. From there, secondary aspects such as if the car is garaged overnight, on a driveway or on the street will make a difference. If you have an approved immobilier or alarm make will affect your premium too. If you want to use the car for commuting as well as social, domestic & pleasure or if it's just social domestic & pleasure with no commuting. Elements you can't really control will be the postcode you live at and your occupation which will also affect the premium.

So, I suggest you ring around all the usual places you see all over the media, then ring up a few local brokers. If the car you wish to drive is perhaps larger engined or a more desirable car etc, then for a 'new driver' as you'll be classed as once you gain your UK licence, insurance costs are/will be high. The only way around this is to change your car to a smaller engined / smaller sized car.

If the car you want to drive is an 'interesting' type of vehicle, say a classic or american car or an import etc etc, then you could use specialist insurance brokers who specialise in these sorts of cars.

You'll have to look at all those variables and then look at the kind's of premium quotes you get from as many insurance places as you can. If you are finding that still too expensive, you'll need to look into changing the car to a less expensive one.

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

I just noticed that your husband posted that you are coming to the end of your two and a half year spouse visa.

If you continue to drive on the US licence after this you will be driving illegally and your insurance will no longer be valid.

I assume you have stopped driving. If not, in addition to what ksand said, if caught it will also be a fail of your Good Character requirement for 3 years from your court conviction for not driving in accordance with your licence (not from the date caught). Perhaps longer if you are caught because you caused an accident.

So, if you haven’t got your UK licence by the time the 12 months are up, you will have to stop driving on your US licence and you will be treated like a learner driver until you have passed the tests. That means you can only drive if accompanied at all times by someone who is over 21 and has held a full UK licence for at least 3 years, you must display L plates on the car and you cannot drive on motorways.

Just to add that the accompanied driving is only allowed if you have a UK Provisional Licence.