Car Insurance In Uk With American Licence

Car insurance in UK with american licence?

Question: How can we get car insurance in the UK with an American drivers licence? All companies are either refusing to give insurance or quoting prices of around 3 - 5 thousand pounds! We know about the conditions with the licence and residency etc...we just need to know of any insurance companies that will give insurance to people with an international licence! Thanks!

Answer: There are conditions that apply to foreign licence holders in the UK. Depending on the country, you can simply exchange your licence for a UK one but as your is not one of the designated countries - you will not be able to. However, you will be able to drive in thw UK on your full, valid driving licence for up to 12 months from the time you first become resident. Some points to remember are: you will need to stop driving once the 12 months are over OR if you wish to continue driving in the UK you will need to get a UK provisional driving licence and sit a theory and practical driving test. Adding to that - Most insurance companies will therefore treat you as a new driver with no "no-claims" bonus and subsiquently you'll be charged quite a few pounds. Better to stick to a small engined car until you build up your no claims. My daughter recently passed her test and after much shopping around, we found that Tesco Insurance was the cheapest. They offered a discount for "Pass plus" which the others - although stated on their website they would offer - don't!

Getting Car Insurance for an American?

Question: I'm trying to get car insurance for my wife who only recently passed her UK test. She has held a US license for many years (about 6 I think) and drove during that time with insurance and made no claims. However, it seems that some UK insurance companies don't recognise an American license or insurance history which is making the quotes extremely expensive. Up to £1500 for full comp on a basic family car (2003 Vauxhall Omega). Is anyone aware of any UK companies that would recognise her US license and quote accordingly for her driving history rather than treating her like a 17yr old? Thanks in advance.

Answer: Sorry, but there are none. Only insurance with no claims bonus earned within the E.U. will be valid for U.K. insurance companies.

Registering American Car in UK?

Question: We recently moved from US to UK and brought our American car to UK. There are two main requirements form DVLA to get the car registered 1) SVA Test 2) Insurance in my name I have figured how to get the SVA test done via VOSA, so 50% problem solved. What I am struggling with is getting an insurance for the car. I have a American Drivers license (you can drive in UK using American license for upto a year, so am covered there) and my car is not registered. Now my problem is that a) Most common Insurance companies provide insurance to holders of foreigh licenses, but do not provide insurance without "Registration Number" of the car. b) Subset of insurance companies that insure cars based on "Chassi Number" do not provide insurance to holders of Foreign licenses. Do you know of any solution to this dilema? Do you know of a company that would insure foreign license holder based on chassi number of the car? OR Do you see any other solution to my problem? Any Car imported to UK cannot be sold for a year under the HR Customs law.

Answer: "Sell" the car to a friend with a UK licence to insure it to go through the SVA test and registration. Once it has then "buy" it back and sort out the paperwork in your name.