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Short-term UK car insurance for expats?

Short-term UK car insurance for expats?

Old Jul 3rd 2013, 5:50 pm
  #1  
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Default Short-term UK car insurance for expats?

My wife's back in the UK at the moment, staying with her parents. Previously, her parents' car insurer agreed to cover her to drive her parents' car on her Dubai licence, but they've just changed their policy and so they don't cover non-UK residents at all any more.

I suspect the answer will be "no", but does anyone know of any companies offering temporary insurance for non-UK residents regardless of where they come from?

Aviva looked promising, but they only cover non-residents with licences from EU or EEA countries. My wife could obviously use her UK licence, but legally speaking it's not valid until she's living permanently in the UK again, so could cause a world of pain if there was any need to make a claim.
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Old Jul 3rd 2013, 6:09 pm
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Default Re: Short-term UK car insurance for expats?

AA or RAC?

Load on here
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Old Jul 3rd 2013, 7:56 pm
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Default Re: Short-term UK car insurance for expats?

Unfortunately, all of those companies will only cover permanent UK residents or non-residents who hold licences from EU or EEA countries. Looks like renting a car is the only way forward, annoyingly.
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Old Jul 4th 2013, 7:39 am
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Default Re: Short-term UK car insurance for expats?

Originally Posted by Eeyore
Unfortunately, all of those companies will only cover permanent UK residents or non-residents who hold licences from EU or EEA countries. Looks like renting a car is the only way forward, annoyingly.
I work in Dubai and have UAE licence. AA insure me in UK. This is on my UAE licence, not my UK licence.

Temporary insurance as suggested by the OP is actually quite expensive, and not a lot different than yearly. If she is only coming over for a short period, wouldn't it be almost as cheap to hire a small runaround?
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Old Jul 4th 2013, 12:08 pm
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Default Re: Short-term UK car insurance for expats?

Originally Posted by Victor Meldrew
I work in Dubai and have UAE licence. AA insure me in UK. This is on my UAE licence, not my UK licence
I'm surprised to hear that a mainstream insurer like the AA will deal with a non-standard policy like that. The overwhelming majority of motor insurers in the UK will not cover people who aren't permanent UK residents. Of course, a lot of expats insure and/or drive cars in the UK using their UK licences, either because they don't realise it's illegal, or they're prepared to take the risk of what happens after an accident.

Temporary insurance as suggested by the OP is actually quite expensive, and not a lot different than yearly. If she is only coming over for a short period, wouldn't it be almost as cheap to hire a small runaround?
Yes, it looks like that's the way to go. Very annoying, given that she was previously covered as an additional driver on her parents' insurance at no extra premium. I was amazed that the insurance company agreed to it, but we had it in black and white - they understood her expat status, but as long as she had a valid international driver's licence to go with her UAE one, they'd cover her. Until this year

Last edited by Eeyore; Jul 4th 2013 at 12:10 pm.
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Old Jul 4th 2013, 2:59 pm
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Default Re: Short-term UK car insurance for expats?

Zurich added me to my wife's policy for no additional cost (she lives in UK, I don't).

I think some people are getting confused about the legality of driving on a UK licence if you don't live there, and what the insurance requirements are. AFAIK, the concern of an insurer is that you have a valid licence, be it UK or foreign, and that your UK licence hasn't become invalid as a result of a conviction or similar. However, as with other types of insurance: uberrimae fidei (tell them everything that's relevant, whether they ask or not--if there is some relevant fact that affects their risk but they didn't ask you about it, you have absolutely no defence by saying "you didn't ask me"--the onus is on you to divulge everything).
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Old Jul 4th 2013, 4:38 pm
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Default Re: Short-term UK car insurance for expats?

but if you are not resident you legally dont have a uk licence, it should be sent back to dvla on exchange for uae licence.
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Old Jul 4th 2013, 8:09 pm
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Default Re: Short-term UK car insurance for expats?

Originally Posted by Bahtatboy
AFAIK, the concern of an insurer is that you have a valid licence, be it UK or foreign, and that your UK licence hasn't become invalid as a result of a conviction or similar
As busybee points out, a UK driving licence is only valid while you are a permanent UK resident. This isn't speculation or hearsay, it's confirmed by the DVLA, who also say that technically, the RTA is supposed to confiscate the licences of UK drivers and return them to Swansea when they swap them for a UAE licence, the idea being that when/if you return to live in the UK, you can apply to get your licence back (you don't have to take the test again).

Most UK insurers, the mainstream ones anyway, won't cover anyone who is not permanently resident in the UK. Some will allow adding additional drivers who are not UK residents as long as they have a valid licence from an EU or EEA country.

The law is actually quite specific about driving licence validity, but many people are completely unaware of it (and that includes car hire companies). Until we found out, we regularly used our UK licences to hire cars when back in the UK. Fortunately we never had problems, because the potential consequences would obviously have been serious. We know people who keep a car in the UK for their use when visiting, insured under a standard UK motor policy, blissfully unaware that because they haven't declared their expat status, their car is actually uninsured and they're driving without valid licences.

Last edited by Eeyore; Jul 4th 2013 at 8:15 pm.
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Old Jul 4th 2013, 8:51 pm
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Default Re: Short-term UK car insurance for expats?

Originally Posted by busybee2
but if you are not resident you legally dont have a uk licence, it should be sent back to dvla on exchange for uae licence.
Originally Posted by Eeyore
As busybee points out, a UK driving licence is only valid while you are a permanent UK resident. This isn't speculation or hearsay, it's confirmed by the DVLA, who also say that technically, the RTA is supposed to confiscate the licences of UK drivers and return them to Swansea when they swap them for a UAE licence, the idea being that when/if you return to live in the UK, you can apply to get your licence back (you don't have to take the test again).

Most UK insurers, the mainstream ones anyway, won't cover anyone who is not permanently resident in the UK. Some will allow adding additional drivers who are not UK residents as long as they have a valid licence from an EU or EEA country.

The law is actually quite specific about driving licence validity, but many people are completely unaware of it (and that includes car hire companies). Until we found out, we regularly used our UK licences to hire cars when back in the UK. Fortunately we never had problems, because the potential consequences would obviously have been serious. We know people who keep a car in the UK for their use when visiting, insured under a standard UK motor policy, blissfully unaware that because they haven't declared their expat status, their car is actually uninsured and they're driving without valid licences.
Whoosh...
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Old Jul 4th 2013, 9:48 pm
  #10  
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Default Re: Short-term UK car insurance for expats?

Do you actually have anything useful or insightful to add? It's just that as contributions go, "Whoosh" is about as worthless as dead rat in a tampon factory.
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Old Jul 5th 2013, 4:21 am
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Default Re: Short-term UK car insurance for expats?

Originally Posted by Eeyore
As busybee points out, a UK driving licence is only valid while you are a permanent UK resident. This isn't speculation or hearsay, it's confirmed by the DVLA, who also say that technically, the RTA is supposed to confiscate the licences of UK drivers and return them to Swansea when they swap them for a UAE licence, the idea being that when/if you return to live in the UK, you can apply to get your licence back (you don't have to take the test again).

Most UK insurers, the mainstream ones anyway, won't cover anyone who is not permanently resident in the UK. Some will allow adding additional drivers who are not UK residents as long as they have a valid licence from an EU or EEA country.

The law is actually quite specific about driving licence validity, but many people are completely unaware of it (and that includes car hire companies). Until we found out, we regularly used our UK licences to hire cars when back in the UK. Fortunately we never had problems, because the potential consequences would obviously have been serious. We know people who keep a car in the UK for their use when visiting, insured under a standard UK motor policy, blissfully unaware that because they haven't declared their expat status, their car is actually uninsured and they're driving without valid licences.
can you provide us with a source for this revelatory information?

It might at least prevent you from making worthless replies to "worthless" replies
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Old Jul 5th 2013, 5:54 am
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Default Re: Short-term UK car insurance for expats?

Originally Posted by sicklyman
can you provide us with a source for this revelatory information?
By all means. Look at the second sentence of the reply that you just quoted, the one that starts "This isn't speculation or hearsay..."

In case you weren't aware, the DVLA is the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Swansea.
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Old Jul 6th 2013, 6:29 pm
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Default Re: Short-term UK car insurance for expats?

Originally Posted by Eeyore
By all means. Look at the second sentence of the reply that you just quoted, the one that starts "This isn't speculation or hearsay..."

In case you weren't aware, the DVLA is the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Swansea.
well that's not "by all means," it's actually by no means at all. Unless you can reference specific documentation from their website or some other info they issue, it can only be regarded as hearsay. In fact, it defines it. Over to you.
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Old Jul 6th 2013, 8:19 pm
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Default Re: Short-term UK car insurance for expats?

Originally Posted by sicklyman
well that's not "by all means," it's actually by no means at all. Unless you can reference specific documentation from their website or some other info they issue, it can only be regarded as hearsay. In fact, it defines it. Over to you.
its not hearsay, if you look up the dvla website about renewing your photo licence for eg, it says that you must be a resident, you must have lived at that address for previous 3 years, you MUST etc etc. but then again, if you hire a car on your uk licence, and have an accident and the insurance company finds out your insurance would not be valid, and you would be in trouble for driving without valid licence, as your licence is not valid any more as you are no longer a uk resident!
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Old Jul 6th 2013, 8:31 pm
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Default Re: Short-term UK car insurance for expats?

Originally Posted by busybee2
its not hearsay, if you look up the dvla website about renewing your photo licence for eg, it says that you must be a resident, you must have lived at that address for previous 3 years, you MUST etc etc. but then again, if you hire a car on your uk licence, and have an accident and the insurance company finds out your insurance would not be valid, and you would be in trouble for driving without valid licence, as your licence is not valid any more as you are no longer a uk resident!
You have to have lived at the same address for three years? That sounds a bit arse about face as DVLAs incompetent ideas go.
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