AdamJF

I've recently moved out to South Florida, and in the process of getting a car. I just wondered if anyone had any recommendations for car insurance?

Are there any insurance companies that take into account driving experience/no claims from the UK? Any advice would be amazing !

Pulaski

How recently is "recently"? .... Do you have your FL license yet? You'll pay more if you don't have a FL license.

AdamJF

Not yet, I just have my Florida ID at the moment!

Pulaski

Well under FL law you only have/had 30 days from the day you became resident to get a FL license, including taking the road test. Beyond that you are at the mercy of the police if you are stopped, and your insurance risks being invalidated if you don't have a valid drivers license. ..... After 30 days your UK license is no longer "valid" under FL law.

livinginnyc

Yes/No

As mentioned on another similar thread, i've not heard of a U.S insurance company taking into account a no claims history from another country when quoting, mine did however take into account how long I had a UK license as I'd had it for over over 10 years.

Do you have any USC family members? If any have served in the military, you may be eligible for USAA which were by far the cheapest around when I was looking.

dj6372

State Farm took my Military career and 30+ years of driving, they were not interested in my no claims.


Just as a warning be prepared for heart failure when you hear your premium!

Sheepdip

off_again

Not a recommendation but Geico have been OK for me. Not the cheapest, but coverage seems OK and customer service is good (unlike most of my UK insurance companies!). But, what I am realizing is that working with a broker will probably get you a better deal (well in CA at least). Was going to go with Geico for property insurance for the 'bundle' but turned out that a recommended broker with State Farm could do way better and throw in break down recovery too! Managed to drop that of Geico and save there too!

Bottom line - shop around and compare lots, oh and get a REPUTABLE broker.

petitefrancaise

we signed up for AIG Inbound ($450) when we arrived, they sorted out all our insurances for us, getting discounts for our driving history (french and UK). We saved their fee on the first 6 months' car insurance. We also used them to find non-secured credit cards for us as well as our mortgage.

markonline1

GEICO took my no claims from the U.K. Into account when I first moved over and took insurance through them. I've had to use them for a claim when a deer decided to walk out in front of me, and I was extremely impressed with them.

kins

Our claims experience with Geico has been excellent so we've stuck with them. I could definitely find cheaper insurance elsewhere.

username.exe

Just switched from Geico to Liberty Mutual. Saved an absolute fortune.

Now paying around $45 p/month on each of my vehicles (five year old Prius and Rav4). 250/500 on liability plus uninsured/underinsured and roadside assistance.

I purchased a bundle that included Home Owners insurance (they knocked $300 off of that) and I ended up buying a $1m umbrella policy ($200).

I got this by ringing around and asking for bundles/discounts and talking to agents at the end of the sales month. Through the course of talking to the sales people I realized I was eligible for a discount through a union association at work (although I'm not represented by them... strange), and then deeper discounts via my wife's alma mater. That degree is finally paying me something back...

I got the impression that most of the salespeople were just paying lip service to my foreign drivers history and no claims.

Bob

It's a sales pitch. All they're doing is treating you like a 21 year old fresh driver rather than a spotty 15 year old driver fresh from the permit. But it sounds good if they say they're working with you.

petitefrancaise

We used Liberty Mutuel for about 2 years then I hunted around and got the same bundle with Nationwide for 30% less. Then I added my teen daughter

We did the umbrella policy as well, $330 with a teen driver though. Son will be added in the new year arggghhh!

slices

Also in South Florida, we went with State Farm they wee a lot cheaper than the AIG quote, and about the same as GEICO but with better coverage. This was with a UK license, giving them a FL license didn't make it any cheaper. Recently gotten renters insurance through state farm which as well as being cheaper than the other quote I got, got me a discount on the car insurance.