Temporary auto insurance when visiting UK
 

I live in the USA and have valid and clean US and UK drivers' licenses.

I want to get temporary insurance cover to drive a family member's car when I visit the UK at Christmas. Her insurer, John Lewis, won't allow US residents to be added added as additional drivers.

I've looked at
Tempcover - Great Value Temporary Car Insurance
Temporary Car Insurance & Short Term Van Insurance - Insure Daily

They both cover EU residents and one of them Commonwealth country residents, but they make it clear they won't touch US residents. Any ideas? I am not prepared to risk driving illegally and uninsured in the UK. It will seem ridiculous and expensive to have to rent a car just to get the insurance cover, when there's one sitting little-used I could borrow. Thanks for any tips.

Re: Temporary auto insurance when visiting UK
 

First ask your US insurance company, you may already be covered, or if not, an add-on to your US insurance is possible.

Then check with your Visa Card issuer, assuming you pay for your trip with your visa card, because again, you may already be covered. I know that paying for a rental with a Visa credit card automatically gives you insurance, but I am not sure how/if that might work if you are driving a family car. :unsure:

Re: Temporary auto insurance when visiting UK
 

Meh, just promise not to hit anything.

I have already asked my US insurer, State Farm, and they can't help with an add-on outside the USA. I will ask my credit card company but I am not hopeful as they aren't involved in any transaction. I might ask at the British Embassy next. Thanks anyway...

Good grief. I called the British Embassy in Washington DC, and the automated phone answering machine of course didn't have any categories for my inquiry about car insurance, so I followed its advice and wrote to [email protected]

I asked for clarification on the legal requirement to have auto insurance and where, as a US resident visiting the UK, I might buy suitable insurance to use a family member's car. I got back a reply saying :"Thank you for your enquiry. Please contact the NHS directly for information on coverage http://www.nhs.uk/Pages/HomePage.aspx"

I expect they are overworked, but really.

Re: Temporary auto insurance when visiting UK
 

Double good grief. I repeated my question to the British Embassy by email.
This time the one-sentence reply directed me to a site where I could apply for a provisional drivers' license (even though I said in my inquiry that I already have a full UK drivers' license). I suppose that's better than my first reply, which pointed me to the National Health Service. But it doesn't bode well for the future of the Commonwealth if the person replying to queries apparently can't understand simple questions. I would have preferred "Sorry, we can't help you with that question" to a direction to an irrelevant site.

Re: Temporary auto insurance when visiting UK
 

Yeah well your question is not really what embassies are for, so I'm not in the least bit surprised.

Re: Temporary auto insurance when visiting UK
 

:goodpost:

Never knew this Pulaski - brilliant news! Just checked my VISA card and I'll be covered for the Christmas UK rental. Otherwise it was risk it or pay $24.95 a day!

In fact VISA says: -

"Please note: This benefit is available on all Visa Standard Credit, Visa Rewards Credit, and Visa Premium Rewards cards."

Re: Temporary auto insurance when visiting UK
 

In fact if you go to the Visa Web site there is a PDF leaflet you can print, or download to your phone, to show to the car rental company in case they are not familiar with the Visa car insurance coverage. .... We relied on the Visa coverage when we rented in the UK last summer and had no problem with the car rental company when we declined the add-on insurance. :)

Re: Temporary auto insurance when visiting UK
 

The coverage from AMEX is even better than the cover given by most credit cards. It costs just under $30 each time you rent a vehicle. There are several threads on this subject...if you use the sites's search engine you should be able to locate them. If not give me a shout.

Re: Temporary auto insurance when visiting UK
 

Yeah, something that costs $30 is always better than something that is free. :unsure:

Re: Temporary auto insurance when visiting UK
 

If it offers much better coverage...then yes it is.

CC vs AMEX auto coverage has been discussed several times...AMEX wins.

Re: Temporary auto insurance when visiting UK
 

I'm with you on this one Jerseygirl. The AMEX coverage is worth the extra bucks, especially if you get a rental in the US.

Re: Temporary auto insurance when visiting UK
 

We use it when renting in the UK.

We also used rentalcars.com to rent a car. The car was from Hertz (Ford Galaxy) and it cost approx $240 for 2 weeks rental.

Re: Temporary auto insurance when visiting UK
 

The question is not about renting a car, but driving a family members car. I did this this year, but I admit it was not clear to me that I was really covered.

My Dad got me added to his insurance,over the phone for a few quid. He mentioned that his son was coming from US, and was told something that could have meant either go or no go. It went something like "as long as he is a resident - no problem" to which dad replied, "yes he is a resident". Of where was not specified.

Re: Temporary auto insurance when visiting UK
 

I was just about to mention Amex insurance on rentals, then I saw your posts. I'm also with you on this and agree it's worth the extra $30. Coverage is great!