jammiie

Hi guys,

I'm still in the UK but will be moving to Boston at the end of the month.

I have a long-standing holiday to Florida booked for July which I arranged last year before the US move was offered to me. I have reserved a hire car online through a UK based website and my insurance is based on my UK driving licence.

As by the time I'm Florida I will be a US resident, will my UK licence still be valid for my hire car insurance? My understanding is that my UK licence wouldn't be valid in MA by this point but wondered if it was the same with FL and if it only being a hire car done through a UK website makes any difference.

Thanks.

Pulaski

Won't you have a MA license by then anyway? - You should certainly get the process for a local license ASAP after your arrival in MA. ..... If you haven't completed the process by July you should be fine on your UK license, but carry evidence that you are getting an MA license, but haven't been able to take the road test yet. That is the only reason you should have for not getting the license, but you should be able to have got a road tested booked by then.

jammiie

Yes I'd like to think we'd have MA licences by then but I'm unsure if we'll have enough time by July. I also wanted to check that having an MA licence but having the insurance based on my UK licence (as it is a UK company I've booked through) wouldn't be a problem.

tom169

I've always used Avis to hire when driving in the US and they've provided insurance for the car. I've just had to show my (at the time) UK driving licence card.

If you're using UK insurance then I dare say there will be a problem with using a US licence as it won't be on the policy.

robin1234

Is the car in Florida not cancellable? If you have a MA licence by then, I'd cancel and rebook on that basis.

chawkins99

I've never been required to provide driving license info until I was stood at the rental counter to pick up the car.
Unless you have pre-paid, I wouldn't take any cr@p from them. If they do, just go to the next rental desk. There's always 5 or 6 to choose from at most airports.
Just present whatever valid license you have at the time.
BTW: If you pay for the rental with an Amex card, there's no need for all of the extra insurance they try to sell you. Amex covers it. The only requirement is that you decline the additional insurance.

Mercury39

Car rental companies vary their prices based on country of residence. Sometimes this changes the insurance and liabilities. It is possible the contract stipulates the country of residence and could be invalid if residency changes.

jammiie

Thank you guys.

I think I'm going to call the rental company and see what they say.

@robin1234 - I don't just want to cancel and rebook on the assumption that I'll have an MA licence by July as I can't be certain that I'll have enough time.

@chawkins99 - I've booked a specific premium rental car (Mustang) and got a good earlybird price on it so don't want to just chance my luck on arrival at the desk.

I'll let you guys know the outcome for completeness.

ian-mstm

Don't cancel... make a second reservation. When you know which one you're going with, cancel the other one. It's the American way!

Ian