Insurance for non-resident

[pikey]

Am resident abroad at the moment and planning a trip back to Blighty. When there I would like to borrow my Dad's car.. which is fine with him but not the insurance company who say I *must* be "resident in the UK" to be added onto his insurance (as a named driver). (This is despite having a British passport and driving licence)

Looking around it seems the "must be resident" is a standard condition for insurance companies rather than just his one.

So, I have a google and find multiple companies advertise 'temporary insurance for non-UK resident', but after clicking through (and they all require entering *my* UK address as a mandatory field in their form!?) they pop out a couple of options.. I click through to the terms and conditions / assumptions and there's "must have been resident for >12 months prior" (and some "must have valid UK licence".. although a bit of Googling says that my UK licence is only valid if I am resident".



Although they have such text on the front of their site saying they do it, the insurers they point to do not!

I can't actually find a company that will temporarily insure for a non-resident. Anyone know such a company ?

(Normally I rent a car and insurance, but for a month it can be rather pricey!)

Thanks

Edited by on Thursday 22 June 04:37

[Munka01]

Cant offer any advice on non-resident insurance unfortunately, however have you checked out long term car hire? most of the big agencies have a separate site for it and prices are better for over 28 days.

https://www.europcar.co.uk/deals/long-term-hire

[shirt]

Yes you should have surrendered your licence, but not many do. I didn’t, but have since lost it.

You can get cover either temporarily or annually as a non resident or (perhaps cheaper option) as a named driver by the main policyholder. It’s easier as a former resident / uk national.

Not sure what search term you are using but ‘car insurance non resident uk’ brings up several companies who can broker cover.

[NNH]

I got some helpful advice recently here: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[pikey]

shirt said:

.. as a named driver by the main policyholder. It’s easier as a former resident / uk national.

Tried that - Dad's insurance company asked "is he resident?" as first question

shirt said:

‘car insurance non resident uk’ brings up several companies who can broker cover.

That's the problem - clicking through they present options where the T&C's say you must be resident.

So yeah, they advertise on their site and google "non resident" and then offer you a policy that doesn't..

[anonymous-user]

Your uk licence is valid as long as you can priovide Uk address at which you can be contacted.
Countries typically allow you 6 months grace as a resident before you need a licence from that country, so the idea your licence is not valid because you are not resident is just wrong.
I'm not a uk resident and the odd time I've been stopped in the Uk the police don't like a forign licence even when they see overseas resident permits and hire cars from Heathrow, once on the M4 I had a traffic car that had to radio in to check if he could accept a forign licence with a Uk passport.

[shirt]

i think we all have different experiences, would be nice if there was a common approach.

i didn't surrender my uk licence but have always used my foreign one when renting or driving in uk simply because gatso generated speeding fines don't reach me. never had an issue when been asked to show it other than to provide a translation of what it says.

i used to be on my parents policy as named driver, also no issue.

do post back if you get a result, would be nice to have a current picture of what's possible.

[pikey]

Berw said:

Your uk licence is valid as long as you can provide Uk address at which you can be contacted

DVLA are are little fuzzy on this (seems to be fine until it expires, but are not allowed to renew), but my problem is insurance as a non-resident rather than licence

[pikey]

shirt said:

i used to be on my parents policy as named driver, also no issue.

They'll always take premiums, but when it comes to paying out on a claim then they'll check every condition!

I've now found 8 companies advertising insurance for non-resident and yet the 'you have to be resident' condition is buried on page 26.. Quite naughty!