Foreign driver - UK insurance
Discussion
my girlfriend is american, and is coming to live here for 6 months - she has an american licence, and i wanted to help teach her how to drive, so she could take her test and get a UK licence.
However...my insurance company - Admiral - say they won't insure foreign licences, and say I have to get a provisional UK licence for her, and insure her for lots of money on my car
It's a long shot (i assume insurance companies can do whatever they want), but is this legal? after all, she has a licence that is valid in the uk!
(i'm going to phone up and complain anyway and see if that changes their mind, worth a go)
However...my insurance company - Admiral - say they won't insure foreign licences, and say I have to get a provisional UK licence for her, and insure her for lots of money on my car
It's a long shot (i assume insurance companies can do whatever they want), but is this legal? after all, she has a licence that is valid in the uk!
(i'm going to phone up and complain anyway and see if that changes their mind, worth a go)
She can hire a car on that American licence so i can't see why she couldn't be insured. Failing that actually hire a car for a few days and get her to take her test..? (bit confused why you need to teach her to drive if she has a licence already though, or do you just mean drive in this country..?)
Incidently when i came out here to Aus, i just got my UK licence turned into an Aus one because the categories are the same. Can she do that..!?
Incidently when i came out here to Aus, i just got my UK licence turned into an Aus one because the categories are the same. Can she do that..!?
Edited by Buffalo on Thursday 8th June 08:02
Buffalo said:
Incidently when i came out here to Aus, i just got my UK licence turned into an Aus one because the categories are the same. Can she do that..!?
as i understand it any british commonwealth licence is exchangable. which goes some way to explain why the standard of driving in london is, well, third world. (auto driving aussies excepted of course
)thanks for the replies - there's a couple of reasons i need to "teach" her - the driving environment is very different over there, they also do things different such as undertaking on motorways (you use any lane, over-undertake anywhere). I probably can't help much with that, but the other reason is that she doesn't know how to drive a manual!
Obviously although legally if I could insure her, she could go straight out on her own, that's not my intention - i just don't want to be shafted for all this money to insure a provisional licence...
She can't insure herself via her american insurance, i did ask and i think she checked (i'll confirm!), and i don't want to leave my insurance as i'm halfway through (ends in Jan) and i'll lose the no claims
I'm wondering how quickly she could pass her test, i.e. if i insured her for a month as a provisional driver would she pass in that time, after which i can insure her as a normal driver - however the real kick in the arse here is that she'll be listed as a driver with no experience, when she has been driving for over 3 years! grr...can't win!
Obviously although legally if I could insure her, she could go straight out on her own, that's not my intention - i just don't want to be shafted for all this money to insure a provisional licence...
She can't insure herself via her american insurance, i did ask and i think she checked (i'll confirm!), and i don't want to leave my insurance as i'm halfway through (ends in Jan) and i'll lose the no claims
I'm wondering how quickly she could pass her test, i.e. if i insured her for a month as a provisional driver would she pass in that time, after which i can insure her as a normal driver - however the real kick in the arse here is that she'll be listed as a driver with no experience, when she has been driving for over 3 years! grr...can't win!
problem is i can only use my insurance company, cos the car is already insured through them
splatspeed - i was going to teach her off road initially of course (well, somewhere deserted i should say), but i thought it would be better for her to learn manuals/uk driving with me and then have lessons to polish up whatever needs polishing. looks like i don't have the choice, anyway...
splatspeed - i was going to teach her off road initially of course (well, somewhere deserted i should say), but i thought it would be better for her to learn manuals/uk driving with me and then have lessons to polish up whatever needs polishing. looks like i don't have the choice, anyway...
Try asking Dervman: www.dervman.com/ I believe he went through all that with his American gf/wife.
Gareth
Gareth
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