Temporary insurance for US Visitor

[s2sol]

I'd never imagined this would be a problem, but it appears to be impossible. My sister in law and her husband are visiting from the US for a fortnight. Fond as I am of them, I'd like to be able to give them my car and satnav, and wave them goodbye at least some of the time!

I'm insured with Swiftcover, who won't add a US licence holder to my policy. My car is the only automatic we have available. Is there any way around this, or am I doomed to chauffeur them around for a fortnight? Apparently hiring a car is not affordable............

[Monty Python]

I doubt it - Swiftcover are notoriously picky about who they'll insure. Anyone seen as high risk and they run a mile.

How much is affordable? Enterprise do small auto hatchbacks for £14 a day or £17 for an Astra/Focus.

[s2sol]

No idea - I spent 10 years working for Alamo/Eurodollar/National, and can still get some pretty good deals. These are lovely people, but very difficult to help, if you see what I mean.

[Minemapper]

Aviva did this for me last year, for my US MIL. Cost a whopping £32 for a month, I recall.

That said, having ridden with her in the US, I did somewhat question my sanity as I did this. The things we do for marital harmony...

If hiring a car is not affordable, then presumably they weren't offering to compensate you for the additional premium?

[s2sol]

I'm not sure I want to go too far into the family stuff on here! I'm sure they would have made a gesture....

Was the Aviva thing a standalone policy, or as an additional driver to your existing policy?

[anonymous-user]

My American wife is on an Elephant policy here in the UK.

I've had to be chauffeur to American in-laws and I know your pain. Good luck!

[Motorrad]

Now's the time for them to get to see the UK's first class integrated public transport first hand. They can also try 'wa-l-king' a curious British tradition often carried out in the rain.

[s2sol]

For a huge range of reasons, walking and public transport are impractical (His girth, and their small baby, for a start), and after the 17th April, I'm going to be very busy, so they'd have to sit around at home, or spend days hammering around in a van. Probably not the best way to see the UK...

I'll see what the best I can get with Europcar is, on mates rates.

[Minemapper]

Aviva just added her as an additional driver for the month. I've done the same thing with my brother from time to time. Very straightforward to do.

Of course, for Americans, it's hard to understand why this might be a problem, since they're one of those wacky places that insures the car, not the person. So this kind of thing is much easier there. All I had to do was give someone verbal permission to drive my car, and they were covered.

[Hensen]

DR10 said:

My American wife is on an Elephant policy here in the UK.

I've had to be chauffeur to American in-laws and I know your pain. Good luck!

How much does she eat ?? LOL

[The Moose]

DR10 said:

My American wife is on an Elephant policy here in the UK.

I've had to be chauffeur to American in-laws and I know your pain. Good luck!

And your wives of other nationalities...???



Cheers

The Moose