Car Insurance

[Eli the Barrowboy 16]

Hi guys,

Anyone been having any joy getting car insurance? Cos I only got my Oregon license last month they say I'm a new driver. I had 15 years plus no claims in the UK. Any insurers willing to consider that? The premium here is freakin' enormous - 7 times my UK insurance.

R

[Otto 83]

Hi guys,

Anyone been having any joy getting car insurance? Cos I only got my Oregon license last month they say I'm a new driver. I had 15 years plus no claims in the UK. Any insurers willing to consider that? The premium here is freakin' enormous - 7 times my UK insurance.

R

Same for us, from Germany - new driver.. But they say will review after first year..

[Eli the Barrowboy 16]

But they say will review after first year..

It's ####### isn't it ... really #######!!!

[britty 1]

Not a cat in hell's chance I'm afraid I had hubby add me to his policy and 1 year later, the premium has dropped dramatically with me now having my own insurance through Geico. I'm pretty sure that the horrendous rate you have been quoted will only last 1 year and a far more reasonable rate will be quoted when you have behaved on the roads for 12 months.

[TayRivers 4]

We have insurance with Commerce insurance and all I had to do was get a letter faxed to them from my UK insurance company giving my insurance history and I was able to be added to the insurance policy with 10 years experience.

Check with AAA as they also offer discounts if you had insurance with AA in the UK.

[Gareth's Girl 0]

Hi guys,

Anyone been having any joy getting car insurance? Cos I only got my Oregon license last month they say I'm a new driver. I had 15 years plus no claims in the UK. Any insurers willing to consider that? The premium here is freakin' enormous - 7 times my UK insurance.

R

Check with AAA. I got my hubby added to my policy and the premium isn't anymore than what I pay for myself.

[Nik+Heather 121]

Hey guys,

State Farm tells me to add Nik as a driver I need the UK equivalent of a Motor Vehicle Report - something which lists all driving offenses (she mentioned specifically major accidents and DUIs...) Do any of you know what such a thing is called over there - and how to get it?

Someone mentioned in this thread that they had their insurance company fax something to their new insurance company, but Nik says he's been through several companies, and I think it would be cleaner to just have some official government type thing to hand over (if you have it).

Thanks!

[DisneyLovers 18]

Hey guys,

State Farm tells me to add Nik as a driver I need the UK equivalent of a Motor Vehicle Report - something which lists all driving offenses (she mentioned specifically major accidents and DUIs...) Do any of you know what such a thing is called over there - and how to get it?

Someone mentioned in this thread that they had their insurance company fax something to their new insurance company, but Nik says he's been through several companies, and I think it would be cleaner to just have some official government type thing to hand over (if you have it).

Thanks!

not sure if this helps but back when we looked at hiring a car while I was here on the visa waiver doo-dah, they asked for the same thing, presumably they should accept a photocopy of Nik's paper counterpart of his license as that's from my understanding where any points would be added to a license of someone that had been naughty and gotten charged of driving offenses, DUI's etc would definitely incur penalties and fines. although Im not sure how the on-the-spot speeding tickets work out as far as documentation wise (I've never had any dealings with points aside from helping dad remove his old speeding violations from yonks ago).

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Insurance is regulated by the state government so each will have their own rules and rates depending on where you live. State Farm in Texas didn't ask for anything from Nick and the rates weren't any higher. (I was already insuring 2 cars.) They didn't add him to the policy until he got a TX driver's license, but said he was covered to drive my cars as long as I gave him permission (while he was waiting on the EAD needed to get the DL here.) They said, we insure the car, not the driver so as long as the cars were insured, he could drive them.

Edited April 17, 2009 by Nich-Nick

[Talyss 0]

USAA here in Texas allowed me to be added using my UK license as the main driver on my car (we added it onto the same policy as Charley's) and its approximately the same cost as Charley's car.

[Nik+Heather 121]

It's my understanding that I am both "name" and car insured.

Therefore, they cover me and the car, as a driver on any car I drive, as well as my car regardless of the driver.

So, if I want to add Nik in the same way, they need his driving record (to make sure we don't have to pay extra).

Disneylovers - he said that he's got that already, and we are going to see if that is acceptable, or maybe an insurance report if that doesn't work. Hopefully one or the other will work, because we don't know where else to look.

You guys are such a useful resource! I'm always learning about different ways we do things on both sides - can be confusing sometimes - I can't imagine letting people here run around with the official copy of their driving record - worry about people messing with them! What if your friends pulled a prank when you were sleeping and filled up the whole thing!!!!

[SMB x2 0]

Progressive added Stu to my policy no problem (that was here in Iowa). The rates went up a little bit, but all they needed was his UK license number.

The rates will go down (and might be lower than when it was just me on it now that we're married) when he gets his Iowa license. Not sure if anyone else has had good or bad experiences with Progressive, but they were pretty helpfull to us.

-Shan

[JeremyR 8]

I had good experience being added to my wife's insurance with Geico in GA. I grimaced when they said "of course, this is going to increase your premium" but the difference was really very small. The premium is paid 4 months out of 6 (when it then renews) and it went from about $63/month to $79 (total annual premium went up from $504 to $632) which was much less than I expected and I am a new driver (never drove in Britain).

Part of the increase was wiped out by a reduction in my wife's premium. Apparently being married makes you less of an insurance risk

[edit to add] I'm also a young (<26), new driver...

Edited April 17, 2009 by JeremyR

[TiffandDai 0]

It depends on your insurance company, I work for an insurance company who deals with a lot of military personnel so it isn't unusual to have foreign spouses on the policy. I have never asked when adding a foreign spouse for their driving record. I always just ask how long they have had a license. I think it really all depends on the company.

It really depends on who you are dealing with.

[Angela & Paul 12]

I wrote in another thread, but here in CA, Geico and Progressive will accept foreign licenses. Not Mercury.

I went with Geico, $321 for 6 month. They're cheaper and they DO NOT charge a cancellation fee if you cancel your policy (unlike the $50 fee from Progressive).

Having a US drivers license will not lower the premium, because the discount is a "good driver" discount and only kicks in after 3 years of US license.

Interestingly enough, as mentioned by others, just being married gets you a discount. Married people drive better? I want to see these stats!