Uk Driving Insurance Whilst On Thai License

[SGD]

Off to buy a new car and take out insurance and I'm getting some rather daft premiums coming in when adding the missus to a policy (no current insurance history in UK). Circa £500 for me, up to £1300 when adding her. Thai license held for 5 years, needs to drive unsupervised to ferry child around.

I could do with some pointers as it all appears online these days and their little boxes hardly cope with such conundrums.

[chiang mai]

If you've previously had car insurance overseas and have built up a no claims bonus there, a letter from the overseas insurance company stating all of that, will allow you to transfer the no-claims bonus, to the UK insurance policy.

[7by7]

The online companies are only interested in simple, straightforward cases; this is how they keep their premiums down.

You need to shop around and actually talk to someone, preferably face to face. Maybe Swinton if they have an office near you.

Remember that, assuming she is in the UK with a settlement visa, she can only use her Thai licence for 12 months from her first arrival. After that she must have the appropriate, full UK licence or stop driving.

[SGD]

The online companies are only interested in simple, straightforward cases; this is how they keep their premiums down.

You need to shop around and actually talk to someone, preferably face to face. Maybe Swinton if they have an office near you.

Remember that, assuming she is in the UK with a settlement visa, she can only use her Thai licence for 12 months from her first arrival. After that she must have the appropriate, full UK licence or stop driving.

Yes, I'm aware of that thanks. I'll give Swinton a go.

[SGD]

Swinton and A-Plan completely useless and are both reduced to the same level as a website aggregator where you put your details in and hope for the best, tough luck if no good but great for them to have all your nice personal data to use, sell and pass on.

When asked whether they knew insurers who were receptive to non UK licences they showed their lack of usefulness and could only suggest tapping the information into the PC and crossing your fingers !

[kartman]

I would think UK insurers would class your wife along with the just past their test 18 year olds with no solo driving experience ie if you want insurance you pay through the nose otherwise forget it, the last time i went back a number of years ago my daughters insurers charged a hefty premium just to add me on premium with 30+years experience but living in Thailand. One of the advantages of here you can be legally on the road with a form of insurance 600baht. (Q the but its not any good replys, just making a statement)

[true blue]

have you tried the post office,was looking at insurance in uk next year,and there prices were exceptional.

[steve187]

Get your wife a provisional UK licence, she can use that for a year without L plates and a supervisor driver, you can then use online insurance companies for quotes, ( you can not do this with a Thai licence),also look at becoming a member of www.quidco.com they offer cash back on insurance, last time i insured my Thai wife with the rac though quidco and it was about £240.00 with about £80.00 cash back to come off the premium. list your wife as a UK provisional drive, not a Thai licence holder.

Edited December 22, 2010 by steve187

[7by7]

Get your wife a provisional UK licence, she can use that for a year without L plates and a supervisor driver.................list your wife as a UK provisional drive, not a Thai licence holder.

A word of warning.

Not telling the insurance company that she will be driving unaccompanied using her Thai licence is not disclosing a material fact, and so may invalidate the insurance were she to be involved in an accident while driving without L plates and an accompanying suitably qualified driver (over 21 and held a full GB or NI licence for at least the last 3 years).

I'm no legal or insurance expert, but it's not a chance I'd want to take.

[steve187]

Get your wife a provisional UK licence, she can use that for a year without L plates and a supervisor driver.................list your wife as a UK provisional drive, not a Thai licence holder.

A word of warning.

Not telling the insurance company that she will be driving unaccompanied using her Thai licence is not disclosing a material fact, and so may invalidate the insurance were she to be involved in an accident while driving without L plates and an accompanying suitably qualified driver (over 21 and held a full GB or NI licence for at least the last 3 years).

I'm no legal or insurance expert, but it's not a chance I'd want to take.

check with dvla quote here -- Residents

If you are the holder of an ordinary driving licence (car, moped, motorcycle entitlement) and provided your licence remains valid, you can drive any category of small vehicle shown on your licence for up to 12 months from the time you became resident. To ensure continuous driving entitlement a provisional GB licence must have been obtained and a driving test(s) passed before the 12-month period elapses. If you obtain a provisional licence during this period, you are not subject to provisional licence conditions eg displaying 'L' plates or being supervised by a qualified driver or being precluded from motorway

here - http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/DrivingInGbOnAForeignLicence/DG_4022561

they would be using a UK licence

Edited December 22, 2010 by steve187

[7by7]

Until I had to retire from the profession for medical reasons I was a driving instructor, so I know about the entitlement to drive on a foreign licence, thank you (see post 3). But that was not my point.

My point, which I thought was clear, was that if one only tells the insurance company that one is driving with a UK provisional licence and does not tell the insurance company that one also has a foreign licence, then if one has an accident whilst driving unaccompanied, the insurance company may not pay any claim on the grounds that one was either:-

driving unaccompanied with a provisional licence, i.e. illegally,

or

had not told them a material fact, i.e. that one held a foreign licence and would be driving unaccompanied using that.

[7by7]

On a side note, if driving with a foreign licence, take note of this cautionary tale.

[SGD]

Get your wife a provisional UK licence, she can use that for a year without L plates and a supervisor driver, you can then use online insurance companies for quotes, ( you can not do this with a Thai licence),also look at becoming a member of www.quidco.com they offer cash back on insurance, last time i insured my Thai wife with the rac though quidco and it was about £240.00 with about £80.00 cash back to come off the premium. list your wife as a UK provisional drive, not a Thai licence holder.

The fact that she needs to drive without supervision precludes being insured solely under a provisional license. She will obtain one of those next week however.

I know all about Topcashback and Quidco and it is likely that I will be unable to use them this year, simply because there needs to be human intervention. In fact, though Admiral states through comparison sites that it will include foreign licences, it actually specifically refuses to do so and thus, though you believe your insurance valid, it would actually be null and void. The onus is on you to check their terms and conditions, not merely rely on the minimum wage slave who punched the data into their computer at the other end !

RAC don't want to know about foreign licenses. If you have a UK license, it matters not where you come from.

I have a real quote (well, using pseudonyms from the next street) of £900 or so when I was expecting £500/600 for me. That is with Directline and Churchill may also be able to come in that ballpark. This is full declaration, nothing hidden and thus, offers full real world protection. Personally, I doubt I will better that until I can take advantage of the online quotation systems.

[steve187]

When my wife first came to the UK, i insured my car with her as a named driver, using her Thai licence. i think i used a company in newmarket, suffolk called taylor price and co. phone 01638 672972, looking on line they may now go under the name direct choice phone 0844 836 0836, they were very good on price, and covered her on foreign licence, it was a few years ago though , and all paperwork is in storage in the UK, so i can not be 100% sure, of exact details.

Good luck with your search.