If you live here and own a car in UK you cannot insure it. | ExpatWoman.com
 

If you live here and own a car in UK you cannot insure it.

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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 10:13

We have just bought a car in the UK and when we tried to insure it, the insurance company rep told us that no car insurance company will insure a car if the owner resides abroad, even if they are a UK citizen and own a property there.

We are now in a pickle! May need to 'sell' it to family for a nominal price who can insure it in their name.

Would anyone know if this is UK law or if there is a (legal) way around this?

69
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 13 May 2012 - 19:05
Thanks shamat. Glad to here that it could be possible.
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EW GURU
Latest post on 13 May 2012 - 18:25
What he was wondering was can you have expat insurance for us plus name my parents on the insurance as drivers. He seems to think this is not possible. Any advice greatly appreciated. TIA Yes, I believe this is possible. We have expat insurance for our car, and we looked at putting my father on the insurance for a short period, as he was going to help us get it MOTed and taxed. We spoke to the insurance company and we were just going to be charged an additional driver rate. This was, however, only for a temporary period, I'm not sure if the rules are different if you are always going to have your parents on your insurance. <em>edited by shamat on 13/05/2012</em>
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 13 May 2012 - 18:14
Just had a discussion with DH about our car insurance. We are going back to UK for a weeks holiday in a few days and had hoped to use our car. We both didn't realise that you had to have expat insurance. Our car stays at my mum and dad's house and they both currently drive it. DH has looked at insurance for expats and there seems to be a few companies that do it. What he was wondering was can you have expat insurance for us plus name my parents on the insurance as drivers. He seems to think this is not possible. Any advice greatly appreciated. TIA
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 12 May 2012 - 10:45
Thanks everyone for the info! DH and I are wondering about our UK house insurance ... I hope someone can confirm that this doesn't apply to house insurance too :\: Look at Intasure for that.
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 11 May 2012 - 12:46
My dad always added me onto his policy FOC as a named driver. He hasnt been able to do it for a few years simply because I'm non resident.
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 11 May 2012 - 12:45
We use Towergate for our home insurance - and they were excellent when we had a huge water leak a couple of years ago.
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EW GURU
Latest post on 11 May 2012 - 12:35
when we came here i rang my insurance and told them how much i would be away but the car will remain on my drive either taxed or with a SORN when i wasn't using it..her reply was to drop my premium by £2 a month as a low mileage discount..she didn't tell me there would be any problem... She's just a phone-basher. She doesn't have an encyclopaedic knowledge of motor insurance legalities as they apply to expats. To reiterate, unless you have written confirmation from your insurance company that they understand that you are an expat but are still willing to cover you to drive when you are visiting the UK, [b'>you are not insured[/b'>. Bear in mind that saying to the police "Oh, the girl on the phone at the insurance company didn't say there would be a problem" won't cut it in the aftermath of an accident when they point out to you that you were driving an uninsured car with an invalid licence. The only legal ways for expats to drive when back in the UK are to hire a car using their foreign licence, or for a private car, to obtain insurance from one of the companies that specialise in covering expats. If you want to borrow someone else's car, you can get short-term cover specifically for this purpose from several different companies, but the car can be no older than 10 years. You may also find that the cost isn't much less than hiring a car in the first place.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 16:44
Hi Ladies, I normally post on the Qatar board as I live in Doha, but always have a scan through what you guys are chatting about. There are insurance companies in the UK who will insure you if you are not a UK resident but are living there. When I first moved to the UK 12 years ago I was there for 6 months on a BUNAC visa and then my OH and I got married and had a 1 year marriage visa and then I was granted indefinite leave to remain. So for the first 18 months I was there I was not classed as a UK resident because of my visa status and because I have an American passport. Well for my job I had to have a car, which I bought no problem, but when I called all the standard insurance companies none of them would insure me because I had a US drivers liscense (which I was allowed to drive on). So I contacted the American Citizen Services at the US embassy in London, explained my problem and there solution was to use their insurance company which at the time was called 'Forces Direct' It was fantastic insurance and there was no location weighting (and I lived in London). The insurance was so good my British husband moved all of our home and his car insurance to them and we were with them for the 9 years we lived in London and when we go back I would go straight back to them. I can highly recommend them, they are now called Towergate Insurace. To be honest I have no idea if they will insure anyone living abroad for a car they have in the UK but it is worth the conversation. But, yes all of the standard High St insurance companies will not insure you. Friends here were able to get their house insured in the UK by telling the insurance company that they use it as a holiday home, which is the truth because they live here in Doha and spend less then a specific amount of time there every year. HTH
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 16:43
Thanks everyone for the info! DH and I are wondering about our UK house insurance ... I hope someone can confirm that this doesn't apply to house insurance too :\: If you reside less than 3 months a year in your UK home then you are not covered unless your insurance says otherwise. I found this out when buying a home in the UK and trying to get building and home insurance.. You can get insurance but it is more expensive. You can get the rates down if you install a cctv camera and you have a security firm checking the footage and responding to any burglary alarms going off by either checking themselves or the police doing it. If you have people living in the house then you have a different type of insurance anyway to cover tenants. I would check what type of insurance you have.
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 16:40
Generally, you are expected to inform insurers if your property will be left unoccupied for more than a month at a time. You also need to inform them if you'll have tenants.
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 16:39
Thanks everyone for the info! DH and I are wondering about our UK house insurance ... I hope someone can confirm that this doesn't apply to house insurance too :\: Gina we are having to cancel our current house insurance and take out a much more expensive one, as the house will mostly be unoccupied. Even though we have a neighbour who will call in daily and make sure everything is ok and they've also offered to keep the garden in shape. Please DO contact you current insurers, don't just rely on the small print.
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 16:33
when we came here i rang my insurance and told them how much i would be away but the car will remain on my drive either taxed or with a SORN when i wasn't using it..her reply was to drop my premium by £2 a month as a low mileage discount..she didn't tell me there would be any problem... As Edna.W states in her post, do the insurance companies really understand that you are non resident and do you have written proof that you as an expat are covered as you are not resident in the country. I would hate for any EW's to become a cropper. There was a thread about a year ago where insurance companies clearly didn't understand the legalities of being an expat and would just insure you. It's a pain yes ... it would be interesting to know if anyone has, or knows of anyone who has, become a cropper by thinking they were fully covered and were not. I know which boat I'd want to be in. For the sake of a small amount in the whole scheme of things I personally won't take the risk, especially with my child in the car. just telling you what i was told - up to the individual what action they wish to take...but the age-old grey area of "define uk resident" looms in virtually everything !! Absolutely Sue62 ... and DH still pays tax in the UK on his military pension, allows us nothing more in breaks or anything ... c'est la vie, at least we have nice weather!! With regard to Gina's home insurance question, I would check the small print and never assume anything! Good luck all
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 16:28
Thanks everyone for the info! DH and I are wondering about our UK house insurance ... I hope someone can confirm that this doesn't apply to house insurance too :\:
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 16:13
when we came here i rang my insurance and told them how much i would be away but the car will remain on my drive either taxed or with a SORN when i wasn't using it..her reply was to drop my premium by £2 a month as a low mileage discount..she didn't tell me there would be any problem... As Edna.W states in her post, do the insurance companies really understand that you are non resident and do you have written proof that you as an expat are covered as you are not resident in the country. I would hate for any EW's to become a cropper. There was a thread about a year ago where insurance companies clearly didn't understand the legalities of being an expat and would just insure you. It's a pain yes ... it would be interesting to know if anyone has, or knows of anyone who has, become a cropper by thinking they were fully covered and were not. I know which boat I'd want to be in. For the sake of a small amount in the whole scheme of things I personally won't take the risk, especially with my child in the car. just telling you what i was told - up to the individual what action they wish to take...but the age-old grey area of "define uk resident" looms in virtually everything !!
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 15:47
when we came here i rang my insurance and told them how much i would be away but the car will remain on my drive either taxed or with a SORN when i wasn't using it..her reply was to drop my premium by £2 a month as a low mileage discount..she didn't tell me there would be any problem... As Edna.W states in her post, do the insurance companies really understand that you are non resident and do you have written proof that you as an expat are covered as you are not resident in the country. I would hate for any EW's to become a cropper. There was a thread about a year ago where insurance companies clearly didn't understand the legalities of being an expat and would just insure you. It's a pain yes ... it would be interesting to know if anyone has, or knows of anyone who has, become a cropper by thinking they were fully covered and were not. I know which boat I'd want to be in. For the sake of a small amount in the whole scheme of things I personally won't take the risk, especially with my child in the car.
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EW GURU
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 15:35
Dear OP, you can own a car in the UK and live here, but you need specialist expat insurance. We could only find one place that provided it - a Welsh company - www.stuartcollins.com. It does not come cheap! If you don't have specialist expat insurance and you are in an accident, you risk prosecution so we have always taken the view that it is better to be safe than sorry.
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 15:30
when we came here i rang my insurance and told them how much i would be away but the car will remain on my drive either taxed or with a SORN when i wasn't using it..her reply was to drop my premium by £2 a month as a low mileage discount..she didn't tell me there would be any problem...
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 14:28
i am just looking into car hire so this thread is most useful, thanks as ever ladies :) We are UK citizens resident here in Dubai, we hire cars in the UK on our UAE licence (swapped for a UK one 3 years ago) and have always had a good deal with Thrifty, in fact Thrifty once told us they prefer overseas driving licences as they don't have to follow up on traffic fines! edited by cymraes on 09/05/2012 Thanks yet more info to go into my Dubai folder. You ladies have been amazing on here
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 14:24
i am just looking into car hire so this thread is most useful, thanks as ever ladies :) We are UK citizens resident here in Dubai, we hire cars in the UK on our UAE licence (swapped for a UK one 3 years ago) and have always had a good deal with Thrifty, in fact Thrifty once told us they prefer overseas driving licences as they don't have to follow up on traffic fines! <em>edited by cymraes on 09/05/2012</em>
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 13:36
i am just looking into car hire so this thread is most useful, thanks as ever ladies :)
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 13:10
I'll send you details later. When you hire a car back in UK you get hammered for daily insurance costs which can double your car hire costs. I did find 2 companies who will insure expats for car hire independent of the car hire companies ie you just pay the car hire and NOT insurance from the hire companies but take out separate insurance. It is MUCH cheaper. I'll dig them out and let you have them. Thanks for this. Just another thing we hadn't factored in !!
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 12:26
I'll send you details later. When you hire a car back in UK you get hammered for daily insurance costs which can double your car hire costs. I did find 2 companies who will insure expats for car hire independent of the car hire companies ie you just pay the car hire and NOT insurance from the hire companies but take out separate insurance. It is MUCH cheaper. I'll dig them out and let you have them.
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 12:09
If the above about licence is true It's absolutely true. Check with the DVLA yourself. what happens when you come back to the UK for a holiday and need to hire a car?? You use your UAE licence, obviously. It's the only legal way to do it. If you use your UK licence and are later involved in an accident in which the police discover that you're an expat, then you are at the mercy of the legal system, because you've technically been driving without a valid licence, which means that your insurance is void. Oops I never thought of that. That's ok then. Thanks for the heads up, not that we'll back for ages. <em>edited by Dilys on 09/05/2012</em>
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EW GURU
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 12:07
If the above about licence is true It's absolutely true. Check with the DVLA yourself. what happens when you come back to the UK for a holiday and need to hire a car?? You use your UAE licence, obviously. It's the only legal way to do it. If you use your UK licence and are later involved in an accident in which the police discover that you're an expat, then you are at the mercy of the legal system, because you've technically been driving without a valid licence, which means that your insurance is void.
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 12:06
Well, we live in Dubai, we have kept our house in England and we keep a car there too. The car is insured with Admiral Did you make it clear to Admiral that you are not permanently UK resident? Do you have written confirmation from them that they understand this and are still willing to insure you? If not, you have left the door wide open for them to declare your insurance void in the event of any attempted claim. It's usually a clause of UK motor insurance contracts that the insured persons are permanent residents. Check your Admiral contract, the relevant clause will probably be near the top. It's also the case that when you cease to be a permanent resident of the UK, your driving licence becomes invalid until such time as you return to live permanently in the UK. I have confirmed this with the DVLA, who say that when we get out UAE licence, technically the RTA is supposed to confiscate our UK one and return it to Swansea. [b'>If the above about licence is true, what happens when you come back to the UK for a holiday and need to hire a car??[/b'> ... edited by Dilys on 09/05/2012 Strictly speaking, the same is true in Australia. If you are granted a license in another country, you are supposed to surrender your Aus license. However, as the UAE RTA don't submit any paperwork to this effect (they essentially just sight the license and trust it is valid), there's nothing that will raise a flag with the Aus officials. I'm guessing it's similar for the UK. Hope so, 'cause we've had to sell our car before I leave here and when we come home for a holiday we just plan to hire a car for a couple of weeks.
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 12:03
Well, we live in Dubai, we have kept our house in England and we keep a car there too. The car is insured with Admiral Did you make it clear to Admiral that you are not permanently UK resident? Do you have written confirmation from them that they understand this and are still willing to insure you? If not, you have left the door wide open for them to declare your insurance void in the event of any attempted claim. It's usually a clause of UK motor insurance contracts that the insured persons are permanent residents. Check your Admiral contract, the relevant clause will probably be near the top. It's also the case that when you cease to be a permanent resident of the UK, your driving licence becomes invalid until such time as you return to live permanently in the UK. I have confirmed this with the DVLA, who say that when we get out UAE licence, technically the RTA is supposed to confiscate our UK one and return it to Swansea. [b'>If the above about licence is true, what happens when you come back to the UK for a holiday and need to hire a car??[/b'> ... edited by Dilys on 09/05/2012 Strictly speaking, the same is true in Australia. If you are granted a license in another country, you are supposed to surrender your Aus license. However, as the UAE RTA don't submit any paperwork to this effect (they essentially just sight the license and trust it is valid), there's nothing that will raise a flag with the Aus officials. I'm guessing it's similar for the UK.
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 11:55
Well, we live in Dubai, we have kept our house in England and we keep a car there too. The car is insured with Admiral Did you make it clear to Admiral that you are not permanently UK resident? Do you have written confirmation from them that they understand this and are still willing to insure you? If not, you have left the door wide open for them to declare your insurance void in the event of any attempted claim. It's usually a clause of UK motor insurance contracts that the insured persons are permanent residents. Check your Admiral contract, the relevant clause will probably be near the top. It's also the case that when you cease to be a permanent resident of the UK, your driving licence becomes invalid until such time as you return to live permanently in the UK. I have confirmed this with the DVLA, who say that when we get out UAE licence, technically the RTA is supposed to confiscate our UK one and return it to Swansea. [b'>If the above about licence is true, what happens when you come back to the UK for a holiday and need to hire a car??[/b'> Bottom line, if you haven't got rock-solid written confirmation from Admiral that it understand your expat status and is still willing to insure you, when you go back to the UK and drive your car there you are driving an uninsured car without a valid licence. If Admiral decides that it can't cover you after being made aware of your expat status - and sadly, most mainstream insurance companies won't - you'll have to go with one of the specialist insurers that covers expats. This typically costs much more than standard motor insurance, but it's the only legal way to drive a private car in the UK while you're an expat. <em>edited by Dilys on 09/05/2012</em>
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 11:44
There are companies that will insure you., stuartcollins.com is one (I haven't used them so can't say whether they're any good)
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EW GURU
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 11:27
Well, we live in Dubai, we have kept our house in England and we keep a car there too. The car is insured with Admiral Did you make it clear to Admiral that you are not permanently UK resident? Do you have written confirmation from them that they understand this and are still willing to insure you? If not, you have left the door wide open for them to declare your insurance void in the event of any attempted claim. It's usually a clause of UK motor insurance contracts that the insured persons are permanent residents. Check your Admiral contract, the relevant clause will probably be near the top. It's also the case that when you cease to be a permanent resident of the UK, your driving licence becomes invalid until such time as you return to live permanently in the UK. I have confirmed this with the DVLA, who say that when we get out UAE licence, technically the RTA is supposed to confiscate our UK one and return it to Swansea. Bottom line, if you haven't got rock-solid written confirmation from Admiral that it understand your expat status and is still willing to insure you, when you go back to the UK and drive your car there you are driving an uninsured car without a valid licence. If Admiral decides that it can't cover you after being made aware of your expat status - and sadly, most mainstream insurance companies won't - you'll have to go with one of the specialist insurers that covers expats. This typically costs much more than standard motor insurance, but it's the only legal way to drive a private car in the UK while you're an expat.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 May 2012 - 10:53
Have to say that I found when I wanted to insure myself I too was told that you cannot get insurance in the UK if you live abroad. The insurance has to specify that you are an expat for it to be valid - if not, you will not be covered if you have an accident and they will not pay out if you have an accident (if they find out you are an expat). My son and daughter both have me on their insurance as it is cheaper for them but I won't be driving their cars when I get back to the UK, just in case.
 
 

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