Insurance quote for new UK drivers license from Australian license (1 Viewer)

streetdaddy

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I'm a newbie
I have been driving and comprehensively insured in Australia for over 15 years. I'm now a UK resident (and citizen) and have recently (less than a month) changed my full Australian drivers license for a UK license.

I put my details, and the details of the type of motorhome I'm looking to purchase, into an insurance quote form on the Caravan Club website and I almost fainted when I got the quote - £3500+ per annum for comprehensive cover :Eeek:

Is this for real? This is more than 40% of the cost of the motorhome! Suddenly I'm very worried that my dream of buying a motorhome and travelling around Europe may be just that - a dream...

If anyone has any advice or suggestions of alternative insurance providers please let me know!
 
Apr 27, 2008
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This is a ridiculous quote, I'm only paying a tenth of that. I suppose as you've only had a UK licence for a month they're treating you as a new driver.
I would try Comfort who I am with, and check out the comparison web sites (GoCompare, Confused.com etc)
It helps to accept a higher excess, don't overvalue the vehicle as they will charge you on your valuation, but only pay out on theirs.:thumb:
 

RubyVan

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Underwriters are treating you as a new driver and loading you accordingly. It may help if you can give documentary proof of your Insurance history from Australia including Non Claims benifits. Talk to an Insurance broker. Best of luck

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pappajohn

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i agree with all the above posts.......new licence holder with zero no claim bonus.

average full NCB is around 70% discount but even so, a 70%discount still leaves a premium of £1005 which sounds excessive.

as others have said, try to get documented proof of your austrailian insurance nand see if that helps.

google motorhome insurance and try a few of the specialist insurers.....Comfort, Adrian Flux etc.

best to ring for a quote, rather than an online quote, as you can explain your circumstances that way.

many insurers will 'mirror' your motorhome insurance on your NCB on your car (not that it will apply to you unfortunately)....in other words, whatever discount you get on your car will also be applied to your motorhome.

good luck :thumb:
 

Sundowners

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There was a link to a company in London that willingly insured Australians especially for travelling in Europe, not sure how they will react now that you have UK residency but worth a try. Can't think what the name of them is, but we are sure someone on here will be able to find it for you.

We got a good quote from Whittlesey Insurance Services, Peterborough 0870 0660460.

Nigel and Pamala
 

jonandshell

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Those robbing gits, sorry insurance companies, need reminding you drove on the left in Oz too!
Good luck with your search for a good quote, but I remember a South African friend got hammered too..............

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Goose

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The fact that you are driving with a UK driver licence for less than a year is not relevant in your circumstances.

Having said that, I'm assuming (since you've held a license for 15 years) you are older than the 25 years that insurance companies whack with exhorbitant premiums. Another assumption I'm making is that you've traded your Aussie license for a UK one.

Ordinarily, if you were a UK driver having held a license for less than a year you would be punished by the insurance companies. But that situation applies to normal UK citizens. Your situation is different in that (I assume) you have traded your Aussie licence for a UK one. On your new UK license it states the date that you passed your license in Australia (ie the date from which you have been driving with a license).

Our situation is a little more complicated than yours, but no less relevant. In May 2010, we secured motorhome insurance through SAGA (as UK residents) on the basis of our Canadian driver licenses. Our premium for a 38,000 pound motorhome is around 460 pounds for the year. The SAGA rep said we were paying around 100 pounds extra for the fact we were driving on non-UK driver licenses.

By the way, the insurance company "sundowners" is probably referring to is an insurer called Downunder. We used them when touring for 6 months in 2002. The insurance premium they charged back then to us non-UK residents was around 450 pounds.

But we're now UK resident (although were touring until recently with Canadian driver licenses).

Comfort weren't prepared to even insure us on Canadian driver licenses. Safeguard were, but their quote was higher.

Now that we have converted our Canadian driver licenses to UK ones I do not expect premium issues to arise for the fact that we've been driving with UK licences for less than a year. As I mentioned, the dates we passed our original licenses (upon which reciprocation is granted) is printed on the reverse of our recently acquired UK licenses (proving we have held licenses for many years).

Check out Saga, Safeguard and Comfort.
 

Peter JohnsCross MH

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I dread to think how they would treat me seeing as I have never had a personal insurance policy since 1954.

Since then I have either been on a fleet policy or on a trade policy !

Peter
 

pappajohn

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I dread to think how they would treat me seeing as I have never had a personal insurance policy since 1954.

Since then I have either been on a fleet policy or on a trade policy !

Peter
Blimey Peter....you'd have to sell your business to pay the premium :ROFLMAO:

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sedge

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Ah well Peter!!

If you spoke to your broker you would be told you have a couple of choices! -

1. insure with the company who writes the fleet cover for the company or

2. see if you can get someone - the Fleet Manager or the Company Secretary LOL at your employer - to write a letter to confirm that you have been driving on their policy for X number of years and according to their records have Y number of recorded accidents/thefts.

In the latter case, Direct Line and various other personal insurers certainly used to accept that evidence as proof of bonus.
 

Terry

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Ah well Peter!!

If you spoke to your broker you would be told you have a couple of choices! -

1. insure with the company who writes the fleet cover for the company or

2. see if you can get someone - the Fleet Manager or the Company Secretary LOL at your employer - to write a letter to confirm that you have been driving on their policy for X number of years and according to their records have Y number of recorded accidents/thefts.

In the latter case, Direct Line and various other personal insurers certainly used to accept that evidence as proof of bonus.


No they will not :Eeek:PETER HAS A TRADERS POLICY and as such he has to start from scratch- No insurance company's give a NCB on the new insurance from trade policy to private :Eeek:I was going to change my own insurance last yr from trade back to private (tried Direct line etc) and they all said the same -from nil ncb :Eeek:-Direct line and others would do as you say and give private individuals a NCB on production of the letter you describe but would not entertain me changing over :Angry::cry:
I am going to look at it a different way this year by using my full NCB off the van (I always ins the van separately) because I am ins with Sureterm on the van and they do not use the NCD and as such I can use on the car/truck then get the van ins co to mirror the car ins on my van :thumb: if I change from Sureterm :winky:This in itself will produce it's own problem as I use a Warrior pick up truck as my car and lots will not insure it as a car insisting it is a goods vehicle :Doh::Doh: wanting me to start a goods policy :Doh:
terry
 
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Street Daddy! I came here on a NSW licence, I had no trouble at all! Didn't go the "on line" way I phoned 'em.
Got the old flannel a few times, but you know as well as I do if you've lived there for a few years you don't take S***
I had my documentation from NRMA which gave me 75%NCD. Phoned Churchill, Direct, what is now Aviva, just like you, the quotes I got made my eyes water!
Talking about my car now! I went local with Cornish Mutual, took my documents over and got the same NCD of 75%, £140 odd from memory!

Motor home, phoned the usual Robber Barons, just like you, Mega Bucks!
One Joker said tranfer your NCD and it will be xxxx,Caravan guard were the worst! NOW! got fully comp with the Caravan Club on an 02 Auto Trail £170!!!
Caravan Guard quoted £274

Mate! it pays to use the phone!:thumb:

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motor roamin

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No they will not :Eeek:PETER HAS A TRADERS POLICY and as such he has to start from scratch- No insurance company's give a NCB on the new insurance from trade policy to private :Eeek:I was going to change my own insurance last yr from trade back to private (tried Direct line etc) and they all said the same -from nil ncb :Eeek:-Direct line and others would do as you say and give private individuals a NCB on production of the letter you describe but would not entertain me changing over :Angry::cry:
I am going to look at it a different way this year by using my full NCB off the van (I always ins the van separately) because I am ins with Sureterm on the van and they do not use the NCD and as such I can use on the car/truck then get the van ins co to mirror the car ins on my van :thumb: if I change from Sureterm :winky:This in itself will produce it's own problem as I use a Warrior pick up truck as my car and lots will not insure it as a car insisting it is a goods vehicle :Doh::Doh: wanting me to start a goods policy :Doh:
terry

Keep your motor traders, I wouldn't dare part with mine having had it since 1968, and never had private ins since.

All the best Rick
 
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streetdaddy

streetdaddy

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Thanks to everyone for your responses, really appreciate all the suggestions! Just to summarise for anyone else in my unfortunate position, my situation is:

- Living in the UK for 14 months
- UK citizen (dual citizenship)
- 2 weeks on UK license, swapped from full Australian licence
- 10+ years rating 1 no-claim history with Australian insurance company
- No insurance history in the UK

I called the following brokers for quotes for 1 year comprehensive:

Caravan Club - quoted £2000+
Caravan Guard - would not insure me
Herts - Would not insure me
Saga - Would not insure me , i'm to young! :Doh:
Whittlesey - Would not insure me
Cornish mutual - needed relative with existing policy
[more that I lost track of] - would not insure me
Downunder - £850+
Safeguard - £820

I ended up going with Safeguard as they had the best and cheapest policy and transferred my no-claim status from my Australia insurance. Still a lot more than I expected but a lot better than the £3500 online quote I got right at the start!

Quite bewildering that it's so hard and expensive considering I'm from a country where we drive on the same side of the road, I have 10 years of no claims, yada yada ... I don't claim to know anything about about insurance funds do their risk assessments, but I'd be interested to know if they're just being cautious, or if there's anecdotal evidence showing that ppl like me are more likely to have an accident... lets hope I don't become another number on their statistics!
 

Goose

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Makes me spitting mad!

Can't figure out why SAGA and Safeguard were prepared to insure us for half your Safeguard quote when we were driving (at the time of the quote and for 8 months thereafter) on Canadian driver licenses...the worng side of the road!!

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