Temporary car insurance for son

EdGasket

Is it possible to buy short-term (say 2 weeks) seperate insurance cover for my son as he only needs to use my car briefly this year? My own insurer is asking quite a lot extra to insure him for the year so I would like to compare the extra cost of having him on the policy to the cost of him just getting his own insurance when he actually needs it which will only be for 2 weeks in the summer. Anyone know where I can get a quote?

Quentin

Yes that will be fine.


Google temporary car insurance to find lots of choices of insurers offering this

EdGasket

There is another complication in that he is not UK resident anymore; he is based in Hong Kong. The temporary insurance sites will only accept permenant UK residency or EU residency?? Why is that?

Quentin

In your OP you refer to your own insurer charging a lot for adding him for the year - see what they will charge for adding him for the short time you want to.

McClane54

I found sky insurance (a broker) pretty good for temp insurance

i've used them for a number of years

http://www.skyinsurance.co.uk/

Robin9

When does your present insurance renew? If it's before your son comes take the opportunity to seek alternative quotes and name him as a driver

Aretnap

EdGasket wrote: »

There is another complication in that he is not UK resident anymore; he is based in Hong Kong. The temporary insurance sites will only accept permenant UK residency or EU residency?? Why is that?

Many insurers are reluctant to insure foreign residents, maybe partly because of the higher number of claims (unfamiliarity with UK driving conditions, possibly lower driving standards "abroad" etc) but also because they have a habit of going back home and dropping out of contact after an accident rather than informing their insurer and hanging around to deal with it - which makes it more difficult for the insurer to argue liability, or to control the costs of a claim by dealing with things promptly. I imagine that's a particular problem where short term policies (presumably for people who are only in the country for a short time) are concerned.

WD1234

How much do they want to charge you? Would it be cheaper to hire a car for his use?

Sally_A

If you know of any future visits, it's worth factoring these in when negotiating renewal. Probably easier to do this with a broker than an online insurer/call centre/computer driven policy.

As a family member, who presumably has or had a UK licence at some stage, this shouldn't be classed as risky as a random foreign visitor (eg on a home swap).

One of my clients has a child + hubby (over 25) living in the EU, they visit home 2 or 3 times a year. Rather than a temporary charge of £50+IPT plus £25 broker admin for each 10 day/2 week visit plus the necessity of doing cover notes, we agreed an additional £100 per year on the premium, allowing for approx 6 weeks in the UK; they are permanently named on the certificates, but rated accordingly for their usage.

(and, yes...I do trust them not to abuse this).

EdGasket

Actually it works out cheaper for me to add him for the entire year after shopping around for quotes. Some sites ask about residency and some don't. I think as long as he has a 'home' address in the UK it should be fine.

Sally_A

Often the bulk of the charges are admin, rather than the increased risk.

Glad you found a cheaper option.