Auto to manual licence upgrade - penalty?

Norman_Castle

I would get quotes based on the original license date then explain the situation before taking out the policy.  Having a NCB would suggest you are not a new driver.

Isn't the question, how long have you held a UK license?

notional

I asked my sister, and she suggested that if I am insuring an automatic car, then the date I passed the automatic test is the licence start date, and for a manual car, the date I passed the manual test.  The insurance question on the comparison site interestingly says 'how long have you held this licence?' (my italics) - not sure what they are getting at with that.  I have a letter from DVLA with my licence history on, so no one can say my automatic licence never existed. I am a she by the way.

Norman_Castle

notional said:

I asked my sister, and she suggested that if I am insuring an automatic car, then the date I passed the automatic test is the licence start date, and for a manual car, the date I passed the manual test.  The insurance question on the comparison site interestingly says 'how long have you held this licence?' (my italics) - not sure what they are getting at with that.  I have a letter from DVLA with my licence history on, so no one can say my automatic licence never existed. I am a she by the way.

Comparison site questions can be vague and are only a guide to get quotes. Get quotes then check with the chosen insurer.

user1977

notional said:

The insurance question on the comparison site interestingly says 'how long have you held this licence?' (my italics) - not sure what they are getting at with that.

I would presume it's to distinguish it from licences you might have held in other countries.

notional

Update, I didn't check directly with the insurer: I bought an automatic car in the end, and declared the date I got my automatic licence to get the cheaper quote and because I thought it was right and reasonable to do so. No-one got back to me saying they had checked with DVLA and there was a problem.

For the record on here, the back of the photocard does NOT list the date of the original auto licence test, only the manual test that superseded it, that was why I got the letter from the DVLA with the historical entitlement in the first place.