Temporary car insurance - non-GB license

jonassimpson

My details:

Citizenship: Canada and UK

Domiciled: Canada

Age: 48

Licensed in Ontario, Canada since 1989

Vehicle details:

2010 Mercedes A160 petrol automatic

I visit the UK several times a year with my wife and her father owns two vehicles. She has driving licenses from both the UK and Canada. In the past, her father could add us both as named drivers to his policy so we can use one of his cars when we visit. In the last year or two (not sure when because we did not visit for 2 years during the pandemic) his insurers have started refusing to allow me to be added because I do not hold a UK driving license. In the past I also had the option of using a temporary insurance provider (Insure Daily) but they and others like Cuvva now appear to require a UK license.

I'm looking for advice on how to achieve one of the following:

- finding an insurance provider my father-in-law can use who will cover a non-UK driver

- getting a non-owner insurance policy for myself to allow me to drive his car specifically

- getting a non-owner insurance policy for myself to allow me to drive any car

Perhaps it goes without saying that I care mainly about third party liability, not fire, theft or collision coverage for the vehicle I am driving. I would be fine to be responsible for those losses myself.

Thanks in advance...

jonassimpson

Anyone have any ideas for this?

Thanks...

Sandtree

1 - may be possible but its going to be leg work to find such an insurer. Insurance can range from £200 to £10,000 and if you are limited to one or two insurers you are at their mercy

2 - not aware of any currently covering this but again leg work to check

3 - Any car policies dont really exist in personal lines... you have to have an insured vehicle and most then allow you to drive other vehicles not owned or hired/financed to you on a TPO basis

How many days are you realistically looking at? Inevitably anything legal can be insured but you may quickly get to the point of it being more expensive than hiring a car which will come with insurance.

jonassimpson

Sandtree said:

3 - Any car policies dont really exist in personal lines... you have to have an insured vehicle and most then allow you to drive other vehicles not owned or hired/financed to you on a TPO basis

How many days are you realistically looking at? Inevitably anything legal can be insured but you may quickly get to the point of it being more expensive than hiring a car which will come with insurance.

So, this raises another possible solution:

Could I buy a car for £200, leave it to rot in my Father-in-law's garage but insure it to drive and get cover that also allows me to drive other vehicles? A variation on this would be for my Father-in-law to sell me his second car (which he drives rarely) as the vehicle to use in this scenario.

Our visit this summer will be 47 days so a hire car would be very expensive (Europcar quotes me £3800 for a Fiat 500 just now), to say nothing of the fact that it's a complete waste of time since I don't actually need a car and definitely not all day every day we are there.

The frustrating aspect of this whole situation is that I may not need to drive the entire time we are visiting. However, If my wife is driving her father's car and she becomes ill or cannot drive for any reason, we could be stuck at the side of the motorway on the other side of the country with no option but to either tow the car back to his home or have someone drive him to us to pick it up and bring it back. All when I sit in the passenger seat as a fully licensed driver permitted to drive for up to 12 months after arrival in the UK on my Canadian license.

Thanks again for your advice.