Insurance for named driver living outside UK - possible?

DIYhelp76

Hi,

Pls does anyone know would whether I would be allowed to add a friend or family member who lives outside the EU onto my car insurance policy as a named driver?  They used to live in the UK so do have a UK driving licence which hasn't yet expired, but they no longer have their own UK address, although they could use mine.  They would not be driving regularly/often, just infrequently when visiting me in the UK.

My insurer is online only so I can't call them to ask this question - I have emailed but also would like to know if this is an industry standard "yes" or "no" type of question, i.e. that no insurer would agree to this or some might.  I believe it is NOT possible to have the policy in their name as a policyholder or main driver without a UK address, but wondered if being a named driver would be acceptable.

Many thx in advance.

Misslayed

I used to add my friend who lived in New Zealand when she visited. Direct Line didn't even charge the last time. 

DIYhelp76

Many thanks for your reply - that's encouraging.  I've been googling around as well but found conflicting answers. Some say you can add a foreign resident as a named driver for a limited/temporary time period, like 30/90 days, but you cannot take out a policy with them named as a permanent named driver.  Pls does anyone know definitively or is it something that just varies from insurer to insurer?

silvercar

My understanding is that it is a bit of a grey area whether the driving licence is still valid if you are not resident in the UK. If they had an accident the insurance may wriggle out of it on the grounds of non residency.

sheramber

It will depend on the insurance company, I don't think there is a standard.

DIYhelp76

thank you silvercar.  Yes there is a lot of conflicting information around.  I just spoke to Aviva and Churchill just speculatively and explaining these circumstances they said it would be okay to add as a named driver temporarily or permanently.  Churchill would add temporarily for up to 90 days but Aviva only 30 days seemingly. I did ask if they knew status of driving on UK licence whilst no longer being a resident and one of them (can't remember which now!) said it wasn't a problem, so hopefully that's correct info?!

Manxman_in_exile

Don't rely on "speaking" to someone.  Get it in writing.

Grey_Critic

Youngest returned to the UK last year but has visited/passed through for work since 2014. He has used our address for much longer as his contact point. When coming to the UK he used his UK licence and address with no problems when hiring - he also used his US licence once.

Nebulous2

This is a bit of a rabbit hole. A fairly simple question that becomes much more complicated on examination. I have a relative in New Zealand who now has a NZ driving licence and asked about it here before he came home. The consensus was his UK licence had been surrendered to get his NZ one. 

foreign licence - replacement or additional? — MoneySavingExpert Forum

I called Direct Line, told them he would be driving on his NZ licence and they charged me about £21 for 3 weeks cover. As it happened he didn't travel as much as expected and only drove twice, once with me as a trial version / orientation and once on his own. 

mark1959

I've been getting insurance for a neighbour who's offline and they have a relative as a named driver who lives abroad. No problem for the last 4 years, think admiral and churchill were the last 2 years. 

DCFC79

Id try and add them, if it lets you complete the process then your good to go, if not then you have your answer.
Have you read the t&c's of the agreement ?