Getting temporary car insurance for non-uk licence holder (UK citizen living abroad)

YankeeBrit

I'm just posting this thread in the hope that someone may have experience or can advise on the best option to find some temporary car insurance for a friend.

The friend is a UK citizen and UK homeowner but lives and works abroad and has done so for many years. They travel back to the UK 2 - 3 times a year for periods of around 3 - weeks at a time.

Normally, they rent a car for the duration. However, since the pandemic, car rental prices have become exorbitant and a temporary solution was sorted as follows:

I sold them an old run-around Honda which they keep at their UK address. I still insure the car and add them as a temporary driver when they come over to visit. When they are away, the car is SORN'd. Each time they come back to visit, I un-SORN the car, renew the insurance and add them as a temporary additional driver.

The problem is that I would prefer to hand all the admin of this over to them. Especially the insurance as if they should have an accident or need to claim, it would mean that I could lose my NCB and have to declare a claim in the future. It's not a major issue but the admin of renewing and adding the friend is a bit of a PITA.

The fly in the ointment is the fact that they don't hold a UK licence any more. I have suggested they renew their UK licence but the issue is that they are Type 1 diabetic and it would probably involve getting a medical report. They do have access to a local GP so that, in itself, shouldn't be an issue.

My main question is, does anyone know about any car insurance or brokers who deal with temporary car insurance for non-residents? I mean, all car rental companies deal with temporary insurance for renters who don't hold UK licences, so you would think that it would not really be an issue. However, all the main car insurers on the comparison sites, don't accommodate any option to take out insurance for non-UK licence holders, even though they are UK citizens.

If it means being "resident", they own a property here and are registered on the electoral register. The only issue is getting their UK licence renewed. Their foreign licence is unrestricted.

TELLIT01

The way you are insuring the car may be problematic.  Many parents put their kids on their insurance when they first pass their test, as additional drivers.  From what I've read, the kid in those situations should be on as the main driver.

I'm sure somebody with more knowledge will add/correct that.

Brie

Can't help with your real problem of how to get them insurance but I've yet to ever see any question when getting car insurance about needing a medical report.  OH is type 2 diabetic so I'm sure I would have noticed.  I do know that a medical report might be needed to renew a license if it was lost due to a medical issue - brain tumours, epilepsy etc spring to mind.  

Secondly - if you are taking out insurance on the car but are not the main driver then it would be considered fraud should your friend need to claim on the policy.  Basically you are lying to the insurance company as it sounds to me like you are insuring based on you, your NCD, your employment, your address etc.  So you are right in wanting to get this over to your friend asap.  

400ixl

The medical report if your read the OP's post is about getting their licenses renewed, to then be able to get insurance with a UK license. Certain medical conditions need a GP to provide information.

YankeeBrit

Thanks for the responses. Just to clarify, the friend used to have a UK licence but it expired many years ago. She has type 1 diabetes and so would probably need a medical report.

She has just looked on the DVLA website and gone through the steps to renew but the system is saying it has no record of her UK licence. If this is the case, she would need to find an insurer who can/is willing to insure her on a temporary basis for up to 2 months at a time, up to 3 times a year.

She has no problem hiring a car with her foreign licence. It's just difficult to find insurers that would insure an owned car rather than a rental one.

silvercar

If it means being "resident", they own a property here and are registered on the electoral register.

Neither of which make them a resident. 

May well be cheaper to dump the car and forget the hassle of SORN, insuring, naming drivers etc You can be sure this one will be even more problematic if they had an accident. They should also make sure they have travel insurance, the NHS should only be covering them for emergency treatment as a non resident.