Treated as 'new driver' after Australia -UK licence exchange.

LJsgettingthrifty

I have been driving since 1986 and lived in Australia for many years. I swapped my Australian licence for a UK licence in 2018. This was very easy to do - the DVLA were happy to concede that driving standards in Australia were at least equivalent to those in the UK.
My insurance is up for renewal and the premium has gone through the roof so I thought Id check out some other providers on the comparison sites. To my astonishment, I am now being classed as a new driver.
 Apparently my driving experience only counts from the date my current UK licence was issued, not when I passed my test. This makes a massive difference to my premium. I am not sure if there is any way around this.
 Is anybody aware of an insurance company that will consider the actual circumstances in my case or are we so ruled by imperfect algorithms that I am stuck with 'Computer Says No' ?

Penelopa.Pitstop

I exchanged driving licence from EU many years ago and always provide number of years since passing the original test, not exchanging to UK licence. Date of passing the test is on the back by each category. Date of issue of plastic document is just date of issue. If you renew driving licence or change address, date of issue will change every time and it's not relevant to you driving experience.

Car_54

Penelopa.Pitstop said:

I exchanged driving licence from EU many years ago and always provide number of years since passing the original test, not exchanging to UK licence. Date of passing the test is on the back by each category. Date of issue of plastic document is just date of issue. If you renew driving licence or change address, date of issue will change every time and it's not relevant to you driving experience.

Not necessarily. It won't apply in the OP's case, but if you passed before the DVLA was set up the date is 1974, because they have no earlier records.

born_again

LJsgettingthrifty said:

I have been driving since 1986 and lived in Australia for many years. I swapped my Australian licence for a UK licence in 2018. This was very easy to do - the DVLA were happy to concede that driving standards in Australia were at least equivalent to those in the UK.
My insurance is up for renewal and the premium has gone through the roof so I thought Id check out some other providers on the comparison sites. To my astonishment, I am now being classed as a new driver.
 Apparently my driving experience only counts from the date my current UK licence was issued, not when I passed my test. This makes a massive difference to my premium. I am not sure if there is any way around this.
 Is anybody aware of an insurance company that will consider the actual circumstances in my case or are we so ruled by imperfect algorithms that I am stuck with 'Computer Says No' ?

You will have to ring insurance companies to get the answer on that.

Car_54

I’m amazed that anyone would be regarded as ‘new’ after six years. I’d have thought the cut-off would be five, or even earlier.

No doubt one of our insurance experts will soon be along to tell me I’m wrong!

in the meantime, the OP could consult a broker.

Penelopa.Pitstop

Car_54 said:

Penelopa.Pitstop said:

I exchanged driving licence from EU many years ago and always provide number of years since passing the original test, not exchanging to UK licence. Date of passing the test is on the back by each category. Date of issue of plastic document is just date of issue. If you renew driving licence or change address, date of issue will change every time and it's not relevant to you driving experience.

Not necessarily. It won't apply in the OP's case, but if you passed before the DVLA was set up the date is 1974, because they have no earlier records.

Why do you think it won't apply in OP's case. Is it any different than exchanging EU licence? It clearly states date of passing the exam on mine and country code.

WellKnownSid

My 19 year old has just renewed the insurance on his five cylinder Volvo for £950 (he took his Dad's advice and bought a large, powerful estate car that no PFY would be seen dead in)

I don't believe six years would be classed a 'new' driver.

Car_54

Penelopa.Pitstop said:

Car_54 said:

Penelopa.Pitstop said:

I exchanged driving licence from EU many years ago and always provide number of years since passing the original test, not exchanging to UK licence. Date of passing the test is on the back by each category. Date of issue of plastic document is just date of issue. If you renew driving licence or change address, date of issue will change every time and it's not relevant to you driving experience.

Not necessarily. It won't apply in the OP's case, but if you passed before the DVLA was set up the date is 1974, because they have no earlier records.

Why do you think it won't apply in OP's case. 

Because 1986 was not before 1974.

Penelopa.Pitstop

But pass date is on the document at the back. It's there for EU exchanged driving licence, so should be there for AU exchanged driving licence. And the treatment should be the same. 

No one ever questioned my pass date and I sent copy of DL to insurance company.

Car_54

Penelopa.Pitstop said:

But pass date is on the document at the back. It's there for EU exchanged driving licence, so should be there for AU exchanged driving licence. And the treatment should be the same. 

No one ever questioned my pass date and I sent copy of DL to insurance company.

As above, it might be. 

LJsgettingthrifty

Car_54 said:

I’m amazed that anyone would be regarded as ‘new’ after six years. I’d have thought the cut-off would be five, or even earlier.

No doubt one of our insurance experts will soon be along to tell me I’m wrong!

in the meantime, the OP could consult a broker.

When I say 'new' I am inferring that due to the premium differences. When I filled in the details without my licence number, saying I have been driving for 25+ years, I got a quote. When I went to buy the insurance, the figure was much higher. The insurers said this is due to the licence check showing that my licence had only been held since 2018. This has happened with 2 different insurers now.