Short term insurance for Automatic Driving Licence conversion to Manual

On-the-coast

Do any of the short term "pay by the hour" type insurers offer cover to leaners wanting to convert their auto licence to manual?
Those that I've looked at so far only offer "provisional" or "full" driving license in the sign up selector.... but that full license will not be full if used in a manual car.

Asking for my son who has an automatic license (for about 18 months) but now wants to convert to manual.
i understand that he'll be a learner (L plates and all) when practicing in a manual car (mine...).
I'll also be phoning my insurer to ask how much they'd charge to add him (as a learner) 
Thanks in advance (and thanks will be given!)

CliveOfIndia

His current full automatic licence grants him provisional licence status if driving a manual.  That being the case, just insure him as a learner on your car.

I've used DayInsure a few times in the past when my kids wanted a bit of practice in my car, short-term.  I always found them pretty reasonable price-wise - but there are plenty of companies offering temporary insurance, I'm not particularly saying they're any better or any worse than any of the others.

And yes, it's definitely worth asking your current insurer about adding him as a named driver on your policy.  It will vary depending on which company you're with, but very often adding a learner doesn't cost much at all - I guess because, by definition, they're always supervised.

I seem to recall that Direct Line don't "like" learner drivers (at least, they didn't several years ago when I was with them), but other companies I've been with have added my kids as learners for very little cost.

On-the-coast

Thanks.  For Admiral (my current insurer) it would cost £132 to add him for a month... or £138 to add him until the end of the policy (November).  
I take your point re Full Auto = Provisional Manual, so maybe i should just select provisional in our research for the pay by the hour companies.
It may be easier just to let him be insured on mine.  (Will be interesting to see if that £132 covers him after he passes his test - obviously I'll ask rather than assume).

force_ten1

l personally would speak to a driving instructor and ask about booking lessons and using their car and insurance for the conversion 

getting a driving test may be a major issue for your son the test booking system is a mess at the moment, people are using computer bots to book tests slots on mass and they are then selling them on for profit between £150-£200 a time 

there was a case on the telly last week where a young driver was test ready and could not get a test slot so they bought a slot for £200.00, they failed the test and then went online to book another test but their account had been suspended.
When they contacted the DVSA they were told that their details had been used to book 400 test slots all over the country and their account was suspended due to irregular use and they were unable to book a test, so the scammer that sold her a test slot took all her details to change the test to her name, and then went on to book hundreds more tests using her details

CliveOfIndia

On-the-coast said:

For Admiral (my current insurer) it would cost £132 to add him for a month... or £138 to add him until the end of the policy (November). 

On the face of it, it would seem a no-brainer to add him for the duration of the policy in that case.  However ........

On-the-coast said:

Will be interesting to see if that £132 covers him after he passes his test

... it won't.  You can expect the premiums to rise quite steeply once he passes his test - because he'll then be able to drive unsupervised.  And you can't let him drive on a full licence if he's only insured on a provisional licence.

On-the-coast said:

maybe i should just select provisional in our research for the pay by the hour companies.

Yes, that would be the correct thing to do.  But also bear in mind the very good point made by the previous poster - if he's likely to be able to get a test booked and pass it within a relatively short space of time (and that's a big "if"), then there's an argument to say just let him use an instructor's car.  Although, it's always good to be able to get practice in mum/dad's car in between lessons.

It's a bit of a balancing act, to be honest.  Temporary insurance can be great value for short periods, but if you end up using it for more than a few weeks then it's probably cheaper to just get him added to your insurance.  But you do need to plan for the fact that when he passes his test, you'll need to "upgrade" your insurance at that point if he still wants to use your car.

On-the-coast

yes... my youngest son is facing a nominal 9 month wait for a driving test slot in our region.   I know there are regions with shorter waits, but my older son paid for the services to find upcoming tests last time, and  he will probably do so again (even if that's the source of all the problems).
it seems crazy hard for a youngster to learn to drive now-a-days.... and then comes insurance tax and running costs.      We live a long way from reliable public transport otherwise i don't think they'd bother!

On-the-coast

replying to a couple of the comments above...
He has his own car - but it's an automatic and he's looking ahead to when he comes to buy a new one (he's discovered the "automatic tax" on both cars and insurance).

I understand the point about it being cheaper to insure a learner driver... and that insurance usually goes up when passed...  but in this case it's a little different as he's nearer 30 than 20 and already been driving for a good few years - and more specifically a few years back it cost almost nothing to add him as a leaner to my insurance).
Anyway we'll wait and see what the algorithm throws out at the point of passing before i work out whether it's best to leave him on the policy or not.  I won't be paying either way.

and as for using an instructor (and car)... i realise that probably has the highest chance of first passing, but it'll be up to him.

daveyjp

Try a learner driver insurer such as marmalade.  You will just need to check it covers your situation, it should as your son will be a provisional driver again.

CliveOfIndia

On-the-coast said:

We live a long way from reliable public transport otherwise i don't think they'd bother!

I feel your pain.  We live in rural Scotland where public transport is infrequent at best and even the scheduled buses very often simply don't turn up for no apparent reason.  Hence my kids have all been desperate to get their licences as soon as possible.

Contrast that with my niece who lives in London - she passed her test years ago, but doesn't own a car, has no need to.

chrisw

On-the-coast said:

replying to a couple of the comments above...
He has his own car - but it's an automatic and he's looking ahead to when he comes to buy a new one (he's discovered the "automatic tax" on both cars and insurance).

Once a car becomes second hand, most of the additional automatic cost had gone and I haven't heard of automatics being more expensive to insure.

As we move to electric vehicles there will be less need for a manual licence anyway so if he can muddle through for a few years, it might not be an issue.

MikeJXE

Driving tests are not that difficult to get 

My grandson has had an  express lesson course and what a waste of money 

22 hours in November and test booked was April 

My son downloaded Testi an app that finds available driving test at the centre of your choice but you have to be quick to get them 

February 8th will be his third test as he failed the other 2 with stupid mistakes 

So there are ways to get an early test but you have to book one first and I believe that's June now