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Didnt know where else to ask this, so I hope someone can help!? or has gone through the same battle, and can offer some advice?

I am am living in Northern Ireland with my family (british/irish nationality)on a EEA family permit, and just sent in my application for EEA2 residence card. So I'm waiting now for the LOA from the UK Border Agency.

My problem is, however, that I cant get car insurance!!! Firstly they seem to have a problem with my South African Drivers license, and secondly they dont accept me as being permanently resident in the UK. Therefore they refuse to insure me/my car.

I contacted the DVLA and according to them I dont even need to convert my South African license to a UK one (allthough on their website it states I have 12 months to do the test?), as the rules and driver's test of the two countries are very much the same. So why do UK insurance companies have such a problem with it? On top of that I have a letter from the insurance company in South Africa where I was insured for 8 years without any claims.

I tried several car insurance website, including confused.com and comparethemarket.com, gocompare.com etc. and as soon as I enter "foreign" or "international" license on the quote form, it tells me it cannot give me a quote. The only online qoute I managed to eventually get is at a ridiculous rate of 2543.00pounds for the year!!!!!

It has been a battle since we arrived in the UK, to get anything done, so I am really hoping someone out there can help?

Well the silence says alot...... guess I must be the only one that has this problem....??!!

Hello there,

I am also in the same situation. I got quotes between 2500 to 3000 Per year for car insurance and I postponed my plan of taking a car for time being. These forum threads might be useful to you... I haven't tried the options suggested in the thread but might be helpful to you..

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... +insurance

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... +insurance

There are also few other good posts in this forum which I read but forgot to add in Bookmarks. If you search you might find them.

Wish you good luck.

Regards,
Aani

thanks Aani. I apologise for getting abit irritated, but I'm a little angry at how difficult it is to do anything in the UK if you're a foreigner trying to settle, even if your spouse and kids are british! Took us 3 months to open a bank account, the banks having all sorts of reasons why we couldnt... for example, wanting a utility statement, but you cant get one if you dont have a bank account. Go figure.

Anyway, , will keep struggling on.

I managed to get a quote out of Direct Line, at 1550 for the year, and thats only third party & theft.... But thanks for the links, I'll check them out.

all the best
Johann

johannf wrote:thanks Aani. I apologise for getting abit irritated, but I'm a little angry at how difficult it is to do anything in the UK if you're a foreigner trying to settle, even if your spouse and kids are british! Took us 3 months to open a bank account, the banks having all sorts of reasons why we couldnt... for example, wanting a utility statement, but you cant get one if you dont have a bank account. Go figure.

Anyway, , will keep struggling on.

I managed to get a quote out of Direct Line, at 1550 for the year, and thats only third party & theft.... But thanks for the links, I'll check them out.

all the best
Johann

I guess you’ve found some information already. As a newcomer, I had the same question and a nice person e-mailed me this:

As for insurance, this will be a major headache for recent arrivals like you, as you don't have UK driving experience, UK licence or UK no claims discount. Many companies refuse to quote for you, or offer very high premiums (just to put you off!), but there are a couple you can contact, known to be sympathetic: Direct Line and Aviva. Don't use their online quote, you need to speak to someone on the phone. Do bring any proof of no claims, as it may be honoured

As for likely premium, third-party only nowadays costs more than comprehensive.

Without NCD and UK driving experience, it will be higher than average. If you can get one for less than £1000, you've done well.

Now, you’ve already contacted Direct Line, so why don’t you check Aviva and then let us know?

jrge, thanks for your reply to my question.

As the person who mailed you rightly said, most companies wont insure someone like myself, and the few that I have now found that would, are very expensive...

Directline seems the best option, even after phoning others. But 1550 is still quite steep...

About Aviva, they dont offer insurance to Northern Ireland apparently, so no luck there.

But thanks again, really appreciate the info.

johannf wrote:jrge, thanks for your reply to my question.

As the person who mailed you rightly said, most companies wont insure someone like myself, and the few that I have now found that would, are very expensive...

Directline seems the best option, even after phoning others. But 1550 is still quite steep...

About Aviva, they dont offer insurance to Northern Ireland apparently, so no luck there.

But thanks again, really appreciate the info.

I know exactly what you mean. When I first moved to the US, I had to pay $2,500 (£1,522) for the first year for an $600 car. After that, they adjusted it.

It seems I'll be facing pretty much the same situation after we move to the UK, but I guess am going to have to accept it and move on.

Yeah seems theres no way around it. My car is also worth less than a year's insurance, so thats a joke on its own really.

We are now looking at putting the car in our in-laws name, let them insure it on their name, and have me as a second driver... apparently I can then be covered when driving, for max 3 months (at a few extra pounds a month)...We did this when we arrived in Belfast, as I had to sometimes drive their car to take kids to school..... Definitely not the way I'd like it but we have no choice. The 3 months will give me time to convert my SA drivers license to a UK one. (takes 4-5 weeks) I've phoned the DVA here in Northern Ireland again yesterday and they confirmed again that I dont need to get a provisional first etc. So this is one small positive in this whole mess.

Good luck on your side!