Shopping for UK Car Insurance as a Non-UK Resident

If you are a non-UK resident who nevertheless will be living in the UK for a certain period of time, whether for business or school, and you wish to purchase a car and have it insured, you may unhappy to learn that this can be a difficult matter. Car insurance companies in the UK are extremely leery of selling insurance to non-residents, especially people who haven’t lived and driven in the UK for very long. One of the primary reasons for this is because in America and some other countries, everyone drives on the right side of the road instead of the left. It is easy to get into accidents when you forget which lane to turn into. You may also have trouble with following unfamiliar British traffic laws and signs.

One expensive way to deal with this is to ship your own car over and drive it under the insurance policy from your native country. If you can’t do this you can consider getting an international driver’s license. This may be advisable anyway if you are going to be staying for a considerable length of time. More countries recognize international driver’s licenses than may recognize one from your country. Getting an international driver’s license may allow you to purchase car insurance. You should still attempt to shop around and compare but your options will be more limited and the insurance itself will be more expensive.

Going online may be your best way to locate insurance companies who are willing to insure a non-resident. You may need to provide proof of your driving record in your own country. The longer you have lived in the UK, the more likely it is that they will be willing to insure you, so if you can’t find a policy at an acceptable price initially you should just rent a car for a while. Consider whether it is really worth the cost of the car plus the cost of insurance for the length of time you will be living in the UK. You may end up deciding to stick with a rental after all.