Driving a Manual on an Auto Licence

Originally Posted by CheGuevara

Thanks guys. Any idea if I'd have to notify the insurance company if the vehicle is already insured in my name (my wife is the named driver on the car)? I can just imagine confusing them and making things worse...

Odd about no motorway -the one place you'd be doing the least amount of shifting gears

I suppose I should just make time to take the test and avoid the hassle.

Erm, you shouldn't have that vehicle insured in your name without the insurance company knowing you only hold provisional entitlement for that vehicle....

[CheGuevara]

Originally Posted by the_lone_wolf

You have an auto license but have a manual car insured in your name?

I thought Ins companies generally require you to have a license to drive the category of vehicle you're insuring...

Yup. My wife drives the car which is in my name and insured by me (with her as a named driver), I drive a Hilux Surf with an auto trans. They even gave me full no-claims as I sent them a copy of my Canadian driving abstract.

The Hilux is a pig on diesel though, so I'm starting to put more thought to driving the car when I can.

Originally Posted by CheGuevara

(parking brake while stopped, and crossing hands while steering)

These are actually two of the things that they are becoming more relaxed about as long as control is not compromised.

The thing that most 'experienced' drivers (even if they also ride) fail on is observation.

[the_lone_wolf]

Originally Posted by CheGuevara

Yup. My wife drives the car which is in my name and insured by me (with her as a named driver), I drive a Hilux Surf with an auto trans. They even gave me full no-claims as I sent them a copy of my Canadian driving abstract.

Are you insuring it with your Canadian or English license? If they've accepted your Canadian license but it's no longer valid in the UK they probably won't insure a vehicle in your name that you don't have a license to drive...

Also, if it's insured in your name with your wife as a named driver you may be, inadvertently perhaps, fronting - if you don't drive the car you should have your wife as the main driver. Is the cost of insuring your wife in her own name significantly more than with her as a named driver?

Dude, you need to tell them you are on a provisional. If something were to happen then they might not cover you.

[CheGuevara]

Originally Posted by the_lone_wolf

Are you insuring it with your Canadian or English license? If they've accepted your Canadian license but it's no longer valid in the UK they probably won't insure a vehicle in your name that you don't have a license to drive...

Also, if it's insured in your name with your wife as a named driver you may be, inadvertently perhaps, fronting - if you don't drive the car you should have your wife as the main driver. Is the cost of insuring your wife in her own name significantly more than with her as a named driver?

When I bought the car I was still on my Canadian licence (only just) -the insurance has since been renewed (same company) and they're aware that I'm now on a UK licence, and I did mention to them that my wife would be the primary driver. I've always intended to get the test done - just haven't found time, so there has been no intent to deceive the insurance company.

Insuring under her name -it's a 1.7L Civic Coupe and she's not quite 25 yet, so yeah it'd be pretty expensive. At the end of this month she can drive the Hilux, so once I get my licence sorted the usage will be more evenly split.

[CheGuevara]

Originally Posted by Milky Bar Kid

Dude, you need to tell them you are on a provisional. If something were to happen then they might not cover you.

Noted thanks. They were informed when I re-insured though that my licence had switched to UK with the automatic restriction. They didn't seem too concerned.

[the_lone_wolf]

Originally Posted by CheGuevara

When I bought the car I was still on my Canadian licence (only just) -the insurance has since been renewed and they're aware that I'm now on a UK licence, and I did mention to them that my wfe would be the primary driver. I've always intended to get the test done - just haven't found time, so there has been no intent to deceive the insurance company.

Intent doesn't really come into it - if your missus has a smash, or even if someone hits her, it'll set off alarm bells at insurance HQ because she's a young named driver on someone else's policy - if they decide to dig their heels in it won't be hard to show that you haven't been using the car when you can't produce a valid license. If you're missus is the main driver she should be insured as the main driver, or you could find yourself in a mess when you try and claim


That's ignoring the issue that you should have informed your ins provider when your position changed and you were no longer licensed to drive the vehicle you're insuring, did you specifically tell them you have a provisional UK license? If not they're going to be basing their cover on you have a full license to drive the vehicle you're insuring, when you don't

[CheGuevara]

Originally Posted by the_lone_wolf

That's ignoring the issue that you should have informed your ins provider when your position changed and you were no longer licensed to drive the vehicle you're insuring, did you specifically tell them you have a provisional UK license? If not they're going to be basing their cover on you have a full license to drive the vehicle you're insuring, when you don't

Perhaps my terminology might not be right, but they were advised she would be the primary driver and on renewal that my licence had changed to UK and now has the auto-restriction.

[CheGuevara]

Just to add to the confusion. My licence isn't actually printed with a code 78, although it should be (an error on the part of the DVLA). I discovered this mistake last week when comparing licences with a fellow Canuck (I have "70CDN" and he has "78-70CDN"). I've rung the DVLA and they advise that I have to send it back with a covering letter and then hope they don't make it worse (like lose my motorcycle entitlement) while making corrections.