Car Insurance in Ireland

Hello,

My wife and I are moving over in a month or so, and my brother has kindly donated us a car to use when we're over there.

We both have US drivers licenses, and I'm having a hard time finding anyone to insure us on a US licence. Does anyone know of any insurance companies that will give you a quote if you don't have an Irish license?

Thanks!

Hello and welcome, cdare!

www.25plus.ie
www.quinn-direct.ie
www.brittoninsurance.com
www.tesco.ie
www.zurich.ie

To be honest, I can't find any that don't insure drivers with an "international" licence. An Irish / EU licence is not mandatory.

By the way, you can drive in Ireland for up to 12 months on your US licence. After that, you'd need to get an Irish licence from scratch (theory test >> Learner Driving Permit >> practical driving test >> full Irish licence).

benifa wrote: To be honest, I can't find any that don't insure drivers with an "international" licence. An Irish / EU licence is not mandatory.

Thanks for the info! I tried calling quinn earlier but they said they won't offer quote for someone with a US licence. I'll try the others and post the results.

cdare wrote:..I tried calling quinn earlier but they said they won't offer quote for someone with a US licence..

That's contrary to their website then. Hang up and redial. Or buy online.

Quinn can be expensive though. Check out 25plus.ie and brittoninsurance.com. I've found these two to be invariably cheap.

benifa wrote:Hello and welcome, cdare!

By the way, you can drive in Ireland for up to 12 months on your US licence. After that, you'd need to get an Irish licence from scratch (theory test >> Learner Driving Permit >> practical driving test >> full Irish licence).

I don't know how much you know about obtaining an Irish drivers licence, but I wouldn't delay it. It is a long process since there is a shortage instructors and test givers. Also, with the new law passed quite a few months back, you can no longer drive with a learners permit on your own. I would research it and get any questions answered asap, as well as starting the process.

Good luck with the move! Cheers!

Yeah,
I've heard from my New Zealand friends (incidentally there is only one difference in the road rules between NZ and Ireland) that it is tough to get insured on an international license. If you can the premiums are dear. A little bit annoying considered I've seen media coverage about how good the NZ license system is considered here....oh well.

I'd get the irish learners license. I've done this, and if stopped, I'm going to show my New Zealand license and international drivers permit. Fine as far as I'm aware as I had to spend some time outside of Ireland after expiry of my working holiday visa before coming back.

The waiting lists have gone down for driving tests, but you still need to wait 6 months before applying for the test.

I might have exactly what you need.

Try Clements Insurance at http://www.clements.com/expatriate/inte ... erview.asp

That's an American Insurance company that offers Car Insurance worldwide. They will only insure you if you are a foreigner in the country you are residing. The actual Irish Insurance will be underwritten by AIG in Dublin, from whom you will also get the Insurance Disc. All the other Insurance Documents will from Clements itself.

I am insured with them in the UK, and also was insured with them in Ireland. No problems at all. All my foreign friends are insured with them. So far only one had to make a claim, and there was no Issue at all.

And the best thing is the price. They have fixed prices. I pay the same in the UK then I paid in Ireland. Third Party for a car with a Value of less then 9000 USD (IIRC) is 485 USD a year (300 Euro), which can be paid by CC.

Hope that helps.

i have also insured my car with Clements ..... no problem at all.

In the end, the best quote was from Quinn, once we were able to get International Drivers Permits. The reason they rejected me before was because I had a US license, but no International Permit.

I tried Clements, but it doesn't apply to me as I am a Irish citizen and they only offer insurance to US citizens moving to a foreign country.

Sahil wrote:i have also insured my car with Clements ..... no problem at all.

Sahil,

I am in UK on Tier1 general visa valis till May 2014. I got a car..Can i insure with clements??

Hi all,

I have just bought car insurance for my new car with Clements Worldwide (Premium Total: £700, that is annual price I guess ?).
I live and work in UK but I have polish nationality. They have reduced
money from my account but all I have received on email is confirmation!
How long does it ussualy take them to send insurance number? (in case police stops me). I would call them but they are open only Mon-Fri and I need to drive my car now... why do they charge and not send details straight after?!

anyone has any experience with them ?

Thank you,
Arek

cdare wrote:Hello,

My wife and I are moving over in a month or so, and my brother has kindly donated us a car to use when we're over there.

We both have US drivers licenses, and I'm having a hard time finding anyone to insure us on a US licence. Does anyone know of any insurance companies that will give you a quote if you don't have an Irish license?

Thanks!

Hi Bro,, Try this my friend have insurance from them on international license im sure they will give good luck...http://www.italsure.eu/

Anyone else experienced clements in UK? are they reliable?

I am in Uk since 2010 on student permit. In June 2012 I went back to my home country and came back in July 2012 when I also got my Permanent residence. My question is when actually my 12 month residency period start for international driving licence purpose? 2010 or july 2012? I don't have DVLA and I got my International Licence in July 2012.