Adding additional driver to irish insurance policy with foreign license

vetinari

Was just wondering if anyone knew off hand if this is possible.

I live in Boston and usually get added to the family car when I'm home.
This has been fine for the last 10 years as my Irish license was not expired.
It's after expiring this year though.

I have a valid US drivers license though, was wondering if this would be sufficient for adding me as an additional driver.

Thanks for any help!

GM228

vetinari wrote: »

Was just wondering if anyone knew off hand if this is possible.

I live in Boston and usually get added to the family car when I'm home.
This has been fine for the last 10 years as my Irish license was not expired.
It's after expiring this year though.

I have a valid US drivers license though, was wondering if this would be sufficient for adding me as an additional driver.

Thanks for any help!

Youu can use a US drivers licence (with a permit) up to 12 months after which time you need to have an Irish licence.

uck51js9zml2yt

US licenses are classed as Provisional (Learner)

Not sure how long you can retain it but you'll need to do an Irish Driving Test

GM228

Kalel Substantial Stem wrote: »

US licenses are classed as Provisional (Learner)

Not sure how long you can retain it but you'll need to do an Irish Driving Test

You only need to do the test after 12 months. You are covered for the first 12 months when you apply for a permit to accompany your US licence, this applies to all countries who are signed up to the UN Convention on Road Traffic 1926 or 1949.

vetinari

Sorry, not sure if my question is clear enough.

I still live in Boston.
I only drive in Ireland when I'm home to visit family.

Up until this year, my Irish driving license was not expired so my parents used that for adding me to their insurance policy.
Now since my Irish driving license is expired, I was wondering if people knew whether I could use my American driving license for adding me temporarily to their policy.

GM228

vetinari wrote: »

Sorry, not sure if my question is clear enough.

I still live in Boston.
I only drive in Ireland when I'm home to visit family.

Up until this year, my Irish driving license was not expired so my parents used that for adding me to their insurance policy.
Now since my Irish driving license is expired, I was wondering if people knew whether I could use my American driving license for adding me temporarily to their policy.

Yes see my last posting, as long as you apply for a permit to accompany your licence it is recognised in Ireland.

You can apply here:-

http://m.midatlantic.aaa.com/Travel/~/link.aspx?_id=D057DFE141934C829D319FF564BEFB0F&_z=z&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fdublin.usembassy.gov%2Fmobile%2F%2Fservice%2Fother-citizen-services%2Fother-citizen-services%2Fdriving.html

Del2005

vetinari wrote: »

Sorry, not sure if my question is clear enough.

I still live in Boston.
I only drive in Ireland when I'm home to visit family.

Up until this year, my Irish driving license was not expired so my parents used that for adding me to their insurance policy.
Now since my Irish driving license is expired, I was wondering if people knew whether I could use my American driving license for adding me temporarily to their policy.

Only one company can really answer that. It shouldn't be an issue, just might cost slightly more for having a non Irish licence. They may be able to get open drive cheaper which would allow anyone between 25 and 70 to drive once they have a valid licence, your US licence is valid.

GM228

Del2005 wrote: »

Only one company can really answer that. It shouldn't be an issue, just might cost slightly more for having a non Irish licence. They may be able to get open drive cheaper which would allow anyone between 25 and 70 to drive once they have a valid licence, your US licence is valid.

That is not entirely correct, a US licence is not valid on its own without the permit.

whomitconcerns

You can only have a permit if your an Irish redident. Why not just renew your Irish licence? You didn't be named driver with a foreign licence I think ? Call their Insurance company oblu est to be certain

GM228

whomitconcerns wrote: »

You can only have a permit if your an Irish redident. Why not just renew your Irish licence? You didn't be named driver with a foreign licence I think ? Call their Insurance company oblu est to be certain

No that is incorrect, under the UN Convention on Road Traffic 1926 and 1949 any resident of any member country can apply for an International Permit which is valid for upto 12 months. You get this permit on the basis of being a tourist. Normally after 185 days continuous residency you requiee an Irish driving licence (except EU or EEA issued licences in which case you can use them as long as they are valid), but the above is valid for 12 months. If you visit each year you can obtain the permit each year. It costs $15 per year from the US.

As the OP is a Boston resident it mat not be that simple to renew their Irish licence.

kieran.

I recently put my uncle from Canada on my mams policy €63 for the month with liberty insurance

GM228

kieran. wrote: »

I recently put my uncle from Canada on my mams policy €63 for the month with liberty insurance

Is he a permanent resident now or a visitor?

kieran.

GM228 wrote: »

Is he a permanent resident now or a visitor?

No he was just home staying ireland for the month ... so visitor

GM228

kieran. wrote: »

No he was just home staying ireland for the month ... so visitor

€63 for one month seems high, but then again I wonder how much of that is an admin fee? Did he have an International Permit?

kieran.

GM228 wrote: »

€63 for one month seems high, but then again I wonder how much of that is an admin fee? Did he have an International Permit?

No administration fee, they treat any licence outside the European union as a provisional. It's still a lot cheaper than hiring a car. No international licence just his Albert licence.

GM228

kieran. wrote: »

No administration fee, they treat any licence outside the European union as a provisional. It's still a lot cheaper than hiring a car. No international licence just his Albert licence.

Just goes to show you how bad the insurance companies are, they should not be treating it as a provisional, I wonder what they would say if there was an accident/claim made as a non EU/EEA licence is not valid without an International Permit.

wandererz

GM228 wrote: »

Just goes to show you how bad the insurance companies are, they should not be treating it as a provisional, I wonder what they would say if there was an accident/claim made as a non EU/EEA licence is not valid without an International Permit.

They treat it as Irish Provisional but only for ratings purposes to determine what the load on the policy is for that period of time.

GM228

wandererz wrote: »

They treat it as Irish Provisional but only for ratings purposes to determine what the load on the policy is for that period of time.

If they treat it as an Irish Provisional for loadings I wonder how they treat it if a claim occured? If they still treat it as a Provisional and a crash happens with only the driver in the car then they may try saying you required a competent driver beside you.

Either way if you don't have a permit to accompany your non EU/EEA licence then you arn't licenced to drive and the insurance companies would no doubt just love to point that one out!

wandererz

GM228 wrote: »

If they treat it as an Irish Provisional for loadings I wonder how they treat it if a claim occured? If they still treat it as a Provisional and a crash happens with only the driver in the car then they may try saying you required a competent driver beside you.

Either way if you don't have a permit to accompany your non EU/EEU licence then you arn't licenced to drive and the insurance companies would no doubt just love to point that one out!

Ok, so perhaps i used the incorrect term when i mentioned loading.
I called and asked about this specific issue this past week.

I also asked about being classified and being treated as Irish Provisional and would they require a fully licensed driver to be present.
They quite clearly said NO, it was for ratings purposes.

I can send on the copy of the chat conversation.

There's no need to speculate these days, just call them up or initiate an online chat conversation and get the facts.

Simples.

(this was with 123.ie by the way, so other insurers may be different)

I might also point out that i also gave out incorrect advice to someone until i decided to check it myself.
After your online chat 123 will email you a copy of the conversation so that you have a copy of everything that was said.
That's better than a verbal conversation with no record on your side and a very defined time frame as to what to ask.

GM228

wandererz wrote: »

Ok, so perhaps i used the incorrect term when i mentioned loading.
I called and asked about this specific issue this past week.

I also asked about being classified and being treated as Irish Provisional and would they require a fully licensed driver to be present.
They quite clearly said NO, it was for ratings purposes.

I can send on the copy of the chat conversation.

There's no need to speculate these days, just call them up or initiate an online chat conversation and get the facts.

Simples.

(this was with 123.ie by the way, so other insurers may be different)

I might also point out that i also gave out incorrect advice to someone until i decided to check it myself.
After your online chat 123 will email you a copy of the conversation so that you have a copy of everything that was said.
That's better than a verbal conversation with no record on your side and a very defined time frame as to what to ask.

At least they confirmed the no second driver which is handy to have, however it does not take away from the fact that a non EU/EEA driver can't legally drive here without the permit to accompany their licence. I wonder though how many Guards or insurance companies would actually request the permit?

Del2005

GM228 wrote: »

Either way if you don't have a permit to accompany your non EU/EEA licence then you arn't licenced to drive and the insurance companies would no doubt just love to point that one out!

All the permit does is translates what's on your licence into different languages. Since the OP is coming from the US there's no need to translate it as we already use the same language.

Nomis21

A lot of nonsense talked here about 'permits'.

Anyone from any country can drive in ROI on their own licence. Any car hire company accepts foreign licences to drive their cars without a 'permit'.

Insurance is another matter. OP needs to renew his Irish licence to avoid unnecessary expense. A renewal can be made at any driving licence centre without any proof of residence asked for. The OP only needs to put the address where he is staying at the time so it can be posted out to him.

GM228

Del2005 wrote: »

All the permit does is translates what's on your licence into different languages. Since the OP is coming from the US there's no need to translate it as we already use the same language.

Nomis21 wrote: »

A lot of nonsense talked here about 'permits'.

Anyone from any country can drive in ROI on their own licence. Any car hire company accepts foreign licences to drive their cars without a 'permit'.

Insurance is another matter. OP needs to renew his Irish licence to avoid unnecessary expense. A renewal can be made at any driving licence centre without any proof of residence asked for. The OP only needs to put the address where he is staying at the time so it can be posted out to him.

"Anyone from any country can drive in ROI on their own licence" - that statement is totally inaccurate, only Irish, EU/EEA and certain other recognised international licences are recognised in Ireland.

No matter what you may think or have been told most non-EU/EEA driving licences are not recognised as a legal driving licence in Ireland by law.

An IDP contains a multilingual translation of your licence, but it is required along with your original licence irrespective of the language of the country you are driving in, remember it is a "permit", not just a translation, it permits you to drive internationally.

By law only EU/EEA issued licences and certain other "recognised" states licences are legally recognised to be used on their own in Ireland without an IDP, the US is not one of those recognised states, it would appear very few people seem to realise that. The fact that an insurance company may tell you that you do/don't require one is irrelevant, even if they don't look for one that dosn't take away from the legal status of an international driving licence.

It is stated on the Dublin US Embassy website about the requirement of an IDP for people with a US licence.

http://dublin.usembassy.gov/mobile//service/other-citizen-services/other-citizen-services/driving.html

The Road Traffic Act states only Irish and EU/EEU licences are recognised here aswell as some international licences, the only international driving licences recognised in this country are those made by an order under Section 23A of the RTA, to date only four orders have been made and only the following countries have been recognised by those orders:-

Australia, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Japan, Jersey , Canada (Manitoba and Ontario issued only), New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland and Taiwan.

These are the orders:-

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2007/si/527/made/en/print
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2010/si/402/made/en/print
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2014/si/413/made/en/print
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2015/si/118/made/en/print

The US is not on those orders and so is not recognised here and not a legal licence here without an IDP.

Citizens Information confirms also.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/travel_and_recreation/motoring_1/driver_licensing/exchanging_foreign_driving_permit.html

Rules

Holders of licences issued by an EU/EEA member state
If you have a driving licence issued by an EU/EEA member state you can drive in Ireland as long as your existing licence is valid. If you wish to exchange your driving licence for an equivalent Irish driving licence when it expires, you must do so within 10 years of your driving licence expiring.

Holders of licences issued by a recognised state
Ireland has agreements with certain other countries/states that designates them as recognised states for the purposes of driving licence exchange. These are:

Australia*
Gibraltar
Guernsey
Isle of Man
Japan
Jersey
Manitoba State of Canada*
New Zealand*
Ontario State of Canada*
South Africa
South Korea
Switzerland
Taiwan*
* See the National Driver Licence Service (NDLS) website for more information.

If you are a holder of a licence issued by one of the above states you can drive in Ireland for up to 1 year when visiting, providing your licence is valid. If you become normally resident in Ireland, you should exchange your driving licence or begin the process of applying for an Irish driving licence. You are considered to be normally resident in Ireland if, because of personal and occupational ties, you usually live here for at least 185 days in each calendar year. (An EU licence holder can drive on the EU licence for as long as the licence is valid without the need to exchange.)

If you wish to exchange your driving licence for an equivalent Irish driving licence, you must do so within 1 year of your driving licence expiring for Non-EU licence holders (10 years for EU licence holders).

Holders of driving licences from other countries
If you are not from any of the above countries, (for example, if you are from the United States), and you hold a national driving licence and an international driving permit from your own country, you may drive in Ireland for the duration of your temporary visit (up to 12 months).

If your stay in Ireland will be more than 12 months you can apply for an Irish driving licence but you will need to go through the full driver licensing procedure. You must first complete a driver theory test, apply for a learner driving permit and complete your driving test in Ireland. If you pass your driving test, you will be issued with an Irish driving licence.

I know going the opposite way to the US an IDA is recommended (rather than required) as is the case for Canada, although in Canada some insurance companies require one. Each country decides which international countries licences are accepted except EU/EEA countries who must accept each others licences.

Regarding renewing the Irish licence for the OP, it isn't as simple as supplying the address they are staying at at the time, that is incorrect, the address must be the same as the original licence or they need proof of new address from a recognised utility/bank etc which they most likely wouldn't have as a visitor. How many US visitors can legitimately supply an ESB bill or bank statement with an Irish address on it? They also need a valid PPS although this may not be an issue.

wandererz

OP:

I just added a US driver to my policy with 123.ie today for approximately 1 week. Here are the questions i was asked. There was no additional charge.

Insurance Co: In order to quote for a Temporary Additional Driver, I would need to gather their details. What is the driver's full name (as it appears on their licence) and date of birth?

Insurance Co: Can you please confirm that the following are true. The driver has never been refused insurance or renewal of insurance.

Insurance Co: The driver has never been disqualified from driving nor had any endorsement on their driving licence nor had any fixed charge applied

Insurance Co: The driver has never been convicted of any motoring or non-motoring offences of any nature, nor have they any convictions or prosecutions pending.

Insurance Co: The driver does not currently hold a PSV licence

Insurance Co: What type of a licence do they hold and how many full years have they held this licence?

Insurance Co: Just to confirm it is a Full U.S. licence that is held by XXX?

Insurance Co: Does the driver have any medical condition they would be required to notify the licensing authority of?
Insurance Co: Has the driver had any Claims in the past 4 years?

Insurance Co: Has the driver received any Penalty Points in the past 3 years?

Insurance Co: Can you also please confirm your relationship to XXX?

Other than that, just be careful that the driver is licensed to drive manual vehicles rather than just autos!!
Good luck and happy holidays!

Del2005

wandererz wrote: »

Other than that, just be careful that the driver is licensed to drive manual vehicles rather than just autos!!
Good luck and happy holidays!

IIRC US licences don't have any restrictions on what you can drive once you pass their test. I did my test in Oregon in an auto and got no restrictions.

cerastes

vetinari wrote: »

Was just wondering if anyone knew off hand if this is possible.

I live in Boston and usually get added to the family car when I'm home.
This has been fine for the last 10 years as my Irish license was not expired.
It's after expiring this year though.

I have a valid US drivers license though, was wondering if this would be sufficient for adding me as an additional driver.

Thanks for any help!

How long has your licence expire? you've at least a year, I think even longer was possible but not sure if that still applies or has been changed, I read somewhere before that it was up to 10, but that seems too much.
Will you be here when an RSA office is open?
If so, go in and renew it, obviously you'll need to be present, you have had an irish licence, I wouldnt bother connecting my US licence to that (I know I'll be rounded on), at best you should have tried not to allow your Irish Licence to expire, look up the RSA website and see what timelimits are on it.