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Vehicle insurance for non-EU driver

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  • 02-07-2017 12:24pm
    #1
    meh16
    Registered Users Posts: 2 ✭


    Hi everyone,

    I've been looking into buying a car in Ireland, and have been getting lots of different opinions as to the best way of going about getting insured.

    I'm Canadian and have a valid Saskatchewan driver's license. I have my Irish learner's permit and have completed the EDT, but am holding off booking my test until I can clarify (hopefully) if this is the best time to do this.

    As I understand it, I can use my Canadian license for a year. I'll be returning to Canada this fall and back in Ireland in January, which again as I understand should essentially re-set the year I can use my Canadian license. I've heard that it would be cheaper to insure a car on an experienced Canadian license than on a novice Irish one (which is what I would have once I get my full license); then, once my year is up and I switch the insurance over to an Irish license, that experience will count towards insurance price considerations. However, I've also had people say that it's generally cheaper to insure on an Irish license, and many insurance companies would take my Canadian experience into account. I've tried contacting insurance companies about this, and they say they need more information; they won't even give me a simple "more expensive/less expensive" statement.

    I'm going to look into this a bit more, but in the meantime:
    1. Does anyone have suggestions for insurance companies that deal with non-Irish licenses (I know there are a few, but in my initial search I only came across one)
    2. Does anyone know, in general, if a 29-year-old female driver with 12 years of Canadian driving experience, 4 years of vehicle possession, and no previous claims would pay cheaper insurance on a Canadian or Irish license?
    3. If it is, indeed, cheaper to purchase insurance on a Canadian license, should I wait to get my full Irish license until the end of that year? I suppose another way of posing this question is, if I get my Irish license this summer and then in January go to them and say, "I want to buy insurance through my Canadian license", are they going to say, "Well, you've already got a full Irish one, you have to use that"?

    Perhaps I'm over-thinking this, but your insurance system over here has me all confused (in Saskatchewan, we just go straight to SGI and that's that!). Thanks in advance for your advice!


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    #2
    jimmycrackcorm
    Registered Users Posts: 14,339 ✭✭✭✭jimmycrackcorm


    Can you swap your licence for a recognized Canadian one such as Ontario while you're back and then exchange for an Irish one?


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    #3
    meh16
    Registered Users Posts: 2 ✭meh16


    jimmycrackcorm wrote: »
    Can you swap your licence for a recognized Canadian one such as Ontario while you're back and then exchange for an Irish one?

    I've thought about that (Manitoba is just next door), but I'd have to prove residency. Not sure how that'd work, being officially employed in Saskatchewan....


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