Hi, I’m new to the forum and waiting with excited anticipation for our first house sit arrangement to begin on the 30th June; we’ve been let down by 2 previous commitments so fingers crossed this one will go ahead.
I was wondering if anyone on the forum has taken out additional car insurance for their house sitter who is not a resident UK citizen? If so, could you possibly let me know the name of the insurance company as my company will not cover anyone who does not reside in the uk less than 6 months. Many thanks, PenniJ
This might be an idea but I’m not sure if it is still on offer.
40 years ago my parents insured all the vehicles on the farm for any driver over 25. It meant we (5 grown up children) could drive any of the cars and the van as well. No doubt it would be expensive now.
Not sure this will help as it isn’t your exact situation, but as a Canadian resident, a homeowner I sat for in the UK was also unable to add me to her car insurance. I was there for a few months and in rural areas so ended up buying a cheap runabout. Insurance was quite difficult to find as a non UK resident with a Canadian drivers license. I must have called 20 different companies but I ended up getting it through Sterling so maybe they can help you.
Hi @PenniJ welcome to our community forum and congratulations on having arranged your first house sitter, where are they coming from?
Insurance of any kind is such a complex issue and I hope you get a successful referral from our community members and this article may be of some help also.
As a sitter having the use of a car, when public transport is not an option, is a huge benefit (the puppies usually like to continue on their daily outings also …:)) and is greatly appreciated.
I’m sitting in the States at the moment and have the use of the owner’s car and it really makes a huge difference, especially as the grocery store, in fact any store is an $11 Uber ride away (one way)
Good luck and do let us know if you find a solution.
Angela and the Team
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Thank you, Angela, our house sitter is a US resident but is currently in Italy on another house sit. I agree with you that it would be beneficial for her and our dog, Berti, to be able to use our car- it gives her a lot more options in this rural area. Thank you for the link, I’ll check it out and it will hopefully have some advice for insurance,
many thanks again,
Penni
Thank you for your suggestions, I will certainly give them a go,
Penni
Hi @PenniJ I’ll just add that, if you do decide for non-UK sitters to use your vehicle, you make sure they are used to driving on ‘your’ side of the road. Also, if your vehicle has manual/standard transmission, that they have that skill. Sometimes it’s not easy to think of all the questions, but make sure you ask what seems to be the tough ones as they are so important. 
I once met a person who had rented a vehicle for a month for a vacation (unrelated to house sitting) and he had no idea he would be driving on the other side of the road. 
I hope he took out extensive insurance coverage.
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Thank you, Snowbird, I get the feeling our house sitter has driven in this country before but I will add your questions to our list for when we zoom tomorrow - very excited to ‘meet’ her,
PenniJ
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You’ve identified what seems to be a growing problem for non UK/Euro license holders in the UK. In 2019 I was added to the policies of 2 HOs - one in Somerset, the other in Edinburgh (although I didn’t drive in Edinburgh, but they wanted me to be on the insurance in case the large dog needed to be taken to the vet). Earlier this year, several HOs encountered difficulties when trying to add me to their policies, maybe because I’m 71 years old now, maybe because policies have changed. In one case the price for 1 week was several hundred UK, in the other the answer was no. In both cases, the HO agreed to sharing in the cost of the car rental with me - and I think we were both satisfied.
I’m up for a sit in Ireland now and the HO has been quoted EU 61 to add me to their policy for 3 weeks, which seems reasonable, although it can’t be confirmed until 30 days before the sit and the price of cover could change. A car is necessary because of the location in the countryside.
Be aware that in the USA it is the individual that is primarily insured vs the UK where it is the car. If you are using a car in the USA, be sure the owner has added you (Ins companies frequently let anyone drive the car on the basis they have their own car US insurance).
We used the home owner’s car in 2018. We had to send them copy of driver’s licence and contact info and they were able to add us to their insurance. I’m not sure what company so that’s not much help, but I thought I’d mention it so you know it’s definitely possible. (We are Canadian, travelling in the UK and France.)
Thank you, there seem to be more options for Canadians on car insurance whereas not much luck for US citizens! I shall keep looking,
Penni
Hi @NigelF, thank you. The one thing I always do and remind others to do also is to arrange and confirm conditions according to personal circumstances/qualifications and the owner’s individual insurance providers terms and conditions.
I wonder if using a person-to-person rental service like Turo could provide a means for HO to safely provide car to sitter. Insurance could be available in several ways:
First, Turo offers insurance.
Second, many Visa cards often offer rental insurance
Third, many auto policies (I e. sitter’s policy) include coverage for rentals.
Seems like an approach that could work and could fairly compensate the car owner (HO) for it’s use while still having a rate far below commercial rental rates.
Since the rental would be through a third party, THS need not be drawn into any administrative aspects.
If anyone gives this idea a go, please update the forum with success or challenge issues!
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Just found this on UK site. Possibly more difficult coming from the USA…
Temporary car insurance may be worth considering as it typically offers cover for one to 30 days (some policies offer cover up to 90 days). This can be particularly handy if you’re borrowing someone else’s car while you’re visiting.
How easy it is to get temporary insurance will depend on the country you’re coming from. You’ll find it easier if you are arriving from:
The EU
Australia
New Zealand
South Africa
I am Australian and currently sitting in Scotland. From here I go to a small place in Sherwood Forest in England. Both sits I have been supplied a car and the homeowners have both simply added me to their existing policies.
I just had to send them a few details e.g. name, number of years driving, no disqualifications etc and that was it. I’ve been before and been added to an existing policy with no problems. Not sure of who these owners insurance companies are but I know it was simple. I’ll see what I can find out, it was something like $AUD35 to add me.
Hi @ziggy this has been my experience also. I do offer to pay the additional charge to cover the insurance, having the use of a vehicle without having to rent is a huge benefit.
Hi Angela. I, also, have offered to pay for the insurance cover. Agreed, what a huge bonus having a car supplied rather than pay the ridiculously high rental prices, particularly at present. I always make sure I can repay in some small way for the owner’s kindness.
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Hi all - UK HO here - we’ve got American sitters arriving in a couple of weeks and I want to give them use of our car so they can take our energetic dog further afield for proper walks, but I’m struggling to get temporary car insurance for them as any application fails as soon as I say they’re not UK residents.
Has anyone found a UK company that will insure US drivers on a temporary basis? Or should I ask the sitter the take out insurance then refund the premium to them?
Hi @steveinbrighton - I was chatting recently to sitters from the USA and they told me that they get temporary UK car insurance from ‘Sterling’