We have American sitters coming to look after our two dogs in August for a month. As we live in a rural area (Forest of Dean) and they won’t have their own transport, we were comfortable offering them the use of our small car to be able to take the dogs for walks, to the vets, to get to the supermarket etc.
We tried adding them to our current car insurance but our current insurance providers weren’t interested. Does anyone have experience of companies that offer such insurance for a reasonable price?
We’ve had one quote so far from Sterling - £350 with £950 excess - does that sound about right. We have no experience of this so any advice would be greatly appreciated
Post office insurance might be worth checking out as one option. Depending on the length of sit it also might be another option to look at a rental car and split costs with them instead? My brother and family are in Bream so I know your challenge on transport only too well! #insuranceideas
I’ve done 2 different housesits in St Briavels and my sons passed through there on Sunday while doing their Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award Expedition (in the heatwave!)
@Cuttlefish they have just pointed out to me that they were also in Bream!
How sweet and what a small world it is! Chances are that they all know each other as FOD is like one big village. Hope the boys passed DOE with flying colours . #dofe
I’ve just done real battle with my own insurers, Aviva, to get a reasonable pay out for my car which was written off by a third party (luckily it was parked and I wasn’t in it). So I wouldn’t recommend them, and bear in mind that they also underwrite policies offered by smaller insurance companies too.
But it may just be easier to offer to split costs on a rental car as @Cuttlefish suggests. That way, if anything goes wrong, it’s their name on the agreement and ultimately their responsibility.
As a sitter, I have used home owner’s vehicles on a couple of occasions, and to be honest, don’t want the weight of the responsibility again, especially in another country. The thought of going through all that hassle with not only the insurance company, but also the home owners, is too much. Keep things simple and hire a car if needs be.
@AliJules That’s very thoughtful of you to offer the use of your car. I’m Australian but have done many sits in the UK and never been offered the use of a car or contribution towards the rental fees. One advantage I have over your American sitters is that I am used to driving on the lefthand side whereas they are not. Also, you mention living in a rural area. Just how narrow are your roads/lanes as they can certainly be a challenge for folks not used to them? Much as it’s a kind gesture, I would think seriously about offering your car to them. Was the offer of a car included in your listing? If not, they have still applied regardless so how did they plan to get to your sit and get around whilst there?
Back to the subject of the post, if your small car is manual transmission, are your sitters comfortable driving a manual? Your area has some steep hills, so someone used to driving an automatic might find driving a manual more challenging #hillstarts
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