Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 7:50 pm Post subject: International License for insurance purposes
Hello,
I am looking for some advice. My wife from France just arrived in the states in May, with the immigration process we have not received her SSN# yet and unable to obtain her New Mexico license. We looked around and found Liberty Mutual would accept the international drivers license that she has had for the last 15 years as an acceptable license for putting her on my insurance policy. The insurance agent was able to input all of the required information when we applied for the policy and there was even a place on the form or whatever he was filling out for her international license # and the computer accepted it.
Now 2 months later we got a letter from the underwriter from Liberty Mutual cancelling our policy. We contacted our agent who contacted the underwriter and explained the situation with immigration and the underwriter agreed not to cancel the policy and we even got a letter rescinding the cancellation.
Less then 2 weeks after them rescinding the cancellation we get another letter from the same underwriter cancelling the policy on Aug 20th, the explanation on the letter for the cancellation was "Substantial change in risk" and "Unable to obtain MVR for ****** Wilson"
My wife has not been involved in any accidents nor has she received any tickets. Nothing has changed since we got the insurance through Liberty Mutual in early June. So where does the "substantial change in risk" come from???
Also does anyone have any advice concerning an insurance company that may accept an international license for insurance purposes? The French drivers license is substantially more intensive and harder to obtain and their driving laws are a lot more intense and strict than here in the USA. My wife has a good driving record and has been driving all over the world for the last 15 years with her license IE: Australia, France, Germany, Holland, Canada and the USA. I am just frustrated.
Thanks for any advice and sorry for such a long post.
John _________________ Register Now to have your Insurance queries solved.
I think the change in risk occured as a result of you adding a new driver to the policy that has no United States driving experience. Your wife may have plenty of experience driving elsewhere, but the U.S. company probably is not able to check the record of of international driving history. So, it's as if she is a brand new driver which in turn causes high rates. You should still be able to get a policy through someone, but the rates will probably be much higher than you're used to, even if she has a SSN and U.S. driver's license issued. Hope this helps, if I understood what you were asking correctly. _________________ Visit The Insurance Files for information on auto, health, life, homeowners and more!
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Your wife may have plenty of experience driving elsewhere, but the U.S. company probably is not able to check the record of of international driving history.
That might have influenced the cancellation of the policy.
You should try to get her an USA driving license as soon as possible. Also, one can drive in USA with an international driving permit only for six months. After that you're required to obtain a valid driving license to continue driving.
Now 2 months later we got a letter from the underwriter from Liberty Mutual cancelling our policy. We contacted our agent who contacted the underwriter and explained the situation with immigration and the underwriter agreed not to cancel the policy and we even got a letter rescinding the cancellation.
Hold on! Did you say that the policy was cancelled after staying in force for two months? Is it possible?
For two months you have enjoyed the coverage and have paid the premium for it, right. The policy can perform only after clearing the underwriting parameters. And the policy can't get cancelled on 'underwriting ground' after staying in force for two months.
The only possibility can be a serious misrepresentation of facts from the insured's parts. Have you mentioned in the policy document that your wife doesn't have a valid USA driving license?
As far I know, one can obtain a policy with an international driving permit, but may require to pay more.
Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 3:15 pm Post subject: International License for insurance purposes
Thanks for all of the replies everyone. Let me clarify some things. First is that my wife has had plenty of experience driving in the United States from when she has visited the US and rented a vehicle and again when she was in the travel business and was sent to the US for a year on a work program for the travel agency she was working for.
As for the the policy, Farmers group insurance was my insurance agent and when they would not insure a driver with an International license I left them and found Liberty Mutual who I signed up with on May 27th, there were no false statements nor were there any hidden facts concerning her driving record, The insurance agent was fully aware she did not have her US driving license and on the poicy declarations it clearly states that her driving license is an International license. The first lettter we received cancelling the insurance was on July 7th.
I hope that this clears some things up. Thanks again for the replies _________________ Register Now to have your Insurance queries solved.
Hmm, interesting. So she does have some US driving experience, and the company knowingly provided you with a policy even though she only had an international license, and even though the rate was increased, they then just cancelled your policy kind of out of nowhere, even after agreeing to not cancel it? Something doesn't seem right, almost like mass miscommunication between the head group and the agent. I'm not sure what would cause such an issue. Assuming the "risk" has not changed (in terms of your wife still has her international license and the driving record has no new action on it) I don't understand why the cancellation would come if the original information was accepted without a problem. Doesn't make much sense to me to be honest. _________________ Visit The Insurance Files for information on auto, health, life, homeowners and more!
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I am a licensed insurance producer, and although I live in Alabama, we write auto insurance policies for people who have international licenses, in fact that is our specialty!
If I can be of any assistance, please email me at:
Jennifer[at]frontlineinsurance.com
Good Luck!
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