"How long licence held for" what do i put? +++UPD

[dragstaar]

This isn't technically bike related, but It will probably help bikes so i'll pop it in here.

I passed my Car test in 2007 on an automatic. I am now thinking of getting my manual test done.

If I pass, when it comes to insurance, how do i answer the "how long licence held for" question?

Do i have to put "under 1 month" or can I put 4 years seeing as I;ve been on an Automatic licence?

Because the Automatic licence is just a restriction right? On bikes, the licence held for counts from when you passed, not when the restriction was lifted, am i right?

[weasley]

The question "how long have you held this licence?" usually follows the question "what type of licence do you hold?". "Full - automatic" is often a choice, so if you choose "full" when "auto" is an option, presumably you have to say how long you have held the licence you say you have.

Or something.
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[Dazbo666]

Yep, usually asks what type of licence then asks how long for.

(Bearing in mind that if you should give any misleading information it'll void your insurance)
____________________
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[chris-red]

I've thought about this, If it asks how long have I held my licence for it would be since 2006 when I passed my Bike test, but what about if I passed my car test this year, for car insurance would I have held my licence for 2 weeks or 5 years?
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[Skudd]

usually they say FULL license, bike, automatic, tractor are not a full license. They only see a manual car license as a full license.
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[Alex A]

Technically a car or bike licence is a Full UK Driving Licence. Doesn't matter which you get first. You've held a full UK driving licence from the time you pass your first full test and gain the first unrestricted entitlement (A or B).

So, if you passed your bike licence five years ago, you've had a full UK driving licence for five years. If you then passed your car test two weeks ago, you've simply added an additional entitlement to your existing 'full' licence.

If the insurance company specifically asks how long you've had a full car licence (B entitlement), then of course you must answer two weeks, or whatever it happens to be. If they simply ask how long you've held a full UK driving licence, then you can perfectly legitimately answer five years, even if your B entitlement was gained more recently.

[Paulington]

The way the question is intended as far as my knowledge extends, is as follows:

"What licence do you own?"

Followed by:

"How long have you owned the licence REQUIRED to legally drive/ride the VEHICLE TYPE you are insuring?"

Which means, if you have had an manual car license for five years but a bike licence for one week and were trying to insure a car, you would have to say five years but in the first question you would answer "Full UK Car Manual".

However, if you were insuring a motorcycle, you would answer "Full UK Bike Manual" and say <1 month. Doing otherwise is misdeclaring and will void your insurance.

For example, you cannot insure a motorcycle if all you have is a provisional motorcycle licence and declare that you have a Full UK licence even if you have one for a car, as that's just lying.

However, almost all comparison sites/insurance websites now have it all split seperately to avoid confusion:

Full UK Car Manual
Full UK Car Automatic
Full UK Bike Manual
Full UK Bike Automatic
etc.
etc.

TL;DR: You must state the length of time elapsed since the date you passed the test required to drive the vehicle which on a standard photocard licence is Part 16 which is on the reverse side for the vehicle you are insuring.
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[dragstaar]

Right, just called Aviva, Direct Line and Churchill.

They all said the same thing which is this:

"What type of Licence held?" This means, what licence do you hold at this moment in time in relation to the vehicle you are wishing to insure? So If its a Bike, what type of Bike licence do you have? (Provisional or Full - they don't pay attention to A1 or A2 entitlements, you just need to have to right one for the bike you want)


"Period Licence Held For?" This is unrelated to the above question. This, they just want to know how long you've had the Licence as an item. forget about entitlements, forget about everything. Just when did you first get your licence. Aviva and DirectLine even went as far to include any Provisional time on your licence. Churchill said from when your photocard turned pink. (or if you're an old'un from when you first passed a test). Churchill were the also the only people that said that if you passed your Bike licence 7 years ago, and your car 4 years ago, and you want to insure a car, then the answer to this question would be 4 years. they don't count the bike years. All the other companies said they count the bike years too.

There you go, all clarified!

[teuma86]

I was under the impression on its based on the vehicle you want.

So I passed my car test in 2004 and my bike test in 2008

So if I do insurance for Car - I have a full licence, held for 7 years
For bike Insurance - I have a full licence, held for 3 years

Is that not right then?? Could I claim cheaper insurance for having a licence for 7 years.

[dragstaar]

[mrkev]

Has anyone noticed if they change the date next to the little motorbike symbol when you ask them to remove the restriction?

[N cee thirty]

[Jayy]

This is a bit of a grey area and as such, it got me a nice discount on my G1 Ninja when I had it.

It asked, "How long have you held a license for?". Well my answer to that was simple, since 2001, almost 8 years. It didn't say anything about a FULL license. I had only held that for a few days at the time... I wondered why FC on it was only £300

I've only actually held a full license since July 2009, so just over 2 years. My current insurance is £900 FC

[dragstaar]