Car insurance for drivers with Japanese & International licenses

[RayC]

Hi! My partner is in Japan now and will be getting a car and a Japanese driving license soon. Whereas, I will be visiting Japan and driving for a short visit with an international driving license. What type of car insurance in Japan that can cover both types of drivers for the same car?

[TJKansai]

Hi! My partner is in Japan now and will be getting a car and a Japanese driving license soon. Whereas, I will be visiting Japan and driving for a short visit with an international driving license. What type of car insurance in Japan that can cover both types of drivers for the same car?

Most types of insurance cover either a designated driver, the entire household, and/or vistors/friends. I would expect that fact you have an international license wouldn't matter.

[captainspoke]

Whether your car insurance will cover someone else driving your car is something that you may, or may not, have opted for when signing up for your insurance.

Spouse is always covered (I think), but after that a person might select (or de-select) further options. Eg, I don't insure our kids as drivers, since they're not back home enough to merit the cost--for the few times they'll be back and driving my car (or wife's) it'll be cheaper for them to buy one-day insurance online than for both my wife and I to maintain that coverage for them.

Another choice is whether your insurance will cover anyone else to drive your car (more expensive than kids). So you can loan your car to a friend--in your case a visitor--and they'll be covered. For us, wife and I, we choose to decline those add-ons for a cheaper yearly insurance rate. Similarly, you can adjust amounts of coverage for other things (無制限 in some cases), and this will affect your payment.

So check with your insurer for what your specific policy covers. Even if it does cover other drivers, you might consider asking any visitor to buy the daily insurance on their own. If there's an accident, that insurance will cover it, whereas if yours is used it could result in higher premiums for you in the coming few years.

[adamu]

We're building a Car Insurance article over on the wiki, but it doesn't have info about partners or international permits. By we I mean Moneymatters, and by building I mean once 3 years ago. But as always, improvements are welcome

https://retirewiki.jp/wiki/Car_insurance

[TJKansai]

Whether your car insurance will cover someone else driving your car is something that you may, or may not, have opted for when signing up for your insurance.

Spouse is always covered (I think), but after that a person might select (or de-select) further options. Eg, I don't insure our kids as drivers, since they're not back home enough to merit the cost--for the few times they'll be back and driving my car (or wife's) it'll be cheaper for them to buy one-day insurance online than for both my wife and I to maintain that coverage for them.

Another choice is whether your insurance will cover anyone else to drive your car (more expensive than kids). So you can loan your car to a friend--in your case a visitor--and they'll be covered. For us, wife and I, we choose to decline those add-ons for a cheaper yearly insurance rate. Similarly, you can adjust amounts of coverage for other things (無制限 in some cases), and this will affect your payment.

So check with your insurer for what your specific policy covers. Even if it does cover other drivers, you might consider asking any visitor to buy the daily insurance on their own. If there's an accident, that insurance will cover it, whereas if yours is used it could result in higher premiums for you in the coming few years.

We also let the kids borrow the car if they pay for the 1-day ¥800.
I imagine that is an option for a visitor if your policy doesn't include that already.

A friend said the cheap one-day policy does not include damage to your car, only the other party's. I don't know if there is a one-day policy that gives coverage for all.

[Moneymatters]

We're building a Car Insurance article over on the wiki, but it doesn't have info about partners or international permits. By we I mean Moneymatters, and by building I mean once 3 years ago. But as always, improvements are welcome

https://retirewiki.jp/wiki/Car_insurance

Just 3 years. pfft. I leave things unfinished so much there is possibly a starter family I abandoned back in the UK.*

Anyway, I've casually updated the Wiki with a section on coverage restrictions including the insanity that your kids might be covered even if they don't live at home so long as they aren't married.. smh..

From OP’s perspective I think the important thing is to prove to the provider they are indeed cohabiting as a couple.
A good way to do this is possibly NOT with an international driving permit. Google tells me it's not guaranteed that you can buy insurance yourself if all you have is an international driving permit. If you plan to reside here acquiring/converting your license should be a priority.
Although I have been told by many people it’s ok to use the international permit on just your first year living in Japan. Admittedly only by people that did just that.
I'm not putting this on the Wiki as it's baseless hearsay. (And, as you all know, I reserve such comments for this forum.)..

* Hope someone has fed them..

[RayC]

Hi all,
Thanks for the info.

We are planning to get a used car in Nov. So, my partner will used her Japanese driving license (US convert to Japan). I am visiting in Nov but not moving there until later. So, I will be driving with an international driving license for some time. So, for the insurance policy, i think the Insured + Partner option is ideal but not sure what sort of proof is required, as I dont have any residency to back it up.

I like the per day option (800 JPY/day) for a two-week long visit. Is there any particular insurance provider that you can mention?

I think someone in the forum may have mentioned Kakaku (https://kakaku.com) for online comparison. Any chance in adding a suggested list of insurance providers to the RetireWiki.jp site?

[adamu]

Any chance in adding a suggested list of insurance providers to the RetireWiki.jp site?

Feel free to sign up for an account and add it

[Deep Blue]

I’d be really surprised if any Japanese insurer lets you add a named extra driver without a Japanese license. Hope I’m wrong but that would be my guess. Possibly the person buying the car could add on any extra driver to the coverage, but even then I’d check the small print about whether any extra person needs a Japanese license.