UK car insurance for cars in France / Spain

TOM AND BARB · Post by **TOM AND BARB** » Mon 25 Feb 2008 23:43

Hello ,

Have recently found an online Insurance company that offers 360 day European cover for UK registered cars.Very useful if your car spends more than the normal 90 days abroad that seems to apply to most other UK Insurance policies.

We have two cars registered with them at the moment.The Policy seems fair and prices very competitive.
Eveything is done online and policies can also be altered and ammended for additional drivers or additional vehicles online.
The website is very easy to use.

Apart from being a policy holder, I have no links with the Insurance company.

All the Key facts and policy details are on their website and can be downloaded in PDF format so that you can make an informed decision yourselves.

If anyone is interested in the details please PM me and include you e-mail address and I will gladly forward you the details.

john · Post by **john** » Tue 26 Feb 2008 09:49

This is a story which continues to run and run Tom. Largely irrelevant to us (both our cars are F plated),I do get asked about this a lot,nonetheless.

Two people ,separately, have recently suggested to me that there is now no longer a requirement to reregister UK cars to F plates for residents here.I've trawled around various Eng and Fr sittes to find out more,and visited the authorities here,but no one can confirm that this is indeed the case. Our German and Belgian neighbours (permanent residents both) have been running around in D and B plated cars for many years now,and see no need to get F ones.So why should it be any different for GB vehicles !?

Does anyone have the definitive answer to this( with evidence to support!)? As with so many things here,this seems to be a "grey area".

carol sheridan · Post by **carol sheridan** » Tue 26 Feb 2008 10:14

I wouldn't risk not registering a UK car here - in fact, I sold my English car when I moved here and bought a French car. I could see a problem arising if you had an accident and the insurance company tried to wriggle out of paying - as they do - because there was anything not completely in line with French law. Whatever that might be!

TOM AND BARB · Post by **TOM AND BARB** » Tue 26 Feb 2008 11:28

Hello,

Just to clarify the situatiion.

The posting was aimed at people that are not permenant residents or do not wish to buy a french car or re-register their UK car for various reasons.

We wanted the flexibility to return the car to the UK whenever we wanted to sell or change without going through all the hassle of re-registering firstly in France then back to the UK.

Our car spends as much time in Gerona airport as it does in France so its an irrelevant issue about having to re-register it in France.

I suspect there are others in the 66 region that do the same.

Which country should I re-register it in ?.Its a nonsense and I suspect as previously noted on this forum that the rules will be relaxed about reregistering within the EU.

The UK insurance policy allows 360 days a year EU driving so I cannot see what the problem is.The wording of the policy is transparent and available online for people to choose themselves.

Anyone still wanting info on the Insurance company I refer to please PM me with your e-mail address and I will forward you the details.

carol sheridan · Post by **carol sheridan** » Tue 26 Feb 2008 12:56

I hope they do get EU- wide agreement on registering cars. I thought that the original treaty meant that companies could provide services throughout the EU, but apparently this still does not apply to insurance. There seems no reason why a UK company should not be able to insure a French registered car and vice versa.

TOM AND BARB · Post by **TOM AND BARB** » Tue 26 Feb 2008 14:41

Hello,

I have received some requests for the info and have tried to respond via return PM's but they are getting stuck in my outbox and wont leave.I have contacted Kate but she is currently in the Uk and wont be able to look at it till she returns.So please be patient.I have replied and you will get the info when its all sorted.

Thanks

john · Post by **john** » Tue 26 Feb 2008 15:15

carol sheridan wrote:I hope they do get EU- wide agreement on registering cars. I thought that the original treaty meant that companies could provide services throughout the EU, but apparently this still does not apply to insurance. There seems no reason why a UK company should not be able to insure a French registered car and vice versa.

As with so many of these things until standards of safety etc are equalised all over the EU,there will be need for different rules on registration/insurance.

You only need to nip over to Spain to see some of the old Romanian and Latvian jalopies kicking about there to realise that standards of maintenance requirements vary greatly across Europe.Likewise in our old Norfolk town,there is a sizeable Portuguese and Polish population there these days,all running around on P and PL plates. I'm sure that,should they attempt to go through a Brit MOT,most would not have a snowball in hell's chance of passing.

Outie · Post by **Outie** » Tue 26 Feb 2008 16:54

So once again what is the point of the EU....................none as far as I can see.

And went is is so easy to re reg a brit car in France(and re reg back in the UK)what is all the fuss about.

Kathy · Post by **Kathy** » Tue 26 Feb 2008 17:07

Tom and Barb wrote
So please be patient.I have replied and you will get the info when its all sorted.

Why not put the info on for all to see? You are not advertising only passing on your findings

TOM AND BARB · Post by **TOM AND BARB** » Tue 26 Feb 2008 17:53

Hi Kathy,

The answer to that one is very straightforward.

If I send interested parties the link to the website, any recipient gets a £10 voucher towards a new policy if they decide to proceed.
Its not possible to do that via the forum and get the £10 voucher.

Its very similar to 'refer a friend' that operates on websites like screwfix and AOL etc.

I'm very sorry if I didnt make that clear to start with.

But there its out in the open now!

Regards,
T&B

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