Car Insurance Advice Needed

[Oboulez]

We are on the cusp of buying our first French car. Can anybody please suggest insurance companies which are to be recommended - or to avoid, plus things like is our no claims bonus transferrable or anything else we would benefit from being aware of etc. We are both in our 40's, no accidents or convictions, are pernamently resident here & I have a French licence. I am aware that Axa has English speaking staff, but do you pay a premium for the pleasure? Thanks

[Bob T]

Who are you insured with at the moment? They should supply your NCD to any other company.

[Chancer]

You need to ask your present insurer for une réléve d'information.

[Oboulez]

I am with Admiral at the moment. Do I take it that the NCD will be valid here?

[Bob T]

Don't understand what you are saying. You say you are with Admiral, but you also say you are a French resident. Admirals terms and conditions state that they only insure UK residents.

Has your car been UK registered till now? A French resident is not allowed to drive a UK registered car according to French law.

[dave21478]

uh oh, the moral high horses are about to come galloping in.

A UK NCB will remain valid for up to two years without a policy being in force before it lapses. Obviously, the poster has become resident here within this period [;-)]

For NCB, I have found that some places will accept a uk bonus and offer the French equivelant and some will not. There seems to be no pattern to it, and I even have experiences of different agents for the same company saying different things. Just ask around a few and see what they say.

[Oboulez]

Thanks Dave. I guess that I will have to shop around. Without getting personal re moral high grounds, I re-insured with Admiral before moving here 6 months ago. Just to knit pick, the UK car is registered to my London address where I stay through the week, so from a 'by the letter' point all bases are covered,

[Chancer]

I must have had that impression as my reply was for a UK registered and insured car, I read your posting again and editted it [:(]

Check your proof of NCB when you get it and make sure that it says how many claim free years driving it represents.

A document saying full NCB or 60% NCB wont cut any mustard with a French insurer, I am sure thay know exactly what it means but will just take the opportunity to jack up your premium anyway, they may even ask for you to pay for it to be translated and stiil  refuse to accept it without the magic words.

[Boiling a frog]

I would advise asking for a quote from the company that insures your house. It is common for discounts to be offered if you have more than one policy.

As for the nonsense about French insurance coys not accepting UK no claims bonus statements, a lot of tosh.

My insurance coy 10 yrs ago accepted a letter from my UK assurers stating I had 60% no claims bonus with no mention about number of years.

[cooperlola]

If English language is an issue, try Nick Chubb here:

http://www.asttral.com/

I use MAAF, not English speaking but they have been excellent as regards claims.  You could also try CA Pacifica - they insure my house and I have also found them good and quick when settling claims.

[Chancer]

[quote user="Boiling a frog"]. As for the nonsense about French insurance coys not accepting UK no claims bonus statements, a lot of tosh. .[/quote]

I stand corrected, I was talking tosh, I must have imagined it.

All this time I have been under the misapprehension that it took many more years to get to the maximum 50% NCB in France than to get to 60% in the UK or however many percent they decide to tart the figure up to these days.

 

[Pommier]

When we moved to France we insured the house and car with Groupama. They asked for proof of no claims bonus so I phoned Direct Line and they posted it to us (max 60% NCB). I took the letter into Groupama where she explained that they could only give us 50% NCB as that's the maximum in France.

She didn't speak English, but the letter was self explanatory so she just took a copy for our file.

We've stayed with Groupama as they have offices just about everywhere and I prefer to deal with insurance face to face rather than on the phone.

[just john]

It really depends where you are but the best single quote I received was from a recommendation to Generali, anyway I didn't insure with them, I wanted an english speaking agent who got a good deal with Thelem. Best deals when house and car are insured together. My Bank seem pretty keen on the business too, usual rules apply, make sure you have enough time to shop around. A good agent is more important to me having had problems previously.

[AnOther]

[quote user="LouiseandGary"]Just to knit pick, the UK car is registered to my London address where I stay through the week, so from a 'by the letter' point all bases are covered,[/quote]Since you mention nit picking you might just want to check on that as I think you might find that you are anything but covered.

No moral horses, high, galloping, or otherwise, but at the risk of an 'I told you so' from Dave if you are French resident, as I believe you are, then that almost certainly will have a UK insurance policy and although you should still have absolute minimum 3rd party cover in the event of a claim Admiral could seek to recover that money from you for failing to disclose the very material fact that you are no longer UK resident.

Ever so simple to check, phone them and ask [blink]

We'll leave the 1 month rule for registering, the catch all 6 month rule for how long the car can spend in France, and, as has been mentioned, not even being permitted to drive a UK regged car in the first place, for another day hey [;-)]

PS: Cannot quote Louise&Gary because of the &

[Boiling a frog]

Nitpicking, surely if she stays at her UK address during the week she is a UK resident? I work out that she will spend approx 240 days per year in the UK

[Oboulez]

I did not mention anything about driving a UK car here, all I wanted to know was whether anybody had any recommendations for a french insurance company as I am about to buy my first french car. The posters are correct in that the maximum NCD is 50%, and I have been quoted anything from 500 - 900 euro's for a 12/07 VW Passat Bluemotion (the 900 was AXA). - PS How do you get the pictures by your names?

[elamessa]

You Could try

Here or

Here

 

Both have good prices and cover.

 

STeve

[nectarine]

Cooperlola's recommendation for Nick Chubb is a good one, we used him and managed to get our NCB applied to our car insurances over here. Many companies just wouldn't accept them - we had letters from our previous insurers to show we had maximum NCB but they just wouldn't apply. However, your letter should show the number of years of NCB, not the perecentage, as it is the years without accident that the French will want to see, so when you get a letter from your UK insurance company make sure they specify the number of years.

It is just a matter of asking around - some will accept them, some won't. But Nick Chubb is a good starting point.

Good l uck.

[chirpy]

If you have house,car and a third insurance policy,say health top up ,then sme companies will give you a 150euro deduction from any claims made ..e.g.Poitiers Assurance.

VERY USEFUL WHEN UNEXPECTED HAPPENS!!!!

[Chancer]

[quote user="nectarine"]Cooperlola's recommendation for Nick Chubb is a good one, we used him and managed to get our NCB applied to our car insurances over here. Many companies just wouldn't accept them - we had letters from our previous insurers to show we had maximum NCB but they just wouldn't apply. However, your letter should show the number of years of NCB, not the perecentage, as it is the years without accident that the French will want to see, so when you get a letter from your UK insurance company make sure they specify the number of years. It is just a matter of asking around - some will accept them, some won't. But Nick Chubb is a good starting point. Good l uck.[/quote]

When I wrote the same advice to another person enquiring about insurance I was rewarded with this:

As for the nonsense about French insurance coys not accepting UK no claims bonus statements, a lot of tosh.

So there you have it, à vous de juger [:)]

[woolybanana]

No problem getting mine accepted, even though I didnt have a letter, but that was some years ago. The little blonde in the office liked me I think!

[Boiling a frog]

[quote user="Chancer"]

[quote user="nectarine"]Cooperlola's recommendation for Nick Chubb is a good one, we used him and managed to get our NCB applied to our car insurances over here. Many companies just wouldn't accept them - we had letters from our previous insurers to show we had maximum NCB but they just wouldn't apply. However, your letter should show the number of years of NCB, not the perecentage, as it is the years without accident that the French will want to see, so when you get a letter from your UK insurance company make sure they specify the number of years. It is just a matter of asking around - some will accept them, some won't. But Nick Chubb is a good starting point. Good l uck.[/quote]

When I wrote the same advice to another person enquiring about insurance I was rewarded with this:

As for the nonsense about French insurance coys not accepting UK no claims bonus statements, a lot of tosh.

So there you have it, à vous de juger [:)]

[/quote]

You forgot this bit

My insurance coy 10 yrs ago accepted a letter from my UK assurers stating I had 60% no claims bonus with no mention about number of years.

[Chancer]

OK Boiling A Frog I will try to explain this simply.

Your experience was a more positive one than mine and Nectarines, that doesnt make what you say tosh,  I  would never write that about you or anyone else because:

A - I understand that each persons experience, views or  perception can be different.

B - It is not good manners..

[Boiling a frog]

A document saying full NCB or 60% NCB wont cut any mustard with a French insurer, I am sure thay know exactly what it means but will just take the opportunity to jack up your premium anyway, they may even ask for you to pay for it to be translated and stiil refuse to accept it without the magic words

That is nonsense, if tosh upsets your fine sensibilities

Perhaps saying

MY insurance coy would not accept

would have been more accurate.

But

NOT ALL insurance coys are like yours.

[Chancer]

Peace be with you B.A.F. [:)]