english plates, CT, french insurance and a car crash

[baypond]

English car, still on English plates, with a contole technique, and french insurance. Car resident in France for three years.

Friend crashes car, ambulance, gendarmes, pompiers attend (driver is fine by the way). Loss adjustor assesses car and deems it a write off.

Insurance company sets payout which friend accepts.

Some formalities to complete but everything seems to be going through smoothly.

So, what can we conclude from this? I am at a loss because I have always thought that these friends were not legally on the road and probably won't be insured!

Is this just another example that the law in France never 'does what it says on the tin'

[Pickles]

[quote user="baypond"]So, what can we conclude from this? [/quote]

We may conclude that some people are lucky (not in the sense of lucky to have had an accident, but rather lucky that the insurance company have not chosen to find a way out of paying up and lucky that it has evidently not occurred to the gendarmes to enquire too deeply into the accident and the provenance of the vehicle - it sounds like there was no damage to other property and no human casualties, either of which could lead the gendarmes to scratch the surface or could lead to a third party using these reasons to establish fault). Others in the same situation could find themselves out of pocket in terms of not being reimbursed for their car, plus possibly facing action from the gendarmes for not re-registering their car within the allowed period. It all comes down to "how lucky do you feel?"

Regards

Pickles

[suein56]

[quote user="Pickles"][quote user="baypond"]So, what can we conclude from this? [/quote]

It all comes down to "how lucky do you feel?"[/quote]

Can't fault Pickles interpretation of the situation. I do feel that, perhaps, geography might conceivably come into play with this. IMHO the driver of said vehicle would be rather more-than-lucky- to come out of such an accident in the way that they have hereabouts ie in very southern Morbihan, where the g men are very conscious of 'foreign' interpretation/flouting of French rules and regs.

Sue

[Sunday Driver]

[quote user="baypond"]English car, still on English plates, with a contole technique, and french insurance. Car resident in France for three years.

So, what can we conclude from this? I am at a loss because I have always thought that these friends were not legally on the road and probably won't be insured!

[/quote]

By failing to comply with the registration requirements set down in the code de la route, the owner risks being given a 135€ fixed penalty fine.

His insurers are aware that the vehicle is unregistered and have chosen to continue renewing his policy on that basis so there is no apparent reason why they should reject the accident damage claim.