Insurance for UK reg'd car in France for 9 months

[Owen White]

I'm coming to France (Niort in dept 79) to work for 9 months from June onwards. I am wondering what the best method of insuring my car is so any advice would be most appreciated, I've spent ages reading all the posts on this forum which have been very useful but i'm still confused about the situation.

Can I get French insurance without registering my car there (RHD Renault Clio)? (for 9 months it doesnt seem worth all the hassle of registering/reregistering when i get back here) If so, any recommendations would be great.

I know that some UK insurers will insure you and charge a premium for use in france, but does anyone have any more names apart from www.stuartcollins.com and SAGA (I am 23 so don't quite qualify!)? I had a quote from Stuart Collins a few months ago when i first looked into this but it was very steep! 

sorry for the rambling nature of this post, but i'd really like some help!
thanks,
O

[Cassis]

We insured with AGF

through an agency run by a chap called Thierry Marcq.  His agency

specialises in English-speakers and he arranged insurance for our English registered car when we first came here in 2004.  We did need proof of no-claims but we

got fully comp for less than it cost us in the UK (mind we used to live

in London).  Tel. for Thierry Marcq is 00.33.321.111.710.  All his

staff seem to speak very good English.  Email [email protected]. 

I believe that by law you have to get a carte grise within 6 months of your importing your

vehicle from the UK so you may be on dodgy ground if you're planning to bring a Brit registered car over for 9 months without registering it here.

Phil

[Sunday Driver]

If you are resident in the UK and intending to visit France, then you may bring your UK registered car over for up to 12 months.  Any longer than that, then you'd be obliged to permanently export it.  There is no requirement for short term visitors to register their vehicles here.

Whilst driving abroad, your vehicle must be UK road legal so make sure it has a tax disc and MOT valid for this period.  If not, it'll cause you some hassle. For example, if your tax expires whilst you are over here,then you can apply to have a new tax disc sent to a french address but you'd also have to produce a current UK insurance certificate as normal. If your MOT expires whilst in France, then you'd have to return to the UK to visit a testing station (nearest to the ferry port) on a pre-arranged appointment.

You can obtain temporary local (french) insurance cover for the period of your stay.

[Cassis]

I've read other posts here and elsewhere that give the maximum as anything from 30 days to 3 months to 6 months.  I know the DVLA allow 12 months as long as you maintain road tax but not sure that the French rules coincide.  The commonest quoted max. for UK registered cars in France seems to be 3 or 6 months. When we had been here 6 months our French insurer asked us to provide a copy of the Carte Grise - he said we needed it after being resident with the car for 6 months. Anyone able to quote the French regulation verbatim?

Phil

[Owen White]

[quote user="Cassis"] When we had been here 6 months our French insurer asked us to provide a copy of the Carte Grise - he said we needed it after being resident with the car for 6 months. Anyone able to quote the French regulation verbatim?

[/quote]

 

Thanks for the help so far guys but does anyone have the absolute answer to the above? I really don't want to be getting into insurance/legal problems if i do bring my car. I will get in contact with Thierry Marcq as mentioned above, but does anyone else have any recommendations of insurers who might insure me (pref. with email addresses?!) for the 9 months?

many thanks again

[Owen White]

[quote user="Cassis"] When we had been here 6 months our French insurer asked us to provide a copy of the Carte Grise - he said we needed it after being resident with the car for 6 months. Anyone able to quote the French regulation verbatim?

[/quote]

 

Thanks for the help so far guys but does anyone have the absolute answer to the above? I really don't want to be getting into insurance/legal problems if i do bring my car. I will get in contact with Thierry Marcq as mentioned above, but does anyone else have any recommendations of insurers who might insure me (pref. with email addresses?!) for the 9 months?

many thanks again

[Sunday Driver]

My response to Owen was based upon him being a UK resident on a short term visit to France.

I think Phil may be referring to the situation of someone who leaves the UK to take up permanent residence in France and wishes to bring their UK vehicle with them. In that case, here are the regulations.

From the DVLA's point of view, before you leave for France, you must advise them that you are permanently exporting the vehicle.  You may use this opportunity to return your tax disc and request a refund of any unexpired vehicle excise duty.

From the French perspective, you are now a resident wishing to import a foreign registered vehicle.  The French Ministry of Equipment, Transport and Tourism have published a summary of the import regulations which I posted on this forum a couple of months ago under the thread "Important Information for Owners of UK registered Cars".  The summary states:

HOW DO YOU DRIVE WHILST WAITING FOR REGISTRATION:

If you have bought a new vehicle in a European Union country, you can drive for one month under cover of the provisional transit registration issued by the authorities of the country of purchase.

If it is a used vehicle, you can drive for one month under cover of the previous foreign registration.  This authorisation to drive under foreign plates is shown on the tax certificate which is obligatory for registration in France, which is issued by the tax office nearest to your residence.

Caution: authorisation to drive under foreign plates is valid only if those plates have not been invalidated by the issuing authority, that is to say, if the official seals have not been retained (for example, the seals on German plates) or if the period of validity has not expired.

The tax certificate (Certificate d’acquisition d’un vehicule terrestre a moteur en provenance de la communaute europeene par une personne non identifiee a la TVA) has the following noted on the reverse:

In conformity with the dispositions of Article 2-VI of the Order dated 05/11/1984, the present certificate is not valid as a certificate of registration.

However, by decision of the Minister for Equipment, Transport and Tourism, and whilst waiting to complete the registration process, the present certificate authorises you from the date of issue, to drive for one month under the valid foreign registration, except in the case where the original registration plates have been withdrawn.  This delay is extended to four months if your vehicle has to be submitted for a single vehicle approval inspection by the DRIRE.

This is similar to the rules for UK residents wishing to import a foreign car into the UK, except there is no period of grace - a foreign registered vehicle may not be driven on the roads (except for taking it for an MOT) prior to UK registration. The french process is more liberal in this respect.

[Kitty]

When I read Owen's posting, I thought that this is one for Sunday Driver.  Sure enough, Sunday, you have come up trumps again.  The help that you gave me in registering my car was invaluable.  You are a star!

[Cassis]

How about posting that info as a sticky, Sunday?

Phil

[Owen White]

Once again, thanks so much for the help, but just to clarify and make sure i've got this right in my mind: I should be able to find a French insurance company who will insure me for 9 months whilst I'm in France, and I won't need to register the car in France/get French plates/get a Carte Grise?

If this is so, the next question is, do any French insurance companies do policies for 9 months (i.e. less than 1 year, or do they do rebates for any time you don't want the policy?)

Thanks,

Owen

[Sunday Driver]

[quote user="Owen White"]

Once again, thanks so much for the help, but just to clarify and make sure i've got this right in my mind: I should be able to find a French insurance company who will insure me for 9 months whilst I'm in France, and I won't need to register the car in France/get French plates/get a Carte Grise?

[/quote]

I hope I've answered this question for you, Owen.

[quote user="Owen White"]

If this is so, the next question is, do any French insurance companies do policies for 9 months (i.e. less than 1 year, or do they do rebates for any time you don't want the policy?)

[/quote]

They only do 12 month policies but you'll find they're usually cheap enough. 

[Scott]

If you're interested in a swap for a French car, ford focus 80kms let me know.  Otherwise enjoy your trip to France.  [email protected]

[Val_2]

You say you are coming to work here for a short period. Is this for a french or english company because it may be possible to get some sort of diplomatic plates to put on your vehicle like the orange or red ones you see. My brother worked for the BCWGC in France and although legally they have diplomatic status,he was given the red plates for his private vehicle which were then returned when he was transferred to another country. It may be worth enquiring about this via your new employers. If not an established large business,then the usual rules would apply I thnk.