insuring an english registered car

[Katieb]

We will be bringing our old "run around" to France when we move next week which we intend to keep until we purchase a french vehicle in a few months time. Are we able to insure this with a french insurance company (if so, any recommendations!) even though it will still be registered in the UK, taxed and we do not intend to export it. We had planned to keep our UK insurance company and obtain a green card, but they want to charge us an extra £55.00 per month for the green card, on top of the £23.00 monthly insurance payment - seems a bit steep on a car that's only worth £300.00!

Any suggestions gratefully received, thanks

Kate

[Val_2]

I would imagine you could insure the vehicle in France but,when they discover that the vehicle will not be eventually coming here full time and being changed to french plates with all that entails like the CT and DRIRE etc,the cost would be astronomical as well. Most french insurers want foreign vehicles to be re-registered in France so that it becomes their property so to speak where insurance and claims are concerned. I would also imagine some insurers here would not be too pleased to do all the paperwork (and you have to provide written evidence of the UK insurance NCB etc ) and then discover they won't be continuing the cover after a few months. Another problem is disposal of the vehicle too in France as there are papers to be provided and you would never be able to sell it on. I would keep the UK insurance etc personally and hurry up and get myself a french vehicle asap.

[Will]

What Val says is correct of course, insurers in France will cover foreign registered vehicles, but they do so on condition that you will immatriculate it in France.

Though I have to say we have done something vaguely similar to what you propose - in this case we bought a French car (well, Belgian actually, but immatriculated in France by the dealer) to which the insurance of the British car was transferred, so the insurer (AGF) was perfectly happy. The British car was repatriated, we gave it to somebody who was prepared to come over to collect it. It was actually quite a nice Volvo, in pretty good nick, but not worth a lot, and worth even less in France being RHD.

I would imagine quite a lot of people bring cars over, then find that with all the hassle over getting conformity certificates, changing headlights etc it just isn't worth the bother.

[Hoddy]

I've often wondered about the number of British registered cars I see apparently "left" at small airports in France. Many of them have out of date tax certificates and perhaps no insurance either. I wonder if they've really been dumped ?

Hoddy

[Val_2]

I think you are right there about abandoning vehicles at ports. I remember in the early 90's seeing just this happen at St.Malo whereby an old transit limped in, the people got out and removed their bits and pieces and just left it where it stood. What I have noticed recently here too is that the police and the gendarmes are really making more of a prescence on the roadside and stopping anyone they want to irrelevant of nationality and type of vehicle so its best to be straight and proper here as the penalties are so severe and costly and just not worth the hassle to sort out.

[Katieb]

thank you for that info - of course we want to do everything legally and by the books, we do intend to bring it back to UK to scrap it - although - if it is still running around we may even consider re-registering it and getting french plates for it. I guess from those replies we should stick with direct line for insurance.

[Will]

"I guess from those replies we should stick with direct line for insurance"

I don't think that may be possible. You should contact Direct Line and see how long you can be insured overseas, and what sort of cover you will have during that period. I doubt if you will get any more than about 30 days cover, and that may well be at the legal minimum. Also ask if they will continue to insure the vehicle when you live, and the vehicle is kept, in France.

I think you will need to get French insurance if you are really talking about a 'few months'. Try AGF, though most of the other large French companies should be able to help.

[Motorhead]

Don't bother with a greencard. All EU insurance companies are required by law to automatically extend cover to all member states at the minumum indemnity required by country that the vehicle happens to be in at the time and this is whether you tell them it is abroad or not.

The minimum required indemnity is actually higher in France than it is in the UK and you should not need more than this for a £300 car.

[Will]

[quote]Don't bother with a greencard. All EU insurance companies are required by law to automatically extend cover to all member states at the minumum indemnity required by country that the vehicle happens t...[/quote]

Are you sure about that? I was under the impression that EU law said that vehicles had to be insured in the country in which they were normally kept.

[Eslier]

Contact Zurich insurance in the UK. They have a UK policy (one of the old Eagle Star policies) which provides full unlimited comprehensive cover anywhere in Europe without the usual maximum stay restrictions. Obviously, once your car has been in France for six months, you are then legally required to re-register it anyway.

[Motorhead]

Correct Will but what is "normally"? Nobody really knows, it has not been defined exactly by the original legislation and to my knowledge there has been no subsequent test case on the matter.

The car in question is old, it has probably spent all its life in the UK. It is going over as a temporary stopgap untill a suitable French car is found and then probably going back. It will be very difficult if not impossible for the authorities to say that it is not in France on a temporary basis

Green cards are only necessary if you want more than the minimum coverage - a true fact but not publicised by the insurance industry for reasons of greed - read the small print on the back of the certificate, it's all there. If you want more than the minimum get a green card but is it really worth it on a £300 jalopy?

 

[Will]

I quite agree about the green card ripoff. A lot of companies charge money to issue a card that gives you no more cover than you have automatically as part of your policy. Not all though, the better insurers will give full cover rather than just the legal minimum for trips abroad, and their green cards actually mean something. I don't know how Direct Line fits into this as I have never used them.

I take your point about the low-value vehicle etc and if it was me I would probably do exactly the same in that position. However the questioner did want to do things legally and above board. There should only be problems in the case of a claim arising after a couple of months, when things could get awkward if the insurer is one of those which puts a time limit on the amount of time it will offer cover abroad, or the length of any individual trip. If the company smells a rat it could start asking for ferry tickets or other evidence of when you arrived in France and when you intended to return. You can get away with a lot in insurance, but companies have been known to investigate claims and go to considerable lengths to avoid paying out.

[Wizzer]

I contacted Zurich (who were very helpful) and they offered unlimited comprehensive cover throughout the year, for no extra charge.

The only drawback was that although you can make as many trips as you like, the maximum stay each time is 2 months. So in theory, you could stay for 2 months, return to the UK for a day, then back to France for 2 months. Only in the event of a claim would you need to prove that the car had not been in France for more than 60 days.

Most other companies would only offer 30 day cover at any one time, but more importantly, the annual cover was only for 60 or 90 days in total.

Incidentally, the AA offered a fully comprehensive policy, irrespective of when and where the car was used, so (in theory) it could be kept in France for 12 months, but they wanted another £500 for this!

Finally, unlike many other insurance companies, Zurich don't need to be contacted before any journey, so you are free to come and go as required.