How Does Insurance Work In France?

[Blu]

How does insurance work in france, i understand that the car is insured, not the person that drives the car, please correct me if im wrong. Also what will affect the insurance, age, occupation, if you have a drive way or not?

Thanks

[ChezShells]

You would have to ask your insurers but mine allows any driver having held a licence 3+ years

[Pierre ZFP]

On mine, I am the named driver and anyone can drive it if they are over 21 and I think 2+ years licence(could be 3+, not sure) that I authorise to drive.  Of course if it was nicked I would not authorise the driver so what happens if it was in an accident or trashed I'm not sure.  I'm assuming the insurance would pay up.  In fact I also pay a little bit of 'top-up' insurance so that until the car is 5 years old, if it's in a serious prang, I get a brand new car, not a repair.

Other than amount of no claims bonus, I think the only other consideration was the post code where I lived.

[Anton Redman]

Pretty much the same as Uk you can reduce costs by restricting mileage, increased excess etc. Although the car is insured any dirver cover may not be provided or may be restricted to drivers over a certain age or whose papers jhave been lodged with the insurer.

[Sunday Driver]

Insurance in France is the same as anywhere else.  The policyholder insures himself against third party/civil liability etc and insures himself against loss or damage to his vehicle due to accident, theft etc.  The premium is calculated according to risk, eg age of driver, occupation, claims history, type of vehicle, value. 

The terms of the policy will define who may drive the vehicle and unless specific restrictions apply, such as only drivers over a certain age or having held their licence for a minimum period, then the general rule is 'any driver'.

So, if your neighbour borrows your car to go to the shops, then he drives it on your insurance - and vice versa.