Car Insurance Renewal

[AnOther]

I know this has been touched on before but I think it's worth a revisit as I seem to recall that possibly the rules have changed a little.

My car insurance renewal has just arrived. When we took it out out last year we had recently bought the car in UK and needed to arrange cover to bring it down to France both on it's original Belgian plates and towing a big UK sourced box trailer which was a bit of an unique situation so to make sure we were talking the same language and properly covered we went with an english broker in France.

It used to be 2 months notice to cancel but has changed to one month - correct ?

As I have literally just (Saturday) received the renewal and the expiry date is 22nd October can I still decline the renewal and go elsewhere ?

I'm pretty sure I can do a lot better than €589 demanded this time round. €15 more than last time, I'd at least like to try.

As aside what sort of premiums are you paying I wonder: We have full UK NCB which translated to 8 years according to a letter from our previous UK insurers. The car is a 2003 1.9TDi estate. In UK for a similar VW Golf we were paying £180. Some claim that car insurance is similar in cost or cheaper in France but I must say that from this experience and that of insuring my MGB I personally have found it anything but [:'(]

[Patf]

We have just changed insurers and the new company are doing all the paperwork involved in the change. I think we may have to pay the old company for the first month then it goes onto the new company.

We transferred 2 vehicles and household insurances. Quotes were all less and we get a few free months into the bargain.

It was a lot simpler than we had anticipated. Just hope there aren't any unexpected problems! (you never know with french insurance.)

[Maricopa]

[quote user="ErnieY"]As I have literally just (Saturday) received the renewal and the expiry date is 22nd October can I still decline the renewal and go elsewhere ?[/quote]

If you quote the Loi Chatel, you have 20 days from the date postmarked on the renewal notice envelope to cancel the insurance.

Hope this helps.[:D]

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

We're paying about €700 for a 206cc 1.6 auto. Have never had an accident in 18 years of driving so guess that equates to full no claims. Mine expires the end of October.

[gosub]

You can try this comparison SITE

[tuppence]

I have recently changed my car insurance. I found out about a local insurance agency, went to see them , agreed their price and then had to send them my renewal notice when I received it. They then completed a cancellation form for me ( I only had to sign it) and they did the rest and saved me 207.24€ [:)] a year and I got 2 months free for choosing direct debit. Needless to say that my house insurance (2009) will be with them as will my mutuelle.In my opinion it pays to shop around about 6 weeks before your current insurances are due to expire.

tuppence

[Sunday Driver]

With a 50% bonus, we were paying MAAF 670€ toutes risques for our 2000 BMW 525 2.5TD Auto.  Now paying 380€ for the 2005 Peugeot 307 1.6 Auto.

As we also have their 50% Bonus for Life, the recent BMW write-off doesn't affect our future premiums.....[:)]

 

[Clair]

With MAAF too, paid €350 in 2008 for a Corsa 1.7DI fully comp (tout risques), with 50% bonus à vie as per SD's post above.

I've just had a letter stating no increase on car premium for 2009.

[AnOther]

Thank all for the info.

I've had a long conversation with my man this morning and we have come up with a few areas where money can be saved and have got it down by about €100.

Interestingly when you breakdown the total it does start to look a bit less outrageous.

I still had my trailer covered which is uneccessary at the moment because I still haven't got round ro registering it so that's came off and saved some €40. I've volunteered for €150 windscreen excess, reduced the personal injury cover from 600,000 to 150,000 and dropped the €500 cover for theft from the locked vehicle, all relatively small amounts in themselves but they add up.

Also I hadn't realised that some 20% or so goes direct to the Franch government so anyone who say there is no road tax in France is deluding themselves as the windscreen vignette is really a combined insurance and tax disk.

I'm waiting for the new bottom line but will still get a quote from the company who I have my MG insured with.

[Chancer]

I have the same vehicle as you Ernie but one year newer (same stratospheric mileage as well I bet!) and pay €287.87 per year to AXA for multi-risques cover.

I opted for a €400 franchise for all claims excepting bris de glaces (I have no excess and your €150 is the first time I have ever heard of one[:(]) and have breakdown cover and assistance outside of a 30km radius.

I spent a huge amount of time last year trying to change insurer as my broker in my eyes is well dodgy (as someone recently wrote it takes one to know one) and always sends out his renewals after the expiry of the old one in defiance of Chatel, we have rowed about it but he continues, sadly no other company could touch him for price and I dont have enough dosh to follow my principles.

I hope this helps

PS Once your trailer is registered it will have to carry its own insurance so I question the validity of the policy extension other than if the trailer did not require registration and you had taken out optional insurance cover.

[AnOther]

Thanks JR, €287 does sound attractive and my MG is insured with AXA so potentially some leverage to be had there.

I have no excess on the policy per se but I was told I could opt for the windscreen excess.

Re the trailer; being UK sourced it wasn't registered anywhere so to get it down to France behind a Belgian registered car it 'adpoted' that number and had it's own policy for the trip.

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

Interesting. I'm wih Axa and paid around €700 last year. Just done the comparison on Assurland and have quotes of the late €300's, including one from Axa. Now, I have a feeling that I have breakdown cover as well, and I assume the Assurland does not include this? Even so, €300 for breakdown seems exceedingly high anyway.

[tuppence]

Having already saves beaucoup de Euros since moving insurers, I also have breakdown cover anywhere in Europe and should I be unfortunate to have my car written off (Citroen Xsara 1.4 year 2000) I will get a minimum of 3000€ from the insurance. Since it only cost about 2000€ I think thats got to be worth having.[:D]

tuppence

[Sunday Driver]

[quote user="LyndaandRichard"]Interesting. I'm wih Axa and paid around €700 last year. Just done the comparison on Assurland and have quotes of the late €300's, including one from Axa. Now, I have a feeling that I have breakdown cover as well, and I assume the Assurland does not include this? Even so, €300 for breakdown seems exceedingly high anyway.
[/quote]

I think you'll find that most French motor policies include 30km from home breakdown cover as standard with an option to pay extra for a 'home start' type of cover.

If you're with AXA, I believe they tend to operate through a network of franchise/agencies so you may find that your agent has loaded the premium somewhat.....[Www]

On the other hand, insurers like MAAF and Groupama are mutuelles and seems to operate their own branch offices with no commision earning 'middlemen'.

 

 

[Chancer]

Also remember that premiums can be loaded significantly by regional and employment variables.

For instance AXA took me on as a retired gentleman despite being 21 years below state retirement age (would be 26 now!), perhaps they thought that I had been an SNCF engineer[6]

Whereas they probably have Ernie down as a roughneck oil rig worker who spends all of his shore time drinking, fighting, womanising and hooning around pi55ed in his MG [:D]

[AnOther]

[quote user="J.Rs gone native"]Whereas they probably have Ernie down as a roughneck oil rig worker who spends all of his shore time drinking, fighting, womanising and hooning around pi55ed in his MG [:D][/quote]So who's been spying on me then [:-))]

[AnOther]

Can anyone explain exactly what what 'Protection Juridique Automobile' is and whether it's worthwhile having or not. As I understand it's broadly similar to the legal benefits add on packages in UK with which you get free legal assistence to persue unisured losses.

 

[PaulT]

Sorry to hijack the thread a little but, with Ernie going on about his MG.......

I was thinking of bringing over to France my Triumph TR7 DHC next year. Is there an equivalent of classic car insurance in France, i.e. limited mileage, agreed value, low premiums, or is it a case of normal premiums? Or do I leave it in the UK

Paul

[AnOther]

My MG is registered and insured as a normal vehicle without mileage limit but with an agreed valuation for which I had to pay an 'expert' to provide. Whilst significntly cheaper than what I'm being asked to pay for the main car the cost is still considerably more than I (we) are accustomed to paying in UK under such circumstances.

As I understand it if you register as Vehicule de Collection then you can get much reduced policies but currently under that scheme you are restricted to driving in your oen department and the adjoining ones although you can extend this by prenotification, whether anybody actually does this I don't know, doubtful in a good many cases I'd say.

That is all somewhat moot anyway as from Jan 2009 this restriction is being abolished but at the same time the age limit for registering as VdC rises from 25 to 30 years so your TR7 may or may not immediately fall into that.

I don't know if this change will make any difference to insurance premiums.

One thing you should check is whether you can get a Certificate of Conformity for the car. If the TR7 was never officially imported into France this could prove a headache. I only discovered the other day for instance that the later rubber bumper MG Midget was never imported and is difficult to register. These people should be able to advise you on that aspect:

ABP

254 Avenue du President Wilson

93210 ST DENIS

Contact: e-mail: abp102@wanadoo.fr

Tel./fax: 01 34 73 48 02

mobile: 06 72 61 61 25

Patrick Vatier is the person to speak to.

Bon chance

[PaulT]

Thanks for all the info Ernie.

It is a relative youngster - first registered (and built) 1981 so 27 years old.

Fortunately, the TR7 was imported into France. There is also someone in France who has managed to import a TR8 from the States.

Might rethink bringing it over. We will only be in France a max of 6 weeks so sounds as though it would be quite expensive for the use it would get during those six weeks.

Paul