Car Insurance :-/

[Onion van man]

I have spoken to my car insurance company today about a green card to drive in France. They say that they issue a 12 month green card but, it only covers you for 3 days at a time. They then transfered me to someone else who said it would cost approx £46 for 1 months cover and after that I would have to cancel my policy and find insurance in France. They really did not convince me that either of those answers were 100% correct!

So can anyone advise me on the best course of action if I stay for longer than a month ?

[Sharkster]

It really depends on your current UK insurer.  I used to work for a large insurer back in the UK and we offered a green card for upto 90 days in a policy year.  The green card itself is a free document but we charged to extend the cover into Europe.  I know at the time many other companies offered free annual green cards (like they do in France) but it is totally dependant on your company.  Hope this helps.  By the way the 3 day thing does sound strange.

[Baz]

This subject was discussed last month, http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/961305/ShowPost.aspx

If you want more information use search. Onion van man, I have never heard of an insurance company giving only 3 days on a fully comprehensive policy. I think you should ask again and if it is the case then change your insurer, which you will almost certainly have to consider if you want more than a month at a time.

Baz

[jc]

Some firms used to throw this very short term cover in so you could do a wine/beer/fags run.

[Will]

European requirements say that green card or not, you have to be covered throughout Europe. So you can still go to France and be legal even if you do not have a green card. The drawback is that without the green card, you have the minimum level of cover. What the green card does is to extend the cover abroad to the same cover you have at home.

Most British insurers currently seem to make an extra charge for foreign cover (and won't tell you what the charges are until you have taken out the policy) and/or impose strict limits on the time you can spend out of the country. Two insurers who do not operate this way are Saga and Zurich; there are several more which you will find by looking back at older discussions. 

If you are talking about insurance for an onion van then you may have difficulty. I remember it being quite hard to find insurance for our transit for private-only (i.e. non-commercial) use, and even more difficult to get decent European cover.

Of course, if you become French resident, or your stay will extend beyond six months, then you are required to register your vehicle in France, and then you will need French insurance.

[allanb]

[quote user="Will"]European requirements say that green card or not, you have to be covered throughout Europe. So you can still go to France and be legal even if you do not have a green card. The drawback is that without the green card, you have the minimum level of cover. What the green card does is to extend the cover abroad to the same cover you have at home.[/quote]Sorry, but this is not correct, and the subject has been discussed more than once before.

"Green card or not", you have the legal minimum cover in Europe (and many other places).  This is correct, although it has nothing to do with "European requirements"; it results from a multinational treaty, and if you want to see the participating countries, they're listed on the green card.

"you can still go to France and be legal even if you do not have a green card."  Well, you have the insurance that France requires, that's true.  But if French law requires you to be able to provide proof of insurance on demand, you could be in trouble without the green card.

"What the green card does" is not to extend the cover abroad, etc.  All the green card does is to provide evidence that you have a valid policy and therefore have the legal minimum cover.

Whether or not your insurer will extend your other coverage (damage, loss, theft, etc), and for how long, is entirely a matter of agreement between you and your insurer.  It has nothing to do with the green card, or the EU, or the insurance treaty.

The only reason for repeating all this is to avoid people thinking that they still have insurance for damage, etc, provided that they have the green card.  It ain't so.

[Onion van man]

This is the exact reason why I rang the insurance, because on their website it said that you got the minimum cover required by law for driving in another country. Which I assumed to be something like Third party only. However, When talking to their not so knowledgeable advisor he claimed that you get the same cover as what you have in the UK. The next person I spoke to said it would cost £46 a month and could only be done for one month during the 12 months the UK cover lasted for.

The Insurance is for my Citroen Saxo, The Onion van thing is a long story.......

[allanb]

[quote user="Onion van man"]This is the exact reason why I rang the insurance, because on their website it said that you got the minimum cover required by law for driving in another country. Which I assumed to be something like Third party only. [/quote]

This is correct: not just "something like" third-party only, but exactly third-party only.[quote]However, When talking to their not so knowledgeable advisor he claimed that you get the same cover as what you have in the UK.[/quote]This may or may not be correct, depending entirely on your policy conditions.  You'll either have to find an advisor you trust, or sit down and read your policy.[quote] The next person I spoke to said it would cost £46 a month and could only be done for one month during the 12 months the UK cover lasted for.[/quote]Again, this may be true: it depends on your policy and your insurer's willingness to negotiate - although it does seem to me amazingly expensive and restrictive.

[allanb]

[duplicate post deleted]