European Car Insurance
If you are buying or holidaying in Europe and you want to be driving while you are there; then you will need European car insurance in order to do so safely and legally. If you are a resident of the United States, Australia or another country outside of Europe then the chances are that your current insurance will be void when you visit there. This is particularly the case if you will not be using your usual car where you will definitely need separate European car insurance.
If you are heading to the UK then, your European car insurance will need to be with a company that operates within the UK. If you are only renting a car however to use on a holiday or for a short period of time, then bear in mind that this will normally come with insurance provided by the lenders of the vehicle. Ensure you enquire about this when speaking to your car rental provider. This should be the case with all European car insurance, but it is your responsibility to check and if you are driving without adequate insurance then you are breaking the law regarding European car insurance.
This European car insurance will then cover you for any accidents you may encounter and will repay you for any damage you cause to third parties. UK car insurance and most European Car Insurance normally then offers you the option to additionally cover yourself for any damage to your own vehicle too for a little extra. This is the difference between ‘fully comprehensive’ cover and ‘third party’ cover, where fully comprehensive will pay out for repairs to your own vehicle while third party will only repair damage to the other people’s property. A third option for your European car insurance is ‘third party fire and theft’ which will give you cover for your car being stolen or set alight, but will otherwise only cover you for damage to third party vehicles and belongings.
In some cases it can be cheaper to be added to someone else’s European car insurance than to get your own out separately. For example, if you are travelling to the UK to visit a friend or family member, then rather than take out specific European car insurance, you can simply be added to their insurance in order to drive their car (if they will happily oblige you).
Unlike the US all UK car insurance companies (and most European car insurance companies) will insure individuals under the age of 21, beginning from the age of 17. However, as in the US more experience driving (along with a cleaner license) will be reflected in a cheaper quote.
This post was written by admin on June 2010
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In my opinion, the european car insurance companies are so unfair. Their prices are high. Moreover, their quality is below the american insurance companies.
It’s difficult to avoid the european car insurance companies if you’re driving in europe. But try to find the cheapest company.
the european car insurance are not that expensive, michelle.
i am curious about the fines in the UK. what’s the penalty for driving without having your car insured? is it a criminal act not to have an european car insurance?
The european car insurance companies do way better than the ones in the USA. They are more serious in managing the clients’ problems. So stop blaming the european car insurance companies. Moreover, you have the right to change your insurance company whenever you want. Just change it, if you’re not happy with it!
I never knew that you could be added to a friends policy if you were visiting them and using there car. I do not know if my insurance company in the United States would allow this or not. I tend to say they would frown on it.
It makes sense though to have the insurance so you can be protected. I guess it is something to think about if you ever travel to the UK.
Personally I have no experience with classic car insurance. However, I have a friend who works for AAA and she tells me that since their new CEO took over he initiated the classic car policy. Apparently he is a big car guy and has an amazing collection.
That is a funny picture… I would have crashed too!
The permission giving part can sometimes be that even someone who is on the insurance policy not be insured if they don’t have permission to use the car.