UK Ripoff "European cover"

missile

JonBoy_SCFC wrote: »

just wondering.... if i had TP Only cover here in the UK, and was going abroad - am i right saying that there's no point paying for european cover because it wouldn't be any more cover than i get for free anyway?

also, do you know why it's included for free? most people don't use it - wouldn't it be fairer to charge only those who want to use it and reduce the overall cost for everyone else?

interested to know the anserr to some of these questions if anyone kind enough to help:beer: :beer: :beer:

Most have TPF&T, obviously F&T is not included in the "statutory minimum level of cover"

I am quite pleased that there is this EU law, in the event that I was in an accident in the UK with a foreign driver who did not have "statutory minimum level of cover"

iceicebaby

I dont pay any extra for european cover and have never been with an insurer that has.

toptip

Jon

The reason many insurers give the EU cover away for no extra premium is that they know very few people will use it, but it's "another tick in the box" on the comparison sites.

There are some insurers who give away Comp EU cover as standard on their policies. MMA give 45 days included and I think LV give some days as well (although I could be corrected)

As far as I know, most TPO policies don't cover you in the EU.

As far as the original point goes (why are we restricted to so many days in the first place), It's as simple as the left hand/right hand arguement that was mentioned earlier. With the exception of Ireland and Cyprus, if you are driving in Europe you are driving on a different side of the road with a restricted view. It 's the same reason it's more expensive to insure a LHD car in the UK

dacouch

Top Tip I agree with you, the other problem is the cost of repairing / bringing a damaged vehicle home if it has an accident in Europe and dealing with the foreign insurer. These add to the costs massively over what they would have had to pay for an claim in England.

The reason they restrict the days is because they do not want to cover someone who lives in say France or has a holiday home there were the vehicle is either parked up for long periods which is a theft risk or being driven around as they live there for the reasons in my first paragraph and also for the reasons in your final paragraph.

With regard to the TPO point you make, every single motor policy issued in an EU Country and some from non EU countries that are in Europe eg Switzerland all cover the vehicle for the minimum level of cover in whichever EU country you are driving in. The minimum is normaly equilvalent to our Third Party Only but in some countries it is lower eg it has a limit on how much they will pay out if you injure or kill someone.

The EU is why we have the Motor Insurance Database which the police use with the ANPR cameras. The idea of it is if say a French driver is hit by an English driver in France they can trace the Insurer through the database.

JonBoy_SCFC

iceicebaby wrote: »

I dont pay any extra for european cover and have never been with an insurer that has.

the point i was making was exactly the oppositev - we all pay extra for it in our basic premium, because we're all covered;)

dacouch

Jon I think vanilla's misses means that she does not pay extra for having Comprehensive cover on here policies when she is driving in Europe.

We are all covered for minimum cover in each country by our policies which would add a nominal amount on to each persons policy.

If we lived on mainland Europe our policy would be a "Greencard" Policy issued by whichever country we lived in but it would automatically give you the same cover you have in any European country.

jeppy

lolarentt wrote: »

I wouldn't dream of paying extra for driving in Europe - we tend to change insurers every year chasing the best quote ( 2 cars so x 2!) so have been with many companies over the last 10 years or so but never been asked for a premium for driving on the continent. Sometimes they like you to tell them when you are taking the car abroad. From my days of having a 'company car' I recall there used to be something strange about driving in Spain, but I can't remember what it was!

It was a bail bond!

Every insurance should include the minimum requirements to drive a car in Europe within the policy wording, ie Basically TPO.

You should always ensure that your insurers have extended the policy to include the level of cover you pay for. I am not a PC person, but as an individual who has driven abroad, I always have had to pay extra for fully comp!

jeppy

The reason why they give the equivalent of TP in other countries is to ensure that innocent victims are protected!!

It is a legal requirement and basically the insurers are ensuring that you are legal on the road!!

missile

Originally Posted by lolarentt
I wouldn't dream of paying extra for driving in Europe - we tend to change insurers every year chasing the best quote ( 2 cars so x 2!)

Have you considered a multicar policy?