Motor insurance - cover within EU?

MickKnipfler

I want to take my car to France and my insurer tells me that I need a green card and need to pay £22 otherwise, I'll only have 3rd party cover. Can they do that? I thought that you cover was automatically like for like within the EU now?

woodys_wonders

Cover is not like for like automatically & they can charge to issue this cover.
If you go without the green card you only have the minimum cover applicable in that country ie like Third Party Only.
It is best to pay for the green card & then maybe at renewal if this is something you will do again, look for a company that provides free green cards but generally you pay more a year for this.

DCFC79

We didnt have a green card when we went to france, we asked various insurance co's if it was needed and they gave a mixed response, well according to direct.gov.uk you dont need 1 for going to france, heres the link

dacouch

As woods wonders stated it is advisable to take a green card. If you do not you have the minimum legal cover in that country so no cover for damage to your vehicle, theft or fire etc. In addition some countries lowest minimum cover is lower than our third party cover in that they attach limits to the amount they will pay out.

If you take your car to Spain it is advisable to have a Bail Bond which if your company gives your free green card cover will normally be printed on your certificate or if they issue a green card will be printed on the green card. Without this the Spainish police will often impound for traffice violations or accidents until you pay the bail (The bail bond agrees to pay it).

The link that DCFC79 gives advises you that you do not need to carry a green card, it does advise you that you should ensure you have either obtained a green card or if your company has the wording printed on the certificate to take that. It advises you not to drive on the minimum level of cover so in your case you would have to pay the extra to your Insurer.

If you pay extra try and get an actual green card out of your Insurer as its best to take this rather than your certificate

When travelling abroad it is advisable to take a photocopy of your log book, driving licences and insurance documents. France now have a law that you have to have a hi vis vest / jacket in the car as well as the warning triangle. (For good advice read the aa website)

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/overseas/countrybycountry.html?mySelect=%2Fmotoring_advice%2Ftouring_tips%2FAA_France_Monaco.pdf&go.x=77&go.y=2&go=Go!

If you go abroad a lot Norwich Union include free foreign use and also free RAC Breakdown Cover while your driving in Europe (You pay extra if you want it in the UK) but they only offer it through a broker.

DCFC79

dacouch wrote: »

As woods wonders stated it is advisable to take a green card. If you do not you have the minimum legal cover in that country so no cover for damage to your vehicle, theft or fire etc. In addition some countries lowest minimum cover is lower than our third party cover in that they attach limits to the amount they will pay out.

If you take your car to Spain it is advisable to have a Bail Bond which if your company gives your free green card cover will normally be printed on your certificate or if they issue a green card will be printed on the green card. Without this the Spainish police will often impound for traffice violations or accidents until you pay the bail (The bail bond agrees to pay it).

The link that DCFC79 gives advises you that you do not need to carry a green card, it does advise you that you should ensure you have either obtained a green card or if your company has the wording printed on the certificate to take that. It advises you not to drive on the minimum level of cover so in your case you would have to pay the extra to your Insurer.

If you pay extra try and get an actual green card out of your Insurer as its best to take this rather than your certificate

When travelling abroad it is advisable to take a photocopy of your log book, driving licences and insurance documents. France now have a law that you have to have a hi vis vest / jacket in the car as well as the warning triangle. (For good advice read the aa website)

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/overseas/countrybycountry.html?mySelect=%2Fmotoring_advice%2Ftouring_tips%2FAA_France_Monaco.pdf&go.x=77&go.y=2&go=Go!

If you go abroad a lot Norwich Union include free foreign use and also free RAC Breakdown Cover while your driving in Europe (You pay extra if you want it in the UK) but they only offer it through a broker.

but then it says if driving to france then a green card isnt required, this is what confuses people i guess, surely its better to say if travelling to these countries then a green card is required

dacouch

From experience in an ideal world it is best to have a physical greencard in your hand as this is what the rest of europe uses. If you get stopped in a remote part of France by french plod who has never dealt with a UK motorist (We all know how much they love us and like to pull oover the UK plates for a friendly chat) that it can save a lot of time and inconvenience if you have a green card to show them. If we had the green card system like the rest of Europe (Which is a better system) we would not need this discussion

Although saying the above it is technically not a requirement to have a green card in Europe.

The first post was mainly concerned with is it worth her paying the £22

DCFC79

dacouch wrote: »

From experience in an ideal world it is best to have a physical greencard in your hand as this is what the rest of europe uses. If you get stopped in a remote part of France by french plod who has never dealt with a UK motorist (We all know how much they love us and like to pull oover the UK plates for a friendly chat) that it can save a lot of time and inconvenience if you have a green card to show them. If we had the green card system like the rest of Europe (Which is a better system) we would not need this discussion

Although saying the above it is technically not a requirement to have a green card in Europe.

The first post was mainly concerned with is it worth her paying the £22

we werent stopped by the fench plod but then we were lucky, i do agree that having 1 is a good idea and probably worth the £22 but when you ask insurance companies if oyu need 1 and you get a mixed response it confuses you

dacouch

Its because your speaking to people in a call centre with limited knowledge if Insurance, I used to work in a broker who specialises in dealing with the army. They get posted to Germany or Belgium etc and have their cars in Europe a lot

DCFC79

dacouch wrote: »

Its because your speaking to people in a call centre with limited knowledge if Insurance, I used to work in a broker who specialises in dealing with the army. They get posted to Germany or Belgium etc and have their cars in Europe a lot

i thought they were the best people in the know but not always, the question probably doesnt appear on the script

dacouch

You are right, I worked in an Insurance Company Call Centre for a year before leaving in frustration. The staff are trained to deal with as many calls as possible in as shorter a time. They keep a record of each persons Average Call Length and how many calls answered. You get a talking to if your average call length goes up or you don't answer enough calls. Simple mathematics the shorter your calls and the more calls you answer the less staff they need to employ.

The bods answering the phone have prob been there a few months, if your call is out of the normal they speak to theri senior/ superviser if they do not know it goes to a team leader etc etc.

Judging by the one I worked at, you could go straight in a superviser / team leader if you had experience of supervising. They would take shoe shop supervisers on as supervisers as they had experience managing....

I had to point out to the manager of our department a few things that they were doing incorrectly.

DCFC79

Thanks dacouch i now know for future, also is a greencard required if you rent a car abroad or does 1 come automatically