International Driving Insurance

dacouch

Insurers are happy to cover a car with a foreign plate on the basis it is being registered in the UK.

You are right a lot of it is government protection as the rates of Insurance Premium tax vary dramatically, you could pay circa 20% in Germany to a 2% in other countries.

Handling claims is currently fairly complex if you have an accident in a foreign country or are hit by a foreign driver in the UK. The insurers have a representative in the country. These claims typically take a long time to be sorted out for the third party.

The EU are slowly going to a common market for insurance they are currently working on the fifth directive. As with most EU laws, the UK implements them when they are supposed to where as other countries do them whenever it suits them which is normally well after the deadline

The data issue is not a case of buying it as Insurers guard their own data very carefully for competitive reasons so won't give it out to what in effect will be their competitors. As you rightly stated they would in effect have to guess the data and aim their rates just below their competitors (Which in itself is a big job to collate the competitors rates) and hope they will make money.

vaio

dacouch wrote: »

....You are right a lot of it is government protection as the rates of Insurance Premium tax vary dramatically, you could pay circa 20% in Germany to a 2% in other countries........

Taxes would obviously follow the consumer as they do in any other sort of cross boarder shopping,

I was thinking it was protectionism by insurance companies who don’t fancy their cosy little oligopolies being opened to real competition.

transatlanticrachael

thanks for all your help!

missile

vaio wrote: »

I was thinking it was protectionism by insurance companies who don’t fancy their cosy little oligopolies being opened to real competition.

I don't think this is fair:A, please be advised>
Many insurance companies operate throughout EU, for exmaple AXA, Aviva and Direct Line. Thus they are already in direct competition accross borders.
In my experience, insurance in a.n.other EU countries is more expensive than in UK.

vaio

missile wrote: »

I don't think this is fair:A, please be advised>
Many insurance companies operate throughout EU, for exmaple AXA, Aviva and Direct Line. Thus they are already in direct competition accross borders.
In my experience, insurance in a.n.other EU countries is more expensive than in UK.

That'll be a first because I think suppliers tend to regard the UK as a cash cow, just look at the deregulated energy market and I'd be surprised if insurance was any different.

Any ex-pats reading who can give us actual numbers?

jammin_2

transatlanticrachael wrote: »

I'm off to the Netherlands for 4 months next year

What will you be doing in month four? You need to be either working, self-employed, engaged in a course of study or economically self-sufficient with comprehensive sickness insurance, in order for your presence in the Netherlands to be lawful. I'm assuming that you are a British citizen who is not from the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.

dacouch wrote: »

You cannot Insure a vehicle that is registered in a different country eg a UK plated car in germany with a German Insurer.
<snip>

You can. Plenty of Irish insurance companies will insurance a car which is kept and used in Ireland but is registered in the UK.

dacouch wrote: »

It's an international law that you insure your car in the country it is registered with the few exceptions.

Which law would this be then?