car insurance query

RedBern

Just a general query really - I purchased car insurance through RAC with Aviva in May of this year. Was traveling to France for a long weekend and thought - oops, better check the insurance for car (this was the morning we were setting off and everything was a little fraught). Rang RAC broker and they said I wasn't covered for european cover. I asked to add it, and I wasn't allowed to. The only way around it was to take out a new policy and cancel the old one. They wouldn't let me buy cover for the weekend separately either.

Having mused on this for a few days, I do wonder if that is correct, and whether I should have been able to insist they upgrade (at a cost obviously) my existing policy.

Any thoughts/views appreciated (but please be nice, I'm a bit stressed).

Gloomendoom

You don't say what type of cover you have... TPFT or fully comprehensive. A quick look at the Aviva website shows that foreign cover is not available if you have a TPFT policy. If you have fully comp then you do get TPFT foreign cover and that can be upgraded to fully comp for an additional fee of £26.50

TPFT

Not available at this level of cover

Comprehensive

Your policy will automatically provide the minimum cover required to travel in most European countries: usually the equivalent of UK third party only cover.

This can be upgraded for an additional annual premium from £26.50 to give you the same cover as you have in the UK for travel within the following countries, for 6 months in any one period of insurance and no more than 90 days for anyone trip.

thenudeone

If it's third party cover then broadly you are already covered because all UK policies automatically provide third party cover in all EU states to the same level that is required in those states. Although here may be a few minor differences to UK cover (eg: you might not be covered on private land??).

InsideInsurance

On the Aviva website will normally be their own direct policy rather than the one that RAC will have negotiated with them.

Whilst you may be legally covered for TPO in continental europe - in fact it will be the minimum in the country you are in - some insurers exclude this cover and therefore they would be legally liable to cover the claim as part of EU law but they would be then entitled to recover the cost of the claim plus costs from you.

If the policy you bought doesnt include a feature you cannot "force" them to add the feature. You may be able to buy temporary european cover elsewhere. Think it is more a lesson to ensure that the policy will cover all your needs when you buy it, naturally circumstances can unpredictably change at times.

RedBern

thanks for these responses - no we have fully comp. Think I'll investigate further with Aviva - I'm a bit miffed as they haven't refunded my money from the cancelled policy yet! Will let you know

vaio

InsideInsurance wrote: »

......Whilst you may be legally covered for TPO in continental europe - in fact it will be the minimum in the country you are in - some insurers exclude this cover and therefore they would be legally liable to cover the claim as part of EU law but they would be then entitled to recover the cost of the claim plus costs from you.......

That can't be true as it would make a mockery of the EU law.

Got a link to a policy wording?

Flyboy152

InsideInsurance wrote: »

On the Aviva website will normally be their own direct policy rather than the one that RAC will have negotiated with them.

Whilst you may be legally covered for TPO in continental europe - in fact it will be the minimum in the country you are in - some insurers exclude this cover and therefore they would be legally liable to cover the claim as part of EU law but they would be then entitled to recover the cost of the claim plus costs from you.

If the policy you bought doesnt include a feature you cannot "force" them to add the feature. You may be able to buy temporary european cover elsewhere. Think it is more a lesson to ensure that the policy will cover all your needs when you buy it, naturally circumstances can unpredictably change at times.

I was always under the impression it is either the minimum for whatever country you are in, or that for the UK, whichever is the greater.

So if, for example, if it is five hundred thousand here, and four hundred thousand in France, the cover would be five hundred thousand. If it is in Germany and their minimum is six hundred thousand, the cover would be six hundred thousand.

The insurance companies cannot subrogate their legal liabilities.